Customer Reviews for Defiant 15 Amp In-Wall 3-Way Daylight Adjusting Digital Timer Switch with Screw Terminals, White

Good overall, worked great to have our exterior lights go on at dusk and off at sunrise automatically. However, the battery backup only last about four years and can’t be replaced! So now every time the power goes off for a split second it loses the program and has to be reset. OR we have to buy a whole new switch.

My electrician purchased / installed two of these (controlling exterior lighting) for a renovation. I wish I had them on more lights. The electrician said they were easy to program (I asked them to do it, since developing ptsd trying to program the one that came with my Mr. Steam towel warmer—a different brand). It’s great that there’s an override to turn them on/off in alternate hours. One of the two is turning off early, but I can’t say for sure if it’s a mechanical or programming issue.

You will never need to touch that light switch again! This little package knows Dawn and dusk through out the calendar year.

TESTED: It loses program setting. You have to program every time the power goes out. Very inconvenient. Overall a good product.

Watch "How to Program A Defiant Indoor In wall Digital Timer model 32648 - Instructions" on YouTube https://youtu.be/UiOUYEKC4MI

Easy to install and to program! It is a significant improvement over the older version that required a mobile device and an App to program. On the old version, reprogramming was required as the dusk/dawn times changed throughout the year. This newer version updates automatically. We will replace the older ones with this version, over time.

I don't have to worry about turning on the porch light anymore. Many times I have forgotten to turn them on. This auto light switch does it for me. Very easy to set up. You want be disappointed.

Recommend hiring electrician although it seems easy if you’re not familiar with wiring can be a bit much I love it works as promised

This switch was easy to install but a little tricky to program. I have a single pole installation so it was pretty straight forward. Constant power to line, device to load, bare wires to ground, and white wires to neutral. With a little tinkering I was able to get it programmed for dusk to dawn 7 days a week. It's working fine for me! I'll see how long it lasts.

The product works GREAT! It is easy to program, but not so easy to install. I had a hard time trying to figure out if the hot wire went to Line or Load. Also, if you have two travelers (3-way), they cannot go to the same screw connector. Since I am not an electrician, I didn't know that up front. There is a link to a video showing how to wire the timer, but only for single pole. Defiant needs to also include a video on how to wire a 3-way.

Somewhat pricey. A little difficult to see display. Easier to program after watching some of the YouTube videos. Overall, satisfied.

I purchased 2 timers. One for the front porch and one for the back porch lights. Easy to program. I didn’t have a problem. They work great so far. We’ll see how they hold up in time... I like the fact that when we’re away, we know the lights will be timed to make it look like we’re home. Good product.

I like the product. I have a suggestion to clear up some confusion I had on the switch “on/off” feature for programming. This wasn’t clear to me. Please add a sentence to further explain. Thanks

I’ve been wanting a timer switch to control my outdoor lighting on/off times. Only problem is most of these timer switches require a neutral wire which was not accessible in my switch box. Then along comes this timer switch - it uses a small battery to maintain your program settings instead of a neutral wire. I’m in business. Some have complained about programming the timer. I had some difficultly too until I realized that ON and OFF each need to be separate “events.” ON = Event 1, OFF = Event 2 for example. I assumed that each on and off cycle would be the same event number, but that is not correct. Also like that I can program in “dusk” for an ON time, and the switch knows when dusk is throughout the year. Pretty cool.

Well made with screw terminals for a solid connection instead of just pigtail wires. I bought these for the automatic dusk setting to avoid having to constantly change the times lights come on as the seasons shift.

Works great. I used it for dawn to dusk lighting and it was very simple to use. Unlike another brand that was very complicated to program, this was very simple.

I have 4 of these in my house for various lights, they last about 4-5 years. Great for outside lights! Easy to install! Easy to program!

Installed as described in instructions. YouTube helped ensure where my neutral wire was as I had three single pole switches wired up as open circuits on the load lines.

I am using these timers with recessed cans and Philips 9290018927 (also called the 532969) Full Spectrum White PAR38 LED Grow Lamps. I bought the cans at Home Depot too (but they don't carry the Philips grow LED yet). These work GREAT, controlling the lights over my plants, at pre-set times so I don't have to. The 5000K, daylight color are especially great for brightening dark corners of rooms in gloomy New England winters! Put some plants in your home without using those purple grow lamps everyone is selling. See my attached photos that show a great application for these timers. If there is one gripe I have- it is the blue back-lit display (which goes out when not programming). Blue looks cool but is not the best color for reading the display.

I've had this timer installed, running my front porch light, for about 2 years now. I have the older version, with the rectangular clicker style buttons. I have had no problems at all with it, besides my toddler climbing on the couch and pressing the switch cover to turn it off from time to time! Originally I had some difficulty programming it. It took a couple of days of testing to get it right but after setting it up I haven't had to mess with it again. The internal battery even kept my settings while my power was out for 6 days due to Irma! It's an excellent security upgrade for your home. I have the timer set to turn my light on each night and off each morning at slightly different times, to make it not obvious a timer is controlling the light, just in case a thief is keeping track of it. The only down side to this switch is that it's rather large so it may be difficult to squeeze into a 1-gang box. When I removed my original porch light switch I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in a 2-gang box. I just cut the drywall around the box, chipped the stucco off the 1-gang raised cover, installed the timer, and covered the box and hole up with an oversized Kyle decora rocker switch plate. It came out looking and working great!

Easy instructions for install. Once you've killed power & removed the old switch you'll need to know which black wire is "load" & which black wire is "line". You may need a jumper wire (that's provided) for the neutral. (white) The green wire is the ground wire. Make sure connections are intact. In some cases you may be wiring up a 3-way switch instead of a single switch refer to the instructions. Once wired & the breaker is back on you'll just need to set the times you want. My outside garage lights are in auto mode & work great. Remember to purchase a cover plate if it's needed.

This replaced a similar timer I installed 5yrs ago. Timer has multiple schedule optons to choose. Programming can be a bit confusing when reading the paper instructions. I recommend watching a YouTube video to make it a breeze.

Easy to install and program, works great set it and forget

Great digital timer for my front porch light. Instructions were clear (small font - needed glasses). Easy to press on/off for manual control if needed. Installed in a side-by-side plate next to inside entry way switch, purchased from HD at the same time. Timer can be set to dusk/dawn and you tell it your latitudinal area based on the instructions - North, Central, South, etc. Not regular time zones. Confused me at first. You set the time yourself. The latitude zone lets the timer know when dusk & dawn is based on your latitude & time of year. Science... Very happy with this timer and a great price.

Wanted something to turn the front porch lights on and off on a schedule and this does the job. Was really easy to install. Don't forget the face plate!

I have only owned this for a couple of weeks. It was very easy to install and set up. Nice how it will easily set lights to go on at dusk and off at dawn, taking into account daylight saving time. Good to have in an area where it is shaded during the day which will trick the photo sensor type of devices into keeping a light from turning off since it thinks it is dark enough to keep on a connected light. I also had to purchase a new 3 gang wall plate to accommodate this Decora style switch, since the switch I replace this with was a toggle type. I am waiting to see how this works out over time. I have had electronic type timers before where the time will drift over time and have to be reset. After calling support on this one, they told me this unit has a capacitor that will supply power to this unit in the event of a power failure, so maybe it will not lose time.

I needed a digital timer to turn on the outside lights in the evening and turn them off around bedtime. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money for an expensive WiFi smart switch, but wanted programming flexibility. This Defiant timer had what I was looking for. The programming took a moment to get the hang of, but after doing it a few times, I got it (despite the little buttons and tiny print of the instructions). I only use two of the seven programs, but like the flexibility of having different programs that can be applied to so many different combinations of a week or day. I also like the random function which turns the lights on and off within 30 minutes of the scheduled times (people don’t know if we’re home). The timer also has a countdown function, but I will rarely use it, if ever. I can see how it could be helpful though. This timer also allows me to set the dusk and dawn times for my zone and then automatically adjusts for daylight savings time and changes in dusk and dawn times throughout the year. This timer can be used in both 3 way and single pole installations and I used it to replace a single pole switch. Installation took some time to figure out given I'm not an electrician and the timer requires a neutral wire in the switch box to operate properly. Lucky for me there was access to a neutral wire in the switch box. (To be safe, I had a licensed electrician review my work. He said I did it correctly. Phew!). I was a little confused by the specifications though. The timer can be used with incandescent bulbs, LEDs, CFLs and ceiling fans, and while the front of the package says, “15Amp/120V/ 1800Watts,” the back of the package says 120 VAC, 60 Hz, 15A resistive, 10A for tungsten (which is referring to incandescent bulbs since they use a tungsten filament), 10A for a ballast (which is referring to CFL bulbs), and 1/2 horsepower motor, which refers to fans. To further confuse me, the instructions inside the package say it’s rated for 125 VAC at 60 HZ. They need to get their facts straight!!! Anyway, glad I read the instructions thoroughly before installing it. The timer's display is a pretty blue and easy enough to read. I wish I could keep the display on at night so I could find the switch in the dark. Overall a nice inexpensive product that has made our lives easier.

Installed two side-by-side to replace switches for porch lamps and front porch overhead lights. These were simple single-pole installations. Had to come off a common in the box to feed the common inputs. If your box is only a switch loop without a common in the box, this will not work. Other than the need to have a common, wiring is a snap. I like how the wires are pushed into holes in the back and then you tighten down the screws to hold the wire in place, even the ground wire. Less wires to try and push back into the box. Programming is easy. Straightforward if you follow the printed instructions exactly. Read them all the way through before you begin programming. Also the video does help clear up things if you watch it all the way through.

My application was fairly simple, I'm using the timer to turn on my outside garage lights from dusk until dawn. It was not a three way circuit so the wiring was straight forward. The setup was not too difficult and I used the daylight feature to automatically change the internal clock. When daylight savings time ended last weekend, the feature worked perfectly.

Bought a similar timer last year but it didn't do daylight savings time. Was pleased to find this one for cheaper with better features. It was easy to install and works great. Programming is a bit of a pain (learned that last year with the other one and it continues to be true with this one.) Since this unit has a battery (for time and programming back-up during power failures) I was able to program it sitting comfortably at my work bench with good lighting instead of mounting it first and bending over in poor light like last year. What a difference that made! I tied it into the porch light and the living room outlet that the inside lamp is plugged into and programmed it for both lights to come on at dusk and go off at midnight. I always come home to a lit porch light and a lit living room light when I go out late afternoon and come home after dark. And when the lights go out, I know it's time to go to bed.