Review: SwitchBot Lock with Keypad Touch

SwitchBot is a very special smart home company. Instead of selling smart plugs or bulbs, they make button-pushing robots to upgrade your existing hardware. You can stick these robots on coffee makers, light switches, air conditioners, and more to unlock smart home functionality, like scheduling or voice control. Let’s look into the SwitchBot Lock with Keypad Touch for keeping your family and valuables safe indoors.

The SwitchBot Wi-Fi smart lock takes this “upgrade” idea and applies it to your existing smart lock. It is a machine that turns the lock for you. It also comes with a sensor to give notice when the door is left open, and it works with accessories like SwitchBot Keypad touch or SwitchBot keypad.

Connectivity

As a smart gadget, the SwitchBot lock permits controlling it through the SwitchBot application with use of your smartphone or smartwatch. Connecting the SwitchBot lock to the SwitchBot Hub mini permits simple integration with Google Assistant, Alexa, IFTTT, Siri, or SmartThings. This specific model of the Mini Hub works with infrared only. So you can convert any remotes or appliances that use infrared technology, to become a voice activated system, using any of the virtual assistants mentioned above. Another local control option of the SwitchBot Lock that is also worth mentioning is the use of NFC tags. SwitchBot has added one NFC SwitchBot tag inside the packaging for easy accessibility. This way users can begin working with this feature right away. One amazing aspect of the keypad is that it can record up to one hundred groups of passwords, and this means that your entire family can unlock the door using different passcodes.

As a bonus feature, the SwitchBot keypad can make your password seem longer or different, so that people around who are possibly watching would not know your correct password. You just have to input twenty random digits and have your real password somewhere in the middle. This will make sure to keep your password private and your entries anonymous.

Installation and Setup

Setup and installation is easy and fast, taking less than 20 minutes in total. This is one of the locks highest selling points, but it can be a little tricky. There is a bit to do in order to ensure the lock is spinning before you attach it to the door, and you’ll need to use the little screwdriver provided to adjust the areas between the lock. Cleverly, it mounts in any direction, horizontally or vertically, so you can fit it securely with no issues. The unit comes with different size lock attachments to fit around your deadbolt lock, and a magnet to sense when the door is closed or opened.

SwitchBot Keypad is weather proofed

Looking over the SwitchBot Keypad before installing it outside shows that it is weather proofed. The information provided by SwitchBot expresses that this device is IP65 waterproof, which means it is safe from all weather situations. It also lights up when it gets dark, making it simple to view the numbers clearly during the night. Also the SwitchBot keypad comes with a long-lasting battery that can work for up to two years.

The SwitchBot App

The application is handy if you forget to lock your door before you leave, as it sends you an alert that your door is unlocked. If the lock is paired with the SwitchBot mini hub, it connects to the internet, and you can lock the door from the application when you are away. The app logs the time and date the door is unlocked or locked and it saves each occasion under the method that was used – Alexa, manual, fingerprint, keypad, etc. This feature keeps track of every person entering or exiting your home and how they got in.

Features

• Set up to mechanically lock the door when you leave
• Lock or Unlock the deadbolt in multiple ways;
  • Using Apple Watch
  • Voice control
  • Touch Keypad
  • NFC tags
• Low battery reminders
• Alert notifications when you leave the door unlocked
• Set up for multiple family members
• Beeps when door is left open
• Make routines with other SwitchBot smart home devices

Compatibility and must-have Accessories

If you want to control the SwitchBot lock remotely, get alerts, or use 3^rd party services, you must also purchase and set up the SwitchBot Hub Mini. Priced at $49, it is an excellent add-on if you want to enable access to smart assistants and 3rd party services like Google Home, Alexa, IFTTT, Siri, and SmartThings, as well as setting up widgets or scenes.

For example, with the SwitchBot Hub Mini, users can setup routines that do multiple things. The SwitchBot lock can activate other SwitchBot devices, like the SwitchBot smart switch. So by just unlocking the door, you can mechanically turn on a light at the same time.

Perhaps the most helpful accessory, and one that doesn’t need the SwitchBot Hub mini, is the SwitchBot keypad. The basic SwitchBot Keypad is priced at $29.99 and provides you a one-touch lock button, a numbered keypad for unlocking and the use of NFC tag functionality.

The SwitchBot Keypad Touch is priced at $59.99 and includes a fingerprint reader to the standard feature-set. Both SwitchBot keypads are backlit, IP65 waterproof and gives about 2 years of battery life using the same type of 3V CR123A batteries as the SwitchBot lock.

Should you buy the SwitchBot lock?

Despite the slight frustration of physically setting it up and installing the SwitchBot lock, there is no denying that once you get this keyless door lock installed, it actually works like it’s supposed to.

Final Thoughts

This company has created an ecosystem of smart home gadgets accessible to those of us that would like to keep our homes “as is” and not permanently install new devices. These products are easy to install and shifts life to older tech that we don’t want to get rid of just yet. The very strong adhesive used to attach these products, reliably hold it in place with the lowest effect on your walls. The SwitchBot Lock, the SwitchBot Bot, and the SwitchBot Smart Humidifier make a range of small jobs accessible to every person. While you may have to put a little thought into setting them up to work with smart assistants like Alexa, your home will be safe when you are finished. Best of all, these products work, and there are continuous firmware updates to keep making them excellent. You can purchase the SwitchBot Lock Bundle or each SwitchBot you need from Amazon or directly from the Official SwitchBot Website.