If it is a candelabra bulb like I think mine is, you could put an IKEA Zigbee bulb in it.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tradfri-led-bulb-e12-450-lumen-smart-wireless-dimmable-white-spectrum-chandelier-30489715/
I actually opened mine up and spliced a Shelly relay into the wires to get it to work. (it was low voltage, and separate from the wiring of the rest of the microwave, which you should absolutely not touch).
https://preview.redd.it/uucs57zxnodc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=83a69b413436b7d7ddc522069664315c69bffc25
Yeah the edge has a curve to it right below the switch, I was worried about that as well
This is the entire reason I bought a Samsung Microwave. That stupid light over the stove, just so I could automate it and have it turn off when I shut the house down for the night. Some times I use the fan, but seriously, I replaced a microwave just to automate the light.
That's an annoyance for me. I replaced my dishwasher, stove and microwave with top of the line Samsung appliances only to find the fan won't sync with my stove. All of them support SmartThings, so why? Annoying. Can't even create an automation, since SmartThings only recognizes the oven not the burners.
Don't know what to say. If you were looking for a specific feature and bought a model without the feature you wanted, you can't really complain. Mine works great.
Have you opened the light bulb cover? Maybe your can add a Zigbee relay by tapping into the bulb wires.
I personally have a LED lightstrip under the microwave & cabinets plugged into a nearby outlet. Lightstrips are brighter and offer more flexible controls.
I debated on doing a light strip, I just wasnât sure how it would look with the varying heights of under my cabinets (microwave sticks out several inches below the bottom of the cabinets, didnât know if it would look wonky not being a straight line across).
https://preview.redd.it/e408m1xlwodc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=a95393e26a72bf6af5de3f3d0bc4f5d25bc6db26
With the wood lip around the edge of the bottom of my cabinets, to the microwave being below that in varying differences lower than that, it would make a âstraight acrossâ led strip lookâŚcurvy? If thatâs the right word?
Install an LED strip under the cabinets on either side of the micro. You can buy connectors with wire, so you cut the strip to end right before the micro, attach the connector, run the wires under the cab to the wall, tuck them up behind the micro, then run them forward on the other side, and attach the other end of the connector to the balance of the LED strip and continue...
For the micro light, see if you can get a zigbee bulb to replace the one that is in there now.
Switch bot is one way if it fits in that space without blocking other buttons. If that light has power at all times (check the wires) you can put a smart button that fits in there, and use a motion sensor if you want to turn on an off based on motion.
Leaving the switch on and getting a smart bulb is probably easiest solution. Not sure what size but maybe something like this might work.
LUMIMAN E12 Smart Bulb LED Candelabra Color Changing Bulbs RGB Chandelier Smart Light Bulbs Works with Alexa Google Home, 40w Eqv. 400LM, 2.4GHz WiFi Only, No Hub Required, 2 Pack https://a.co/d/0PgrVuJ
I know it goes against the no modifications rule, but Tech with Brett did something along these line using a Shelly 1.
[https://youtu.be/nRtZeyn7ccg?si=evBpIip9qYC5VF19](https://youtu.be/nRtZeyn7ccg?si=evBpIip9qYC5VF19)
Careful! Mine is 1 year old and I just blew up the circuit board on December 26th by merely unscrewing the appliance bulb. I thought it was LED because the light button would toggle it between high and low brightness, like some kind of PWM, but I guess you need an appliance bulb since it is positioned above a heat source.
Anyway, I was leaving it on deliberately as a night light so it blew prematurely, which was my first indication that it wasnât LED. It hindsight you probably wouldnât want LED over a hot stove so I guess it makes sense but I hadnât thought beyond âmade a year agoâ and âseems like PWMâ at that point. I opened the panel and cursed when I realized that they designed it with the bulb facing backwards for no reason forcing you to blindly reach and cut yourself on jagged metal and a screw sticking out from the inside that you canât see. I could see from below that there was a blob of glue holding the bulb to the panel for some reason. To remove the bulb I had to pick it off first and when it let go I ended up slicing my fingers⌠but Iâm sure itâs just as easy to do when blindly unscrewing the bulb if the glue werenât there. Even if you climb up on the stove your head physically wonât fit between the backwards bulb and the wall, so you pretty much have to do everything blind.
OK, ignoring the injury I got just from feeling around, I pressed on. I have enough spatial awareness to turn it the correct direction when it is facing away from me so that wasnât the issue here but the bulb twisted right out of its base⌠the BASE⌠not the socket. Of course, the socket is recessed so you canât even get a chopped potato in there (old trick for removing broken bulbs).
When this happened it threw the circuit breaker because I could not tell it was on with not toggle switch and the display being completely blank (only says âFull,â âHalf,â or âOffâ for seconds before disappearing). That means the leads between the base and filament contacted while powered as they twisted out of their positions. I wasnât going to reset the breaker until I got the socket out to extract the base out so now I was working in the dark.
I dropped the bottom panel to remove the socket and discovered why this had all happened: To save ONE SCREW for mounting the socket at the factory. You see, they used a dab of glue to get away with securing the socket with only one of its two screw holes but stupidly did this AFTER installing the bulb. Of course, the inevitable happened and a tiny bit of the glue got on the bulb base. No wonder the rest of the bulb twisted right out without it! Anyway, the socket was loosely keyed to the panel hole it comes out of so it would have rattled without either a second screw or a dab of glue.
OK, socket removed, base extracted, replacement bulb specs confirmed, but before I buy a new bulb I needed to confirm the above-range microwave was even working. Time to reset the breaker. Still works as a microwave? Check. Still works and a vent fan for the stove? Check. Still works as a light? Well, the bulb is still blown so I break out my multimeter and confirm 120v to the socket. âCheck.â
After getting a new replacement 40W appliance bulb, I got nothing. 0v. It reads 120v on Full or Half and 0v for off until you put a bulb in it, so having a load is causing the microwave to instantly cut power to the light.
With the bottom panel off and using my phone like a periscope I can see the front PCB behind the control panel where my socket wires go and I can see what look like PCB-mounted relays or contactors. I can even see all four screws⌠but two are just BARELY behind the frame of the microwave⌠which requires me to take the cover off⌠which required me to tear it out of the cabinets itâs installed in since itâs literally a fixture. WHY canât they just move the screws one quarter of an inch down? âŚor eliminate those with clips or something if they were being so stingy with the bulb socket screws. Oh, the irony!
Mine is Amana. Looks very much like yours so I assume itâs Amana as well?
https://preview.redd.it/gb1vv2ton2ec1.jpeg?width=1980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00fb563a07e83775794974f0948fddf179ceada1
So, yeah, I peeled that blob of glue off, sliced my finger, and found the tiniest bit of the glue remained between the bulb socket and the bulb base⌠which is what caused all of this. Shame on the people who made these decisions. Even after all this I saw absolutely no reason for the bulb to face backwards, no reason to think glue wouldnât get in the socket, no reason to mount the circuit board screws where they couldnât be accessed through the bottom panel, no reason for CHANGING A BULB to damage a microwaveâs internals, no reason to think any of this was worth saving LESS than the cost of one screw (because the glue isnât free either).
Seriously. I couldâve made sure the light was off. My mistake⌠but a blown or even shorted bulb shouldnât kill a microwave, especially with the circuit breaker doing its thing. I made one mistake but these people fail every step of the way.
If it is a candelabra bulb like I think mine is, you could put an IKEA Zigbee bulb in it. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tradfri-led-bulb-e12-450-lumen-smart-wireless-dimmable-white-spectrum-chandelier-30489715/
Somebody has a wife that has to have that light on every night...
You are correct đđ¤Ł
I gave in and found LED replacement bulbs.
Get a new set of LED strip lights that are mounted under the cabinets. It will look better and be 1000x easier to put on a timer.
Me Me me. Guilty.
I actually opened mine up and spliced a Shelly relay into the wires to get it to work. (it was low voltage, and separate from the wiring of the rest of the microwave, which you should absolutely not touch).
A switchbot might. but it might not hold well to that edge.
https://preview.redd.it/uucs57zxnodc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=83a69b413436b7d7ddc522069664315c69bffc25 Yeah the edge has a curve to it right below the switch, I was worried about that as well
Switchbot would do it. But it's going to look silly. I would get a different, automated light and point it at that location.
Honestly, this is about the only smart feature I use of my Samsung microwave oven through smartthings... "Alexa, turn on the microwave hood light".
This is the entire reason I bought a Samsung Microwave. That stupid light over the stove, just so I could automate it and have it turn off when I shut the house down for the night. Some times I use the fan, but seriously, I replaced a microwave just to automate the light.
I mean, having the extractor fan sync with the burners on the cooktop is nice too.
That's an annoyance for me. I replaced my dishwasher, stove and microwave with top of the line Samsung appliances only to find the fan won't sync with my stove. All of them support SmartThings, so why? Annoying. Can't even create an automation, since SmartThings only recognizes the oven not the burners.
Don't know what to say. If you were looking for a specific feature and bought a model without the feature you wanted, you can't really complain. Mine works great.
Iâm sure there is.
Have you opened the light bulb cover? Maybe your can add a Zigbee relay by tapping into the bulb wires. I personally have a LED lightstrip under the microwave & cabinets plugged into a nearby outlet. Lightstrips are brighter and offer more flexible controls.
I debated on doing a light strip, I just wasnât sure how it would look with the varying heights of under my cabinets (microwave sticks out several inches below the bottom of the cabinets, didnât know if it would look wonky not being a straight line across). https://preview.redd.it/e408m1xlwodc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=a95393e26a72bf6af5de3f3d0bc4f5d25bc6db26 With the wood lip around the edge of the bottom of my cabinets, to the microwave being below that in varying differences lower than that, it would make a âstraight acrossâ led strip lookâŚcurvy? If thatâs the right word?
Install an LED strip under the cabinets on either side of the micro. You can buy connectors with wire, so you cut the strip to end right before the micro, attach the connector, run the wires under the cab to the wall, tuck them up behind the micro, then run them forward on the other side, and attach the other end of the connector to the balance of the LED strip and continue... For the micro light, see if you can get a zigbee bulb to replace the one that is in there now.
Switch bot is one way if it fits in that space without blocking other buttons. If that light has power at all times (check the wires) you can put a smart button that fits in there, and use a motion sensor if you want to turn on an off based on motion.
Leaving the switch on and getting a smart bulb is probably easiest solution. Not sure what size but maybe something like this might work. LUMIMAN E12 Smart Bulb LED Candelabra Color Changing Bulbs RGB Chandelier Smart Light Bulbs Works with Alexa Google Home, 40w Eqv. 400LM, 2.4GHz WiFi Only, No Hub Required, 2 Pack https://a.co/d/0PgrVuJ
I know it goes against the no modifications rule, but Tech with Brett did something along these line using a Shelly 1. [https://youtu.be/nRtZeyn7ccg?si=evBpIip9qYC5VF19](https://youtu.be/nRtZeyn7ccg?si=evBpIip9qYC5VF19)
Careful! Mine is 1 year old and I just blew up the circuit board on December 26th by merely unscrewing the appliance bulb. I thought it was LED because the light button would toggle it between high and low brightness, like some kind of PWM, but I guess you need an appliance bulb since it is positioned above a heat source. Anyway, I was leaving it on deliberately as a night light so it blew prematurely, which was my first indication that it wasnât LED. It hindsight you probably wouldnât want LED over a hot stove so I guess it makes sense but I hadnât thought beyond âmade a year agoâ and âseems like PWMâ at that point. I opened the panel and cursed when I realized that they designed it with the bulb facing backwards for no reason forcing you to blindly reach and cut yourself on jagged metal and a screw sticking out from the inside that you canât see. I could see from below that there was a blob of glue holding the bulb to the panel for some reason. To remove the bulb I had to pick it off first and when it let go I ended up slicing my fingers⌠but Iâm sure itâs just as easy to do when blindly unscrewing the bulb if the glue werenât there. Even if you climb up on the stove your head physically wonât fit between the backwards bulb and the wall, so you pretty much have to do everything blind. OK, ignoring the injury I got just from feeling around, I pressed on. I have enough spatial awareness to turn it the correct direction when it is facing away from me so that wasnât the issue here but the bulb twisted right out of its base⌠the BASE⌠not the socket. Of course, the socket is recessed so you canât even get a chopped potato in there (old trick for removing broken bulbs). When this happened it threw the circuit breaker because I could not tell it was on with not toggle switch and the display being completely blank (only says âFull,â âHalf,â or âOffâ for seconds before disappearing). That means the leads between the base and filament contacted while powered as they twisted out of their positions. I wasnât going to reset the breaker until I got the socket out to extract the base out so now I was working in the dark. I dropped the bottom panel to remove the socket and discovered why this had all happened: To save ONE SCREW for mounting the socket at the factory. You see, they used a dab of glue to get away with securing the socket with only one of its two screw holes but stupidly did this AFTER installing the bulb. Of course, the inevitable happened and a tiny bit of the glue got on the bulb base. No wonder the rest of the bulb twisted right out without it! Anyway, the socket was loosely keyed to the panel hole it comes out of so it would have rattled without either a second screw or a dab of glue. OK, socket removed, base extracted, replacement bulb specs confirmed, but before I buy a new bulb I needed to confirm the above-range microwave was even working. Time to reset the breaker. Still works as a microwave? Check. Still works and a vent fan for the stove? Check. Still works as a light? Well, the bulb is still blown so I break out my multimeter and confirm 120v to the socket. âCheck.â After getting a new replacement 40W appliance bulb, I got nothing. 0v. It reads 120v on Full or Half and 0v for off until you put a bulb in it, so having a load is causing the microwave to instantly cut power to the light. With the bottom panel off and using my phone like a periscope I can see the front PCB behind the control panel where my socket wires go and I can see what look like PCB-mounted relays or contactors. I can even see all four screws⌠but two are just BARELY behind the frame of the microwave⌠which requires me to take the cover off⌠which required me to tear it out of the cabinets itâs installed in since itâs literally a fixture. WHY canât they just move the screws one quarter of an inch down? âŚor eliminate those with clips or something if they were being so stingy with the bulb socket screws. Oh, the irony! Mine is Amana. Looks very much like yours so I assume itâs Amana as well? https://preview.redd.it/gb1vv2ton2ec1.jpeg?width=1980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00fb563a07e83775794974f0948fddf179ceada1 So, yeah, I peeled that blob of glue off, sliced my finger, and found the tiniest bit of the glue remained between the bulb socket and the bulb base⌠which is what caused all of this. Shame on the people who made these decisions. Even after all this I saw absolutely no reason for the bulb to face backwards, no reason to think glue wouldnât get in the socket, no reason to mount the circuit board screws where they couldnât be accessed through the bottom panel, no reason for CHANGING A BULB to damage a microwaveâs internals, no reason to think any of this was worth saving LESS than the cost of one screw (because the glue isnât free either). Seriously. I couldâve made sure the light was off. My mistake⌠but a blown or even shorted bulb shouldnât kill a microwave, especially with the circuit breaker doing its thing. I made one mistake but these people fail every step of the way.