Switch Bindings with smart bulbs in 2 way and group config

I have installed quite a few blue series dimmers and they all are connected to Philips Hue smart bulbs. There are few problems that I am unable to resolve:

  1. 2 way status updates not working - Switch controls the light perfectly and switch changes through home assistant also controls the light. However, if I turn of the light or change brightness, the change does not reflect to the switch. I tried adding bulb+switch in a group, tried zigbee binding between bulb and switch but nothing changes.
  2. Bulb fading while turning on/off does not sync with switch. Bulb turns off/on in a second, but led bar on the switch takes ~3 seconds to go up/down.
  3. Multiway smart switch config works from one switch. I have 2 swicthes andthey both are connected to hub. I added them to a zigbee group, but changes on switch 1 reflect on switch 2, but changes from switch 2 are not reflected on switch 1. I tried creating two zigbee bindings; switch1->switch2 and switch2->switch1 and they both sync. But I assume a group configuration should also work.
  4. 2 way status updates not working with light group and 3 way switch configuration. Basically this is combination of #1 and #3. I have a light group that needs to be controlled by 3 way switches. Zigbee binding switch+light group works but it’s one way (turning on/off light group from home assistant does not reflect on switch) and the switch 2 is not synced (turning off from switch 1 turns off light group and reflect on led bar, wont reflect on switch 2)
    I am not sure if this is a bug/misconfiguration or this is how it’s supposed to work. Appreciating any help from the community!

For #2, change the ramp and dimming settings in the switch to match the bulb.

I don’t know anything about the others because I don’t use ZigBee switches.

You want to put the switch and all of the bulbs in a group. And then you bind the switch to the group. From Home Assistant, you should only send commands to the group and it should maintain sync.

You should create a group, put all of the relevant switches in the group and then bind each switch to the group. Again, you should only send commands to the group from Home Assistant…

This is basically a combination of the above. Include all of the smart bulbs and all of the switches in the same group. Bind each switch to the group and then once again only send commands to the group and things should maintain sync.

thanks @PJF and @rohan for suggestions.
It looks like this is by design that direct bulb changes won’t reflect to the switch. Controlling the bulbs via Alexa will be out of sync. If we expose the switch to Alexa on/off will work, but then we will lose color control. Another option is to create a template light in home assistant but that’s a lot of manual work. Any other better suggestions?

This is because the bulbs cannot bind back to the switch or the group. So if the commands are not sent to the group, they won’t stay in sync.

I ain’t use Alexa, but would linking the group to Alexa solve your problem? Since it also is a light entity in Home Assistant.