SwitchBot Smart Switch Button Pusher - Wireless App & Timer Control, No Wiring Needed | Works with Alexa, Google Home & IFTTT via Hub Mini (White) | Smart Home Automation for Lights, Appliances & Electronics

What can I say? This little device is like the blackjack up your sleeve, it makes magic happen. Very versatile little device that can be used in some clever little ways. 5 stars from me for sure. Only changes I would make if it were a perfect world would be to make it even smaller but while maintaining the strength of the arm or make a mount for it that is hard connected via screw or something. There are a couple scenarios where I would like to use one but there isnt enough flat mounting space for it to adhere strongly and when it goes to push the button it instead pushing itself right off the wall. Other than that instead of praising it for all the situations and scenarios if is handy for I want to just note my two favorite uses I have employed at the moment.1. I mounted one at my garage door button. This setup lets me bypass the very finicky MyQ garage opener by putting it within arms reach. Creating a fail safe from locking yourself out or even forgetting your garage keypad code. Also utilizing IFTTT and using a geofence as a trigger I'm able to setup routines to automatically open/close it as I arrive home or leave home. Magic.2. I mounted one on my PlayStation 5 to be able to turn it on (since for some reason Sony hasn't quite jumped on board with the whole smart features and automations train). So I have verbal commands to turn on the game room where one command starts the ps5, which in turn turns the tv and the receiver on and sets their inputs, then depending on the temp in the room will turn on the fan and/or the ac, and last but not least all the LED lights to set the mood. Presto...magic.and those are just two of the many ways this little device can get used. It can turn almost anything smart. Well worth the price in my opinion and they are really durable. I have one that I have put through the ringer with different methods of mounting using glues, super tapes, clamps etc and still it's little arm comes out everytime so they last.Get one.I bought this Switchbot to turn on my coffee maker via Alexa. Unfortunately I still needed to buy the Hub to do that since the Switchbot only has Bluetooth and doesn't have a way to communicate with Alexa.After getting the hub though, getting it paired and connected was quick and easy. The Switchbot has worked flawlessly with Alexa each time I've used it.I understand Switchbot is looking to keep costs low on the unit to exclude Wifi but there isn't a good reason that I could find why you had to have a Hub to use the Android widget so I've taken one star off for that. Otherwise I think Switchbot has a great product here that filled a need that many people didn't know they could utilize.works fine, connects via bluetooth, so for simple functionality (ie. press the button in the app to make the device work) i don't think you need to log into the app. other issue is that it won't work if the device you're trying to press is a touchscreen, as those screens (like your smart phone) rely on conducting the small electrical charge from your fingers. did some googling, and it's really not easy to fake that, so i think this is as good as you're going to get for basically buying an automated finger.the reason i'm knocking off a star is the app - after creating my account, it booted me off, said i just changed my password (well, i didn't, i just created it). fine, so i try to log in again, says my sign in info is incorrect. fine, put in my login name to get my username and password reset - says my login name doesn't exist (email address which i always use). after fiddling with it a couple times, i realized that the login name for the app IS CASE SENSITIVE. are you kidding me? so my username/email with the first letter in caps, is non-existent, but with lowercase, it's fine. no mention of the login name (not password, but the login name) being case sensitive on the login screen. i see some other reviewers had login issues too, thinking the app simply doesn't work - your phone probably capitalizes the first letter automatically but perhaps you created the account name with all lowercase. switchbot app devs - ARE YOU KIDDING ME??This little guy works great. It's a little iffy on the operation sometimes, but just retry. Tips: You need the mini hub (which is sold separately) in order to work over the internet. And most important, the hub must be installed in a receptacle NOT your PC. (you turn off you PC & if the mini hub's USB is plugged into your machine...oops) I installed this on my work PC because of frequent power outages & service disruptions from our remote software. In settings you can set the time of the press. That's also very important because if the PC is on and say frozen, you need the press to hold down the power button for at least 5 seconds to ensure the PC is shut down. Then, simply change the setting (on your phone app) and set it to 1 second and you can remotely turn your PC back on and you're back up & running.I bought this for going on vacation so I could turn on/off my stairwell lights, which has a physical light switch. Of all my light fixtures, that one is most visible from the street so would be the best to make it look like we were home. That light also had 3 switches, so I could dedicate one switch just for the SwitchBot. The bot is a little awkward and you have to use their adhesive to attach it to the switch, so not easy to remove when you don’t need it. Once installed, I used Bluetooth to connect to it and set a schedule to turn on/off at specific times. We set it up a few days before vacation so we could see how well it worked. It worked great and once you set the schedule it runs completely on its own. My light switch is the large flat type, which was easy to configure. I don’t know how well it would work with the old style toggle light switches. You have to attach the base just below the switch and the arm to the actual switch, also with their adhesive tape. So not ideal for every light fixture, but worked like a charm in my case. I did not need to buy any accessory units like the Wi-Fi controller to get it to work. The app is also pretty simple and easy to use.My rented property has an archaic immersion water heater - a relic from a bygone age. This immersion heater, through some unfathomable and mysterious ancient power is set on an Economy 7 timer; it comes on sometime around 1am and turns off at 7am.Having the entire tank heated up only to cool down and then reheat all night long is a huge waste of electricity, I really only need it heated up fully once before the mysterious and undetectable timer goes off. So what options did I have?The only solution I could think of was to wake up at, say 5am, switch the heater on and go back to sleep. The idea of doing this, even knowing the money I would save was abhorrent. 5am?! Everyday? No thank you! It seemed as though the issue was unsolvable, a First World Problem, without solution.Then, while Googling in vain hope for a solution, much like the ape in the famous opening scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, I stumbled across a monolith of sorts and was inspired, and in turn discovered the Switchbot.With this simple tool, a ridiculous robotic analogue appendage, I can now have a button pushed down at a certain time instead of having to suffer the unthinkable first world torment of having my precious sleep disrupted for 30 seconds an hour before I need to get up.This is the equivalent of the ape in 2001 creating an elaborate high tech machine with Bluetooth capabilities to swing a bone and wack some animals. It feels such technological overkill for the most brutish and simple issue, like creating a fully conscious AI just to make sure that you get a 'proper' cup of tea made for you.If I haven't made it clear already this is AMAZING. Granted I'm not using it to it's full extent, it can after all work as part of a broader integrated smart home system, and can pull as well as push etc. But for my first world problem this is the PERFECT first world solution. Genius.Update 06/08/2020: My makeshift tilted pad underneath the switchbot did not last, so I 3d printed a proper one, and fixed it back on with Mammoth Tape double sided adhesive. Now it works better than ever, and very solidly. See updated photo. If you need the 3d printed design, comment on this review, and I'll find a way to share.I got this working on a UK fused spur switch, which is harder to press, when other reviews were not looking as promising. Read on to find out.I actually found that the pull action was fine, its able to pull the switch up, just not press it.Initially I was not holding out much hope, as there were a few reviews that said the SwitchBot was not strong enough to press a fused spur switch, which for some reason requires more force to press. So I thought back to high school physics days, and remembered that if the distance from the pivot point is increased, less force is required.So I moved the little pad with the hook loop on it more over the edge of the switch (see photo), so that the SwitchBot could press it on a now longer edge. (Basically you want to increase the distance between the centre of the switch, and the point where the SwitchBot presses it down.Now, the thing to remember here is that if you extend the edge of the switch, then that means when the switch is pressed down, theres actually no room for the extended edge to go, as it should technically be going through the housing of the switch case (ok this might not make sense, but think of it as the switch normally being flush with the housing when you press it down, so adding something to the end, well it shouldnt work. But luckily the pad with the 3m tape and the switch together seemed to flex a bit, so it still worked for me.Long story short, basically: Be warned, if you extend the pad over the edge of the switch, the switch might not completely press down, which might be a problem, as it could mean the switch is stuck between on and off, or cause a short or a spark etc.In future, I might improve this by 3d printing something to go between the surface of the switch and the hook/loop pad for the SwitchBot, which can extend the length of the switch from the pivot whilst also curving up so that the housing for the switch does not get in the way.Given the issues with the lack of space for the extended pad to click properly, do this at your own risk, theres still not a good solution. But I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments on this review if anyone needs more info.And as always, if this review and the tips helped you, please click the 'Helpful' button.It do it's job BUT It says that works with Alexa, but it isn't clear that you also need to buy their Hub (which will cost you plus 40 pounds) to do so. BE AWARE to not get the same disappointment that I had. I have the Echo Plus which has a built in hub but seems you need THEIR hub to connect.