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The little robot has become my assistant in the fight against cockroaches. Before I got the rechargeable SwitchBot, I tiptoed around in the dark every morning, hoping I wouldn’t step on one of those horrible bugs that sauntered on my way to the light switch across the room. Now I’m ready for battle before I even enter the room because I can operate it from afar, thanks $33.99 SwitchBot Rechargeable Bot.
The little gadget is attached via adhesive near a switch or button and uses its tiny robotic arm to press or pull it for you. You can automate anything with physical power buttons, from coffee makers, light switches, garage door openers, and even laundry machines — and it makes “dumb” gadgets a little smarter. If you pair it with SwitchBot CenterYou can then control it hands-free via voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as from outside your home.
The capabilities of the rechargeable SwitchBot Bot match the capabilities of the original Switch bot This costs a little less. But, as you might have guessed from its name, the newer model has a USB-C rechargeable battery instead of using disposable batteries. Although environmentally friendly, the advertised battery life is much shorter, lasting up to six months on a charge if you turn the key just once a day (vs. up to 600 days with the original model). However, the rechargeable route is easier for me. I like knowing that I can simply plug the robot in for as long as needed instead of worrying about buying replacement batteries every couple of months.
Installation can vary in complexity depending on how you want to use it. For example, my simple use case required more trial and error than I expected. The lever must be positioned precisely so that it can reach the switch, push it in, and then pull it back. Of course, it’s still a lot easier to set up than rewiring the switch or replacing it with a smart one, but it’s not quite the set-it-and-forget-it experience I imagined. Installation may be easy for you, but be prepared to do a little experimentation to find the right product.
The robot also includes a small plastic attachment that sticks directly to your light switch. Once wrapped around the robot’s arm, it allows it to physically turn the switch on with a push and turn it off with a pull. Installing it bothered me more than anything else. It wasn’t immediately clear to me where the attachment should go, and I initially kept positioning it towards the middle of the key when it was supposed to be at the bottom. The video tutorial hints at it, but the written instructions vaguely instruct you to attach it to the switchboard. This led to several rounds of removing and reapplying the adhesive before I was finally able to align everything correctly.
Once everything was installed correctly, I was happy with the robot’s performance. Throughout my testing, the bot remained securely connected, responded reliably from around my apartment, and never missed a scheduled action. It was nice to walk confidently into the brightly lit kitchen instead of tiptoeing into the dark. Beyond that, there’s something strangely satisfying about watching a little robotic arm literally flip a switch.
It doesn’t make sense to buy a rechargeable SwitchBot in a house that’s already full of smart bulbs and smart plugs. But most of us have at least one device or switch that we could automate if we could. SwitchBot Bot Recharge is a smart and relatively inexpensive solution. Installation may require a little more patience rather than just sticking the device where you think it should be, which is a little chunky. But the automation works like a charm, and it does exactly what I hoped it would: it helped me in a small but meaningful way in my battle against cockroaches.
