Switchbot vs Switchmate: How to convert regular switch to a smart switch
My quest to convert all my lights to be controlled by Alexa or Google or, at minimum, iPhone controlled led me to Switchbot vs Switchmate. I bought a few Switchmate rocker switches and it was a terrible product. After my terrible experience with the Deebot M80 robovacs, Switchmate switches were the next worst gadgets I’ve owned.
The Switchmate software and Alexa/Google Home integration is completely and utterly not usable and terribly excruciating to deal with. Switchmate is junk, $60 wasted.
I liked the Switchmate hardware and hoped that the device would have some OTA updates and work, unfortunately it’s junk due to terrible software. The hub is bulky and has horrendous WiFi + Bluetooth connectivity. Here’s what the hub and rocker switch look like:
So the search to convert these legacy rocker switches to be smarter. Somehow (Amazon or Instagram ad?), I came across Switchbot and these awkwardly designed bots are fantastic!
For $121, I got the Bot combo which includes 2 switches, a temperature & humidity monitor, and the hub. I don’t like the design, you can definitely see that the design team tried their best to make these things as tiny as possible but the overall thread, sticker, pull/push mechanism seems wonky. Switchbot also has a bunch of accessories like temperature and humidity monitor which come as part of the bundle. There’s one for controlling your curtains!
Switchbot’s awkwardly designed bots are fantastic. And the additional accessories work as advertised.
Connecting my first Switchbot to Alexa and Google Home took a bit of support from the company (also, goood support!):
- Support sent me a firmware update
- Shared the the steps to enable “cloud” connectivity for the switch
- I was all set and everything worked magically after that!
The Switchbot app is simple to use, some useful features:
- Simple logs for every switch and hub
- Adding a new bot is simple
- I can see the logs for the Switchbot temperature and humidity monitor
- I have setup schedules for some of the lights to tune ON/OFF at specific times
With Alexa setup, these regular switches turn ON/OFF when I want them to, and all lights turn OFF at a single command. It’s beautiful. Here’s another photo, a video and some screenshots of the app:
