Setup and review of SwitchBot Bot, Hub mini, and hygrometer with Alexa smart home

[@wrenmarxen4481]

@GreenRoomPythons had a video showing SwitchBot, and i was curious how the app functioned, and you explained it extreamly well. I think this will work perfectly for what i need, thank you for your review

[@ve9185]

Thanks for the switch bot configuration on the switch for on/off.

[@goodway-kc2ot]

This project you have done is so great I sincerely want to do so many more like this i am from india

[@glenn413333333a]

Great video, I was completely lost trying to set these up to work with voice (google home/Alexa)

[@reallyMello]

Thanks Glenn, I'm glad this got your Switchbot working.

[@mykelv9693]

I successfully installed mine. However my staircase has two switches. One at the bottom one at the top. The off and on button interchanges when I flick the other switch. Off becomes on and on becomes off. Is there a way I can just ask google to "flick switch " without specifying on or off?

[@megakx]

Thank you for being through.

[@chrisumali9841]

Thanks for the demo and info, Autobot Transform! lol

[@reallyMello]

Thanks Chris!

[@jamielaird311]

Hey, great video! I am going to be out of my home for a while but we need to keep the AC running to reduce humidity. Once I have the hub mini set up, will I be able to remotely control the switch bot switch to turn my ac on and off despite the fact I’ll be very far away from my home?

[@reallyMello]

Is this for a central AC or portable unit?

[@matthewtadele8642]

Thank you for the great video! I don’t know if something is wrong with my switchbot, but whenever I try to turn off my lights, it pushed too far and the bot loses its grip. Am I able to shorten the distance that the bot travels?

[@reallyMello]

You may need to adjust, vertically, the placement of where you have the switchbot to alleviate that. I am not aware of a setting to shorten the travel distance of the bot's arm. Is it a faceplate similar to mine? Another idea if the adjustment doesn't work is maybe adding a spacer in the form of double-sided foam tape to have it stand off a bit too.

[@feynthefallen]

You never showed the thermometer working with alexa, which is what really would have interested me

[@reallyMello]

Thanks for the feedback

[@TheGregWeir]

Yeah, I was hoping to see that as well. Can't get my Echo Show 8 to recognize the Meter/Hydro even though the app does.

[@reallyMello]

Do you also have the switchbot hub? It’s needed for the Alexa/Echo integration (the hub is what provides their connection to the internet)

[@glowedupglen]

Quick question; can you automate the switch to "double click" a button?

[@reallyMello]

It can only do like push and pull motions. If you are after a mouse double click type motion it doesn’t move that fast in sequence.

[@mdnurfud]

Hi. Switchbot can set maximum 5 press schedules. If i buy Hub Mini, will i be able to set more than perhaps 20 press schedules?

[@reallyMello]

I’m not sure if there is a scene limit but with the hub if you have Alexa, google home, ifttt, could use that that to create even more and it integrates via the hub

[@irishcowboy6908]

Does this Swtich works with WiFi And Always needs to be around it for Bluetooth activity???

[@reallyMello]

If you pair the devices with the hub or hub mini then it works over wifi.

[@automaticasa_matteosulis]

Don't forget Samsung Smartthings! The integration of a switchbot in ST allows you to much more powerful and detailed automations than IFTTT, Alexa or Google Assistant!

[@reallyMello]

Good to know. What do you have yours doing?

[@automaticasa_matteosulis]

@@reallyMello the mini Hub turns on/off the home theater within the goodmorning/goodnight and I'm home/out of home routines, plus some IR controlled Xmas lights. The Bot activates my Espresso maker within the good morning routine so when I get there it's ready for brewing (it needs to pre-heat and wash the circuit, takes a minute or so, no point in waiting when you can have it ready to go in advance)

[@reallyMello]

@@automaticasa_matteosulis fun. I have it shut off the tv and living room lights on “Alexa goodnight”

[@liaisonhomeautomationoffic3365]

Awesome! Thank you for making this video!

[@reallyMello]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo]

Hey boss thanks! Could I setup the bot to run on a schedule without a hub?

[@reallyMello]

Hey there, you’d need the hub to do that

[@MagedEdward]

for the thermometer, can it auto turn on/off the bot once it reach a certain temperature?

[@reallyMello]

Yes it can drive automation conditions

[@IMChessMD]

Thanks for the great review! Question: How do I know if my Samsung TV will be able to be programmed by the Hub mini? And if it does work, does it need the switchbot to click the button or is it via Alexa and Bluetooth?

[@reallyMello]

Hi there, if you get the Switchbot hub mini that I showed in the review it has a built in IR blaster that will send the signals to the TV like a remote control so you wouldn't need to have a Switchbot "bot" push any physical buttons. It seems to have profiles for most Samsung TVs so chances are it is compatible.

[@IMChessMD]

@reallyMello thanks so much for the response man!

[@binhvandu3175]

❤

[@rawn5309]

You have to pay for an app before you can use switchbot hub mini?

[@reallyMello]

No

[@hayab74]

Hi Why do we need the hub if alexa can connect with the switch by Bluetooth

[@reallyMello]

The switchbots can't directly connect to Amazon Echo to be controlled by Alexa without interfacing through the SwitchBot hub ( support.switch-bot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037747414-Bot-Alexa-Guide )

[@Ben55j]

Thank you for your video. It is possible to trigger the SwitchBot when outside the home network ? Maybe using the hub?

[@reallyMello]

Hi Benjamin, yes that is one of the features that the hub gets you

[@pedrolewis3987]

Hi to use the motion sensor with button pusher it's necessary Hub or it work with Bluetooth?

[@reallyMello]

Yes, get the hub

[@pedrolewis3987]

@@reallyMello in this video hub it's not mentioned, what do you think? kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppPapZ-vncmLecksi=GMie0MMcGk2RIcuM

[@sarthbhatt4246]

Hey great review, I do have a question and you did answer it one of the comments below, but I just wanted to make sure, if the switch bot is connected to a different wifi and my phone is connected to a different wifi will the switchBot still work. Do I have to buy the Hub mini and the switchBot or can I just buy the switchBot? I do apologize for a long question.

[@reallyMello]

Hi Sarth, if you are within bluetooth range of your phone you can use the switchbot bots without wifi using their phone app, but I recommend the hub because it allows you to integrate with things like Alexa and Google Assistant and remotely control your SwitchBot devices wherever you are (and be on different wifi networks)

[@jitendradash2925]

Hi there, can i trigger other plugs (for example D link) as per the temperature in switchbot through Alexa ? For example switch on fan connected to d link plug if the temperature is more than 26 degree C.

[@reallyMello]

You can use Alexa to setup triggers on other devices based on switchbot sensors yes

[@stevenshircliff393]

Great video! How far can devices be away from hub?

[@reallyMello]

80 meters in open air, but in a house with walls etc it would vary. I haven’t had any issues keeping mine in the middle of the house reaching devices 40-50ft away.

[@stevenshircliff393]

Excellent! Thank you for super fast reply. Have hub set up but bot won't connect. Sending back for replacement.

[@jstylephotography]

I am not sure how to hook up the hub with the switch bot do you have a video on this?

[@reallyMello]

Once the hub is added just follow the guided steps in the app once you click the Bot tile. The hub add instructions are at 5:24

[@seanryan1407]

Do you need the hub to connect the switch to Alexa? Or is it only needed for remote access off the WiFi network?

[@reallyMello]

Hi Sean, great question. Yes, it’s needed for alexa as well.

[@matthewfretwell7578]

Is this compatible with any hub like a hive hub. If so do you just add device through the hive app.

[@reallyMello]

Hi Matt. It does have an API, but as far as seamless integration I've only seen it done with their own hub.

[@johnrivera8009]

How do you control the devices with Alexa? The SwitchBot and hub are online. But voice commands do not work. Something has to be missing

[@reallyMello]

Hi John do you have cloud service enabled in the switchbot devices' settings? When you go under the Alexa app do the bots show in your device list?

[@johnrivera8009]

@@reallyMello appreciate the reply. I turned that on. But also had SwitchBot connected to Alexa and SmartThings which was messing up the voice control. Now SwitchBot is connected to my SmartThings and Alexa voice control works.

[@TravellingMagical]

Just got the switch bot, but the sticky tab for the switch doesn’t stick too great any suggestions? Also any way of controlling my tv settings through Alexa?

[@reallyMello]

Hi there what surface are you trying to stick to?

[@TravellingMagical]

@@reallyMello a light switch, works completely fine when turning on but turning off causes the Sticky pad to pull off

[@reallyMello]

@@TravellingMagical the surface is glossy not textured right? The adhesive is crazy strong on glossy surfaces. Make sure the switch is cleaned off well with a degreasing cleaner safe for plastics and it should stick really well. If its unstuck a few times already that adhesive pad may be worn from the attempts so try the extra.

[@TravellingMagical]

@@reallyMello yeah it’s glossy, it’s almost as though the arm comes up too much that it won’t reach the switch?

[@reallyMello]

@@TravellingMagical you may need to play with the angle. I found the positioning I used in my video worked well for the decora-style rocker switch.

[@latkah]

He never showed how to hook up Alexa with SwitchBot. Sad

[@reallyMello]

Hi Jan, once you have the switchbot hub connected to wifi when you add your switchbots in the app, Alexa will automatically add them by their name. Hope that helps.

[@davidw717]

Got issues getting Switch bot mini hub connecting to my network 😭

[@reallyMello]

What have you tried so far?

[@PhantomNeo25]

I'm having trouble getting my hub mini to connect to my Alexa. I have the skill learned and enabled on my Alexa app but can't get it working from that point. I have my hub and switch connected to the internet on the switchbot app. When I tell my Alexa to use the skill it sends me to pbx.es

[@reallyMello]

What about when you use the switchbot app itself as a first step? Does that work ok?

[@PhantomNeo25]

@@reallyMello yeah I can use it with the app

[@reallyMello]

Have you already checked to make sure you have the latest Alexa app update? Have you tried rediscovering devices in there?

[@seanbaul167]

what a shame the switchbot hub mini doesn't work with switchbot bot.

[@reallyMello]

I'm not sure what you mean. The switchbot hub mini and bot work together.

[@marknewman2756]

Hi what powers it is it micro USB cheers mark

[@reallyMello]

Long life battery actually

[@marknewman2756]

@@reallyMello what mean the switchbot mini not the switchbot 😁

[@marknewman2756]

Where do I get the lead from cheers

[@reallyMello]

Yes, the hub is powered by micro usb and includes the cables for it.

[@marknewman2756]

@@reallyMello good man cheers mate 👍😀👍

[@binhvandu3175]

Hi

[@SpaceStrike]

How can I get them to send it to me for free