- Today we're bringing another non-native HomeKit product
into a HomeKit called SwitchBot.
Let's jump into the video.
Welcome back friends.
If this is your first time here,
my name is Eric.
If you're in the smart homes, home automation,
and especially HomeKit,
you're definitely in the right place.
Today's video is a part of my HOOBS series.
If you don't know what HOOBS is,
is a simple little device that
brings non-native HomeKit products into HomeKit.
Full disclosure SwitchBot did send these out to me
for honest review,
but that's not gonna sway my opinion
in one way or another.
If I don't like something
I'm definitely gonna let you know.
I'm also doing a giveaway in this video.
So definitely stay tuned.
So SwitchBot comes in two different colors,
black or white,
and they are little tiny Bluetooth devices
that can connect directly to your phone via Bluetooth 4.1.
Or you can actually connect it to the web
if you buy the SwitchBot mini hub.
I think they also have a bigger hub that looks like cloud.
I'm not quite sure what the difference is,
but the mini hub is a little bit cheaper
and I think that's pretty much all you need.
When it comes to the actual device,
these things are pretty simple.
All it is, is a little tiny box,
with a venue the comes out,
and pushes the buttons of the device
that you want to trigger.
The places where you can put these things is endless.
It's really only limited by your imagination.
So the places that you can put these,
are on your coffee machines, microwaves,
ovens, baby sound machines, thermostats, TVs.
The list goes on and on.
It does come with a cr2 battery
which they mentioned should last about 600 days.
I'll be updating my full pros and cons list
on my website with my own personal battery life.
So if you want to get updates on that
definitely check out the link down below.
When it came to install these,
these things are really simple and easy to install.
Just want to expose the 3m adhesive on the back,
and just place this onto the device.
Now you do want to line this up perfectly with the button.
Now, these things are not the smallest things.
They are not the best looking things.
I do wish it was a little bit smaller.
I found a couple places that really want to put these
but because there's other buttons in the way
or other things, I couldn't do it.
You do have to have enough of the double sided tape
on the device.
So things are in the way it's just not gonna work.
So if they could just make a little bit smaller
you can really get more uses out of it.
Now I did find the double sided adhesive to be very strong.
Once you put this on there, it's not gonna come off
unless you prying it off.
Now I did pry it off because I wanted to get multiple shots.
And once you pull it off, it's not sticky that much anymore.
It's not gonna work on a second location.
They do include a second double sided adhesive.
So you can get at least one more time
and they also sell online,
where you can buy more of these.
They include two low attachments or the palace switches.
You can get more of these online also.
If you do want to use these with any of your assistance,
you definitely have to pick up one of the mini hubs.
This will allowed to connect a lady A, Google,
IFTTT, Siri shortcuts, SmartThings.
And now I'm gonna show you how I got it into HomeKit.
To do this you will need HOOBS,
which stands for Home Bridge Outbox.
HOOBS is the easiest way to do Home Bridge as far as I know.
You can get your own Raspberry Pi and do Homebridge
and do your own thing if you're more advanced.
But I think having HOOBS is definitely the easiest way.
I did a full review and install of HOOBS.
So if you wanna see that video, definitely check that out.
Once you have HOOBS up and running
there is two different ways that you can get your Switch Bot
in the HomeKit.
One is through IFTTT
which my friend Shane Wildly,
he did a video on this procedure, which is a great video.
So if you wanna check out his video
and you want to use IFTT,
definitely check out that video right there.
Recently though, IFTT announced
they're gonna start charging monthly service charges
to their users, which I think is just hilarious.
This bait and switch stuff happens all the time.
And I think it's just ridiculous.
I'm not big on service charges,
especially if they're monthly ongoing,
I'm not gonna get into drama.
But in a nutshell, if you're locking in now
it's gonna be 1.99 per month.
I'm not big on any type of monthly service charges.
So if there's a way that I can get around it
and have a one time charge and be done with it,
that's what I'm all about.
So I did find another way in now is using SmartThings.
The great thing about using SmartThings and HOOBS,
is that you buy the hub and you can use this
with many other smart home products.
Recently, I did a whole house water shutoff valve
and is now exposed to my HomeKit.
And that is through SmartThings and HOOBS.
If you haven't seen that video,
you definitely gotta check it out,
it is something you want in your smart house.
So I'm all for having a SmartThings hub,
even though I've said many many times over the years
that I hate hubs,
I don't think they should exist.
They should be banned.
But then again,
I have more hubs than most people,
but also I review a lot of products.
I do dream of a day that we will be hubless,
or at least just one hub or one router.
That's all that's really needed in your house.
Should have one device and be done.
I know that day is coming.
Well jump off my soapbox now.
Let's go ahead and jump into HOOBS and set up SmartThings.
It actually took me about 25 to 30 minutes
to set this up through SmartThings and through HOOBS.
Even that is quite easy,
there are instructions on the HOOBS website
that is step by step.
I'm not gonna go into details here
simply because the instructions are quite detailed.
But there are a lot of different steps
that you do have to go through.
You just need to follow the steps
and you'll have no problem whatsoever.
Once you got HOOBS and SmartThings set up,
all you need to do to bring these devices in the HomeKit,
is to go back into SmartThings,
go into your SmartApps,
go into Homebridge,
and then select which SmartThings devices
you want to bring into HomeKit.
Once you completed that,
go into HomeKit go in your default room
and you'll see your device.
Go ahead and put this into the proper room
and give it a try.
Now, depending on what you're using your SwitchBot on
you might have to but it in different modes,
or you might have to hold down the button longer.
To do that you will have to download the SwitchBot app.
Mainly this is gonna be used
for selecting what type of mode you're on,
or for custom settings.
Once you change your settings
those are automatically be stored in your device.
And once you activate this with HomeKit or SmartThings
it's gonna act the way that you originally set this up.
The only minor issue I had was when I installed this
on a lutron electronic dimmer switch,
even on the lowest setting, which is zero seconds,
I did find that it held the switch too long
and actually would dim it
instead of actually shutting it off.
So that's just my particular case in my particular switch.
But if you're gonna use this on a normal power switch
you won't have any issues whatsoever.
But other than that, I did find these to be very useful.
You can put these things anywhere
especially if you live in apartment buildings
or if you don't want to do electrical work
you can throw these onto normal palace switches.
I do wish they were a little bit smaller
just because I know I have an imagination
that can really throw this a lot of different things.
But unfortunately,
because the size is a little bit limited.
So I would like to see a next version
that has little bit smaller, really be cool.
Other than that, I think these things are awesome.
I am gonna be doing a giveaway sponsored by SwitchBot.
I'm gonna be giving away two SwitchBots,
one black one white,
and one mini hub to two lucky winners,
one on Instagram and one on Twitter.
For full details and rules on how to enter,
definitely check out the description down below.
SwitchBot also has a couple other products.
One they sent over was a temperature and humidity sensor,
which I'm happy to report,
that you can get this into HomeKit also
via the same process through SmartThings into HOOBS.
I did find it to work fairly well
but one thing you do want to remember
is that you still have to stay within the range
of your mini hub.
So it might be a little bit more effective.
If you go with a native HomeKit product.
It really depends on pricing.
But I did like this it has a nice little screen on there.
So if you do end up getting one of these,
you can definitely bring in this in the HomeKit.
Other item that I'm super excited about
which I might be using in my studio,
if I can get some curtains up here
is there a SwitchBot curtain.
Now this is not fully released yet.
It originally started on,
I think it's Kickstarter, Indiegogo,
and it's a very unique product for curtains.
So definitely check out the SwitchBot curtains,
if you have current, I'll leave a link down below.
Where you get more information on that.
I sincerely want to thank my Patreon members,
I truly appreciate the love and support,
and how they back me financially.
Even though I don't do this channel for financial reasons,
I do it more for how much I love smart home,
how much I love tech and providing information
and value to you guys.
And with their support,
I can bring more content to you guys.
So I truly appreciate them.
I will be doing more stuff on Patreon
So if you want to become one of my Patreon members
I'll be leaving a link down below.
But it is not necessary.
I give all my reviews for free right here on YouTube.
If you want to see more of my reviews
make sure you hit that subscribe button right there.
And if you want to see more HOOB videos,
and how I'm bringing non-native HomeKit products
into HomeKit definitely check out this playlist right there.
Thanks for watching.
I'll see you on the next one.
I'm out.
♪ No nothing can break me. ♪