SwitchBot has been in business since 2016 with a focus on products that make the existing items in your home smart. I wrote about the original SwitchBot back in 2022 in my article “Smart Home Additions That Won’t Fill a Landfill with Old Tech.” SwitchBot has just announced the new SwitchBot Lock Pro, which has a number of new features and enhancements.
SwitchBot Lock Pro is compatible with a wide range of single cylinder deadbolt locks, and installation doesn’t damage the door or existing lock in any way, including drilling into the door to mount it.
A wide range of methods for unlocking the SwitchBot Lock Pro, including fingerprint scanning in which fingerprints expire after a period of time, and passcodes, one-time passcodes, and temporary passcodes expire after a period of time. Passcode sharing with friends and family and virtual passcodes can be masked in the SwitchBot app so someone looking over your shoulder can’t steel them. Remote unlocking is enabled using the SwitchBot app on a smart phone or tablet, voice commands with a smart speaker, or by tapping on an Apple Watch, using NFC tags and cards, and iOS Widgets. SwitchBot Lock Pro supports the SwitchBot Remote (sold separately), and of course, the lock’s original key.
SwitchBot Lock Pro support for up to 100 fingerprints and provides rapid 0.3 second recognition time for fingerprints with an accuracy of 98%.
Simple unlocking of the lock from inside the home can be achieve with just a tap of the Quick Key button on the back of the lock, and a magnetic battery cover make changing batteries quick and easy.
Speaking of batteries SwitchBot Lock Pro requires four AA batteries, which can provide up to nine months of battery life. The optional Dual Power Pack includes rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries that fuel up to 12 months of unlocking. An internal relay automatically switches between the two battery solutions so when one runs out of power it seamlessly switches to the other.
A passive power supply on the SwitchBot Lock Pro allows the homeowner to unlock the door to gain access to their home even if the regular batteries are low on power. Matter Protocol support is also available for integration with other smart home ecosystems when the lock is paired with a Matter enabled SwitchBot Hub Mini.
Auto Lock automatically locks the SwitchBot Lock Pro a short period of time after it has been unlocked, and notifications include locked/unlocked status of the lock, opened/closed status of the door, low battery, and more including reminders if lock is left unlocked or the door is left open.
The SwitchBot Lock Pro is available now through the SwitchBot website here
