Yet another interesting video, Brian. I know you like these folks and I have a couple their Switchbots and temp sensors installed, but I wish they'd start using LoRa if they're going to require their hub and give me some reason to install yet another hub. Also IMHO the last thing we need is yet another cheap "smart" camera. I've used a lot of those cameras and am certainly not needing more. I do find that adding light sensing is interesting as well as adding motion to the switch. I'll keep using what I have of theirs and will watch for new stuff, but they need to have some technical feature that makes them truly stand out from the rest. Thanks again!
Switchbot is definitely becoming a serious competitor to smarthings and hue ! I do prefer the really compact design of wyze products, but their range is really bad, at least in my house. As for Switchbot, I still wait to encounter a problem !
i love switchbot very reliable just extremely slow i have hue motion sensors and lights turn on instantly where as switchbot takes 2-4 seconds depending on room.
Just FYI, you have a phone number off your personal phone displayed... a voicemail number. You may or may not care but thought I'd let you know in case you missed it. :) If you do care and decide to blur it out or not, feel free to delete this comment once you read it :)
Thanks Brent! No that one's OK...I mean if people want to try and get my messages they can but thank you for pointing it out! So helpful when people are looking out for you. Also the tape! Thanks for the reminder there. geni.us/DoubleSidedTape (Amazon affiliate link)
I am not having a fun time with Switchbot products. They respond slow and heck. Everything is connected properly. My smart lights respond very quickly when asking google or alexa to turn them on but switchbot turning off the same light using motion is slow slow i could literally go in and come out before it even turns it on. Any suggestions @Automate Your Life ? Switchbot has been a terrible experience so far.
That's a bit odd. I've had delays sometimes, and right now I know there are some delays because of a couple of AWS outages wreaking havoc with things. I would chat with their support about the time it takes to respond. It can happen like this depending on the route you're using. Maybe Alexa from SwitchBot?
@@AutomateYourLife so right now I only have the Alexa on my phone not using an actual speaker. If switchbot was communicating through the actual speaker and not just the app on my phone might it be a little quicker? I noticed the routines generally are only working when the app is open on my phone if I close the app walk away from my phone and my phone locks the motion sensor will still turn on the light sometimes but never shuts it off. If I open the app it's almost like it remembers to do the routine so maybe it is possible if I get an Alexa Flex the routines might work a little smoother?
Hmmmm no probably not a TON quicker. It's all cloud/server based. But might help a bit. Here's what I'd do to test. Test an automation just inside of SwitchBot. Try a motion sensor triggering anything and see how quick that is. Then go external to ifttt and test that. Then go to Alexa. You'll feel the problem quickly!
@@AutomateYourLife I used ifft and it works much faster and very smoothly responds within 5 seconds and light shuts off after a minute of no motion works much quicker much more smoothly. Thank you for the fantastic advice you have earned not only my subscription but if you have patreon I'll be on that list too.
@@AutomateYourLife Just an update here in case you or anyone runs into this or you can include this in one of your videos because I read negative reviews online about the sensors being inconsistent. So first I noticed if I didnt go into the room with the sensor for hours it was just inactive and i would have to open IFTTT app. How I fixed this was I went into my phone's battery settings and set it so Switchbot, Alexa and IFTTT never get put to sleep. NOW it has been days with fairly consistent operation. I still feel Switchbot products are on the lower end of quality and the delay is still 3-5 seconds for the light to turn on but I feel that is manageable and the fact I dont have to be home or have to keep opening the app for it to work is a big bonus
I am not sure what "features" I really want on a contact sensor. All I want to know is if the door is open or closed, if the device is tampered with and if the battery is good for battery operated devices :). That aside, Switchbot have come a long way and created a really great ecosystem.
Yeah it's an interesting take, and you know what...I allllllllways appreciate a company pushing the boundaries of what a device should do. It's the only way we'll see innovation in this industry. So I like the idea, even if I don't personally have a use for the button. I do like the motion sensing part, but I wish Amazon could bring both sensors across!
@@AutomateYourLife Relying on Amazon or Google to bring sensors in on their own is probably pushing the boundaries a bit too far. I still think having a separate hub that can pull all the sensors and send them to Google or Amazon is a better way, and gives options should Google or Amazon go offline for whatever reason, or (as Paul Hibbert may say) Jeff Bezos decides he needs more yachts lol.
@@AutomateYourLife do you think SwitchBot will jump to thread in the future? Perhaps a firmware update like Eve did? Also would you choose SwitchBot or Yolink for sensors?
Yet another interesting video, Brian. I know you like these folks and I have a couple their Switchbots and temp sensors installed, but I wish they'd start using LoRa if they're going to require their hub and give me some reason to install yet another hub. Also IMHO the last thing we need is yet another cheap "smart" camera. I've used a lot of those cameras and am certainly not needing more. I do find that adding light sensing is interesting as well as adding motion to the switch. I'll keep using what I have of theirs and will watch for new stuff, but they need to have some technical feature that makes them truly stand out from the rest. Thanks again!
Watch that other one I released today Hugh...you might just find that simple automation you're after! I have a hunch! :)
Have you tried these products with Home Assistant? Specifically the motion sensor and the contact sensor.
Nope! Sorry!
Switchbot is definitely becoming a serious competitor to smarthings and hue ! I do prefer the really compact design of wyze products, but their range is really bad, at least in my house. As for Switchbot, I still wait to encounter a problem !
Well that's a pretty good sign...these aren't perfect, but SwitchBot's done well
i love switchbot very reliable just extremely slow i have hue motion sensors and lights turn on instantly where as switchbot takes 2-4 seconds depending on room.
Agreed. To bridge across to lighting it can be slower. Have you tried some of SwitchBot's own lighting? It can be a little quicker. :)
Do you know the cool down time for the motion sensor?
Just remember! Switchbot products can't be added in Routines was a trigger!!! Also whith hub... I have made That mistake
Alexa routines no, but Smartthings routines! Don't even need an ST hub for that
@@AutomateYourLife thanks for the info...doesnt know that... my intention was turn on a smart plug ...for heter in winter... dont know how
Hey Brian, what's the cooldown time for the motion sensor and the door sensor?
Just FYI, you have a phone number off your personal phone displayed... a voicemail number. You may or may not care but thought I'd let you know in case you missed it. :) If you do care and decide to blur it out or not, feel free to delete this comment once you read it :)
Oh, also, you mentioned you were going to leave a link for your double sided sticky tape but I don't see it :)
Thanks Brent! No that one's OK...I mean if people want to try and get my messages they can but thank you for pointing it out! So helpful when people are looking out for you.
Also the tape! Thanks for the reminder there. geni.us/DoubleSidedTape (Amazon affiliate link)
I am not having a fun time with Switchbot products. They respond slow and heck. Everything is connected properly. My smart lights respond very quickly when asking google or alexa to turn them on but switchbot turning off the same light using motion is slow slow i could literally go in and come out before it even turns it on. Any suggestions @Automate Your Life ? Switchbot has been a terrible experience so far.
That's a bit odd. I've had delays sometimes, and right now I know there are some delays because of a couple of AWS outages wreaking havoc with things.
I would chat with their support about the time it takes to respond. It can happen like this depending on the route you're using. Maybe Alexa from SwitchBot?
@@AutomateYourLife so right now I only have the Alexa on my phone not using an actual speaker. If switchbot was communicating through the actual speaker and not just the app on my phone might it be a little quicker? I noticed the routines generally are only working when the app is open on my phone if I close the app walk away from my phone and my phone locks the motion sensor will still turn on the light sometimes but never shuts it off. If I open the app it's almost like it remembers to do the routine so maybe it is possible if I get an Alexa Flex the routines might work a little smoother?
Hmmmm no probably not a TON quicker. It's all cloud/server based. But might help a bit.
Here's what I'd do to test.
Test an automation just inside of SwitchBot. Try a motion sensor triggering anything and see how quick that is. Then go external to ifttt and test that. Then go to Alexa. You'll feel the problem quickly!
@@AutomateYourLife I used ifft and it works much faster and very smoothly responds within 5 seconds and light shuts off after a minute of no motion works much quicker much more smoothly. Thank you for the fantastic advice you have earned not only my subscription but if you have patreon I'll be on that list too.
@@AutomateYourLife Just an update here in case you or anyone runs into this or you can include this in one of your videos because I read negative reviews online about the sensors being inconsistent. So first I noticed if I didnt go into the room with the sensor for hours it was just inactive and i would have to open IFTTT app. How I fixed this was I went into my phone's battery settings and set it so Switchbot, Alexa and IFTTT never get put to sleep. NOW it has been days with fairly consistent operation. I still feel Switchbot products are on the lower end of quality and the delay is still 3-5 seconds for the light to turn on but I feel that is manageable and the fact I dont have to be home or have to keep opening the app for it to work is a big bonus
Brian, thank you for making this interesting video.
Thanks sir! Good to see ya!
I am not sure what "features" I really want on a contact sensor. All I want to know is if the door is open or closed, if the device is tampered with and if the battery is good for battery operated devices :).
That aside, Switchbot have come a long way and created a really great ecosystem.
Yeah it's an interesting take, and you know what...I allllllllways appreciate a company pushing the boundaries of what a device should do. It's the only way we'll see innovation in this industry. So I like the idea, even if I don't personally have a use for the button.
I do like the motion sensing part, but I wish Amazon could bring both sensors across!
@@AutomateYourLife Relying on Amazon or Google to bring sensors in on their own is probably pushing the boundaries a bit too far. I still think having a separate hub that can pull all the sensors and send them to Google or Amazon is a better way, and gives options should Google or Amazon go offline for whatever reason, or (as Paul Hibbert may say) Jeff Bezos decides he needs more yachts lol.
Switchbot Products are cool,great review.👍
Thanks Lany!!
It's all switchbot today 🤣
I dub it, SwitchBot Day!
Thank you sir. Great info.
So nice of you sir! Thank you!
😁😁😁👍👍👍
😁😁😁😁
Another great video
Thanks Tim!😀😀
Can these be added to Home Assistant to create and run automations there?
Don't know! I actually haven't bothered. I guess I'll add it to the list of tests from now on...you guys ask alot
@@AutomateYourLife That's cos we, as subscribers, value your opinion quite a bit! ;)
And I value you guys!!
Is this communicating to the hub by using Bluetooth?
Yep! Pretty much all SwitchBot's products do Eric :)
@@AutomateYourLife huh. Is it reliable and fast enough? Wouldn’t other protocols be better?
That's in the video a few times
@@AutomateYourLife do you think SwitchBot will jump to thread in the future? Perhaps a firmware update like Eve did? Also would you choose SwitchBot or Yolink for sensors?