Hi! And welcome back to my channel! Today’s topic is about the Switchbot Hub 2 and how to connect it to Home Assistant using the SkyConnect, and Apple Homekit. I also managed to control my Smart Blind Tilts using the Switchbot Hub 2 in Apple Homekit. Stay tuned if you want to know how I managed to do that!
UPDATE: Home Assistant 2023.5 now supports covers using Matter. The Switchbot Blind Tilts now also work in Home Assistant using Matter. See: https://youtube.com/shorts/PLluKGJQrQo
Where to buy?
- Get the Switchbot Hub 2 here: https://bit.ly/3H5Pfra
Use this discount code: 20JUNKIE for a 20% discount (Valid from March 29th to April 30th ) - Visit this affiliate link from SwitchBot to order all your SwitchBot products: https://bit.ly/3ZjT2Yv
Use this discount code: 20JUNKIE for a 20% discount (Valid from March 29th to April 30th ) - Get the Switchbot Hub 2 from Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3mSjDyF
- Get the Switchbot Hub 2 from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BM8VS13P?maas=maas_adg_8CA19D3C1EBC3FA4670E23D93DF10003_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas
- Get the SwitchBot Hub 2 from Amazon NL: https://amzn.to/43UhEKK
Get a 15% discount on Amazon US/CA/UK/DE/ES/IT/FR and the Switchbot website US/UK/CA/EU/international using code: XM15HUB2
This code is valid from 1 April 2023 until 10 May 2023
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Today, we will be talking about the SwitchBot Hub 2 and how to install it in Home Assistant and Apple Homekit using Matter. The SwitchBot Hub 2 is a device that allows you to control your Switchbot smart home devices from one central location. It works with various smart home devices such as smart lights, air conditioners, smart blinds, switches, etcetera. Switchbot send me this device to review, but I will give you an honest review as always.
Matter?
The Hub 2 supports Matter, which means that you can connect it to other devices using Matter. At the moment, the Hub 2 can be connected to Home Assistant and Apple Homekit, but the devices that connect to the Hub 2 cannot be connected to other devices than the Hub 2 directly yet. So, the Hub 2 works as a “man in the middle” and services the devices that are connected to the Hub itself. This means that you will need the Switchbot Hub 2 to control other Switchbot devices.
I also own two Switchbot Blind Tilts that I can connect to Switchbot Hub 2 within the app. This is done by adding secondary devices in the app. This way, I can control the blind tilts using the Hub 2 next to using BlueTooth. And this makes it possible to control my blind tilts using Apple Homekit which couldn’t be done before the Hub 2 supported Matter.
Hardware overview
The Switchbot Hub 2 looks a lot nicer than its predecessor the Switchbot Hub mini. It has a display that shows the temperature, and humidity. Next to that, it has two buttons that can be used to set up the Hub 2 or assign scenes to them. You can connect the Switchbot Hub 2 using a USB cable that contains the sensor for the temperature and humidity. I think this is clever because this way the temperature of the Hub itself does not affect the temperature value. When I received the Switchbot Hub 2, it came with a USA power adapter, so I had to use one of my own adapters to connect it, but that was not really an issue. After powering up the Switchbot Hub 2, you have to set up the Hub 2.
Setup the Switchbot Hub 2
To setup the Switchbot Hub 2, you need the Switchbot App. You can download the SwitchBot app from either the App Store or Google Play Store. Once you have downloaded and installed the app, create an account if you don’t have one already. After creating an account, click the “Add Device” button to start adding your Hub 2 to the app. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process. After the Hub 2 is added to the app, you have to make sure that the Hub connects to your network through Wifi. When you click on the cog wheel, you can go to the Wi-Fi Settings menu and enter your SSID, username, and password.
Connect the Switchbot Hub 2 to Apple Homekit using Matter
To connect the Switchbot Hub 2 to Apple Homekit, I needed to make use of an Apple Homepod, or Apple TV. I own an Apple TV myself and connected it to the same Wi-Fi network as my Switchbot Hub 2.
- Select the Hub 2 in the Switchbot App and click on the cog wheel.
- Select the menu option Matter Configuration and copy the code that is presented on the screen.
- Now reset the Hub 2 by long pressing the left and right buttons simultaneously for 15 seconds.
- Open the Apple Home app on your iPhone.
- Click the plus sign and select Add Accessory.
- Click More Options.
- Select the Hub 2. If you do not see the Hub 2 here, then select My Accessory isn’t shown here.
- Paste the code that you just copied and select Continue.
- The Hub will now be connected and you can add the Humidity and Temperature sensor to Apple Homekit.
- I’ve added the sensors to my Office. If I select Office in the Apple Homekit app, I will see the temperature and humidity sensors. It might take a moment before the actual values are shown.
But, we do not see the blind tilts yet in Home Kit. This is a bit weird because I’ve already added them to the Switchbot app. It turned out that I had to remove the secondary devices from the Hub 2 and had to add them one by one to make them visible, but in the end, they were visible in Apple Homekit and I can now control the blind tilts using Apple Homekit and Bluetooth.
Connect the Switchbot Hub 2 to Home Assistant using Matter
Configure the SkyConnect to use Matter.
Now, let’s see how we can connect the Switchbot Hub 2 to Home Assistant using Matter. For this, you will need a dongle that supports Matter like the SkyConnect. If you’re interested, you can watch this video where I explain more about the SkyConnect. After the SkyConnect is added to Home Assistant, we have to make sure that it supports Matter. You can do this by going to Settings > System > hardware and by clicking on CONFIGURE. Multiprotocol will then be enabled on the SkyConnect. During this process, you will also be asked to install the Matter add-on in Home Assistant.
Add the Switchbot Hub 2 to Home Assistant
Now that the Sky Connect is configured to use Matter and the Matter add-on is installed in Home Assistant, we can start adding the Switchbot Hub 2 to Home Assistant.
Select the Hub 2 in the Switchbot App and click on the cog wheel. Select the menu option Matter Configuration and copy the code that is presented on the screen. You can also create a screenshot on your phone and save that screenshot somewhere on your PC if you like, but copying the code is the easiest way to set this up.
You need the Home Assistant Companion App to add the Switchbot Hub 2 to Home Assistant.
- Open the companion app and go to Settings > Devices & Services and click Add Integration.
- Select Add Matter device.
- Now, reset your Hub 2 by long-pressing the left and right buttons on the Hub 2 for 15 seconds.
- Then select “More options…” on your phone and select the Hub 2.
- Click Enter Code and paste the code that you’ve just copied.
- Click on Add to Home Assistant
- Now click Continue.
Examining the Matter Integration Devices
The Switchbot Hub 2 will now be added to Home Assistant. If you open the Matter integration in Home Assistant, you will see the Hub itself and the Temperature and Humidity sensor. I enabled the blind tilts as secondary devices in the Switchbot app and they immediately showed up in Home Assistant as a Matter device, but unfortunately, no controls are available yet. Let’s hope that this will be added in the future.
So, technically it is possible to connect the Hub 2 to Home Assistant, but, at the moment you cannot do more than get the values for the Temperature and Humidity with it. Unfortunately, I cannot control my Blind Tilts in Home Assistant using the Hub 2 yet, but luckily I can still control them using a Bluetooth dongle or Bluetooth proxies.
Conclusion
So, it’s now possible to connect some Switchbot devices to Apple Homekit using Matter, which opens a new world for you Apple Homekit users out there. At this moment, you can associate SwitchBot Curtain and Blind Tilt with the Hub 2 and add them as sub-devices. These secondary devices can not be controlled in Home Assistant yet, but let’s see how this will evolve over time!
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Apple, home assistant, review, howto, homekit, tutorial, matter, switchbot hub 2, Home automation