Switchbot - Simple “power on” for some TVs (IR blaster)

Hi all,

I don’t use the new app and choose not to have both running on my phone due to the battery drain and location issues that it can cause. Alas, I haven’t even looked at the new app yet and don’t plan to until I get the switch app banner.

So I’d like to know if anyone has managed to add this device to Smartthings use the Classic App? Or is it only in the new app where it can be added?

Like many of the new cloud to cloud integrations, it can only be used with the new V3 app.

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Righto, decided to purchase a switchbot mini for about £25 off amazon uk.

Haven’t had the chance to mess with it much yet really, but I don’t think it’s up to much. Obviously using cloud it’s not going to be the best, but predictably the volume controls are way too laggy.

It’s alright (2-3 secs) for changing functions, but for volume - pointless.

It would be fantastic if someone could create a way to use it locally, as for example for my devices (rgb light and smart sockets) that worked with Smart Life and now with Tasmota firmware they work locally. This would certainly speed up the responses of the IR but I have to say that in Italy I do not have these tough times, maybe about 1 second late. Longer delays I notice them in routines, for example turning up volume 5 times with a single scene created. between one volume up and the other always 1 second

needs some addition to the app to simulate a long keypress. that would sort it. even a 1 sec delay is too long for replacement volume control. I think i’m going to return it.

ooh…worth a look maybe…?

Nope. Must only be for the bot, not the hub buttons

Update -

Submitted feedback hoping for a decent response and hopefully some improved functionality. Just really need to have the software allow you to edit a button on a remote and change the behaviour from ‘pressed’ to ‘held for x secs’ and it would be a great little product.

The response I got ? Step by step instructions on how to set the hub up.

Absolute, total waste of time. Didn’t even listen. Someone else suggested buying the ‘bot’. Why the hell would anyone think that I’d spend another 30 quid to press a volume button, then a further 30 to press vol down??!!.

Crazy. Should be an easy fix I’d imagine. For now this isn’t a viable project. = (

Update - had an email from them to ask if I was satisfied with the response. Replied to say ‘no, you didn’t answer the question at all’.

The reply was awesome…

… Step by step instructions on how to point the remote at the hub and learn a button.

Waste of time guys. Waste of time. Shame.

As I mentioned when starting this thread, I don’t use it as an overall replacement for a TV remote. I agree, I think it would have too much lag and be too frustrating for that.

I control my TV by voice, and that works fine for me. The problem that I had, which quite a few people with certain brands of smart televisions have, is that there’s no way to turn the TV on by voice. That’s where the SwitchBot mini comes in. All I needed to do is turn on the TV with the voice command, and after that my fireTV takes over.

And of course I also use it to control the SwitchBot buttons.

But it does sound like it’s not something that will work well for your use case.

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Sorry man, didn’t want to risk coming off as a tosser over this.

My point was (is?) that this could easily be a thoroughly awesome product if the software could be tweaked.

  1. Press and hold functionality.
  2. Tasker integration.
  3. Better control of the design of the DIY remotes. The existing system is literally adding a series of identically-sized rectangular buttons, no icons, stacked in order of creation with no way of rearranging, spacing out, colours, icons… Etc. Pretty basic. Shame, because the ability to learn buttons is a huge bonus!

My gripe is more with the support system - it’s shocking. I took the time to feedback thinking it was worth a shot. Instead I get somebody pointlessly telling me the unrelated bare basics, TWICE!? Terrible. Waste of time having the option of feedback.

I agree that for simply powering up a TV though… PERFECT. =)

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sorry, not directly about ST but I would like to share my sad situation with you and seek help:
Yesterday I update my App, I try to modify my custom remote control, to redo a single button.


After this operation, no button on my Samsung TV works anymore. What may have happened? My remote control is custom, set entirely by myself.
(I had to do this custom remote because the classic Samsung TV remote provides only one button for on and off but I needed a remote control with an on and off button divided to avoid errors in the automations, when the TV was already off and I asked to turn off TV , if I use the same button it lights up)
For this reason I created a custom remote control starting from a projector and not a TV. Only solution to have two separate buttons.
Have others had my same problem since yesterday, with remote controls that no longer work? I don’t understand if the problem is due to the updating of the App, or to the modification of my custom remote control saved incorrectly in their servers. I spent several hours setting everything up, and I wouldn’t want to do it all over again, including routines on google home and automation on Smartthings :cry:

Maybe related to this?

No, the problem is sure in Switchbot and not in Smartthings. Not work no only ST but not work the app SwitcBot with my custom TV remote unfortunately. :frowning:

Hi guys, anyone have connection problems between SwitchBot and Smartthings? Since last night the devices have been disconnected from smartthings, his app works equally and the devices created by his app work on google home, but not those emulated by Smartthings of course. I would like to avoid disconnecting and reconnecting so as not to lose all automations and connections in my network

Hi JD, I’ve got my switchbot mini hub up and I’ve created a scene in their app to turn the TV on and switch to the chromecast input (thanks for your info about it!) Do you know if the scenes get imported into SmartThings? I want to integrate the scene into other automations rather than just be stand alone via voice activation or NFC.

If not, do you think the only other work around is to create each button press as a device and live with the extra number of devices?

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Hi, I’ve incorporated switchbot scenes into smartthings via virtual switches and IFTTT (which unlike smartthings can access switchbot scenes). Beware you only have an extremely limited number of applets on the free tier of IFTTT, I believe it’s 5 now.

It works well for me, if you want a more detailed run-through of how to set it up I’d be happy to write it out

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No switchbot scenes don’t get imported into Smartthings but they do import into google home and Alexa. To me Google home works better then Alexa with the scenes. You can use scenes in Google routines, like turning things off/on or changing the volume up/down.

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I just spotted you can use scenes in IFTTT which may work enough for the handful of use cases I can think of at the moment where I need ST to be the trigger.

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The irony is for most of my use cases where I would use Google Home the devices already have an integration, they just don’t connect directly to ST or IFTTT (Dyson & Midea). I was hoping for more automation rather than just control. It’s such a mess though.

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Ive found the scenes/ifttt approach to be a lot more reliable for strings of IR commands than setting up each button as a device and creating the string of commands in smartthings, where I found some button presses could be dropped.

My use case is to cycle through input sources on my stereo, which require 5 distinct button presses. It’s the only thing I use ifttt for, it’s been very reliable, and that the ifttt action is itself nested within other native smartthings automations using a virtual switch

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Btw I agree it’s a mess, the smartthings/switchbot integration is lacking. But at least it’s there, and I’ve found it works JUST well enough to be able to achieve everything you’d need to do with a bit of creative thinking

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