Current testing methodology is v1.2
November 4, 2021
Price not available
ADFB0301
1.41 o
1.36 x 1.36 x 1.36 in
Many of you know that I’ve been a big SwitchBot fan for years now.
Their original SwitchBot devices have been powering a couple of things in my house, mainly my old air conditioning unit.
I have to use two SwitchBot units on my air conditioning unit. That’s because turning it on requires a one-second push, and turning it off requires a three-second push, and to date, there’s no option for that in the SwitchBot settings.
Each device can only action one press type.
Adaprox reached out to me and said that they had a similar product called the Fingerbot Plus, which also came with a HomeHub. So, of course, I was naturally very interested in trying it out.
It so happens that my SwitchBot batteries went flat at about the same time, so I figured it was a perfect opportunity to test something new and let you guys know what I think.
Adaprox Fingerbot Plus
The Specs
- Wireless protocol: Bluetooth Low Power 4.2
- Battery Type: CR2 3.0V
- Stall torque: 2.0 kgf·cm
- Maximum arm movement: 12 mm
- Battery Life : 8 months
- Voice Control: Compatible with Siri, Alexz and Google Home
What’s in the Box?
- For Fingerbot Plus only [Fingerbot Plus device]
- For Single Kit [Fingerbot Plus device + ToolPack (4 different arm switches)]
- For Pro Kit [Fingerbot Plus device + HomHub Device with connector + ToolPack (4 different arm switches)]
Stuff I like
- HomeHub (purchased separately) allows you to connect all of your Fingerbot devices to the internet
- You can control the pressing pressure to cater to different button sensitivities
- It has a manual push button
- You can change the pressing tool (purchased separately)
Stuff I like less
- Difficulty in keeping it connected to the hub
- Lacks with two different state, on-and-off feature
Where to get it
Comparable products to consider
Affordable device that allows you to add ‘dumb’ devices to complete your smart home with such ease and efficiency.
What I Like About the Fingerbot Plus
So, a little context.
If you’ve not heard of Fingerbot or even SwitchBot, then it’s important to tell you that these devices are perfect when you have older analog switches or light switches that aren’t smart and require pressing to make them work.
An example is a coffee machine. You want it to start, but there’s no timer or automation available and you can only get it going by pressing the button.
Another example is light switches, which you don’t want to replace with a smart switch that needs to be manually turned on or off.
In my case, our air conditioning unit on the wall is really old. I don’t have any intentions to replace it just yet, but it can be frustrating not being able to control it remotely, especially in the heat of summer when we’re coming home.
It would be nice to enable the air conditioning unit to turn on to have the house cool, or to have it automatically switch off at a certain temperature or on.
It’s almost impossible to review the Fingerbot Plus without some comparison to SwitchBot, seeing as the two units really are quite similar.
However, the Fingerbot Plus and the SwitchBot do have some minor differences, which may impact what you choose when looking for a little robot to switch on your buttons and switches.
The underlying technology of the Adaprox system seems to run off the 2U [SP] smart home system. The proprietary front end that they have on this is called MeshHub, and the MeshHub app is downloadable from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
I didn’t have any difficulty getting this set up except that I already have multiple 2U app devices, which meant that I had to set up a new account for it to identify MeshHub uniquely.
I’m not sure that this is actually required, but my frustration levels were such that I just wanted to get on and use the device.
Key Features of the HomeHub and Fingerbot Plus
The HomeHub allows you to connect all of your Fingerbot devices to the internet in a way that allows you to control ’em from an app.
You can also integrate the HomeHub with your smart home speaker. I connected mine to Alexa, and then that allows you to do voice controls.
You can rename the Fingerbot Plus, and so when you say commands, things can happen, although there’s only fundamentally a binary control that activates the switch.
For example, “Alexa, turn on the air conditioning.”
Because the switch doesn’t know whether it’s necessarily on or off, I’d repeat that command to turn the air conditioning off. Although my unique case is that I can’t use the same Fingerbot for both actions.
The app allows you to set schedules and timers. So you could set it so that the switch is turned on at a specific time every day or turned off at a specific time every day.
And again, when I say turn on or off, I mean that the Fingerbot Plus activates.
Because the Fingerbot Plus and the analog or dumb device aren’t connected, the Fingerbot will just merely action the same button press every time you activate it.
Unique Features of the Fingerbot Plus
If you’re comparing SwitchBot and Fingerbot, there are some nice additions to the Fingerbot range, which I appreciated.
The first is that you can control the pressing pressure for the Fingerbot Plus. This allows you to cater to different sensitivities of buttons and ensure that you’re not creating too much pressure on the button, especially if it was a hard plastic one as opposed to something softer that could absorb a little extra downforce.
The second feature of the Fingerbot Plus that I like is that it has a manual push button. This is something that SwitchBot is lacking.
So, if you do want to manually press a button, then you can do so just from the hardware.
The reason this is important to me is that when I place two of these devices over my air conditioning button, it means that I can no longer access the button manually without the use of a knife or sharp implement force between the two SwitchBots.
So for the Fingerbot to allow me to press the button and have it press the button for me, removes that blocker.
The third feature of the Fingerbot that I like is that you can alter the pressing tool on the end of the pushing arm that comes out of the Fingerbot Plus unit. It’s available in a separate pack and it comes with a total of five additional fingers, I guess you could describe them.
Each one is slightly longer, giving you more flexibility.
There might be some buttons that are recessed or situations where you need to place the Fingerbot on an additional brace, and these long fingers allow you to do that.
There’s also a special ring-shaped Fingerbot which would allow you to place it over a switch in such a way that it would lift or push the switch rather than press a button.
Challenges I’ve Had with the Fingerbot Plus
The Fingerbot Plus has worked as described, although I’ve had a few difficulties keeping it connected to the hub.
I’m not sure if that’s because of the distance between the two or if there’s an issue with the way I’ve connected the hub to the Fingerbot Plus, but when I open the app, there are times the Fingerbot Plus doesn’t show as being active.
I’ll keep troubleshooting this as I’m sure that it’s probably a user error more than anything, but that’s something I need to confirm and resolve.
The second thing is that I was hoping that Fingerbot Plus would’ve resolved two different states so that you could have the Fingerbot remember if it was on or off, and I’d love SwitchBot to do the same.
That would mean that I could use one Fingerbot on my air conditioning unit and not have to worry about placing a second unit for the off-state.
The third challenge is that because the Fingerbot is constantly in a state of hovering over the button and my air conditioning unit button is very small, it doesn’t allow me to have two Fingerbots over the button to have an on-and-off state.
This means that for my use case in the air conditioner, the Fingerbot doesn’t work.
But in all other cases, I do like that it’s very easy to position the Fingerbot and get perfect placement because the arm of the Fingerbot is perfectly positioned outside the housing and therefore, very easy to line up and place over your buttons.
The SwitchBot works for my air conditioning unit because the arm comes out of the small casing, presses the button, and then retracts back. This allows the second SwitchBot unit to come out of the casing and turn off.
They don’t impede each other because they recede away from the button.
This is specific to my use case and in all other situations, there’s no reason that a Fingerbot wouldn’t work for you. The device is easy to install, easy to use, easy to connect, and will offer you a lot of automation on buttons and switches that may not allow that in your house today.
Conclusion
The Fingerbot series with the push button, the hub, and the additional tool pack, which gives you additional fingers, is a great unit.
The manufacturing is good, although all of the housing is plastic, the packaging, and overall presentation are refined.
In use, it seems to be mostly consistent, although the disconnection of the Fingerbot from the hub and the occasional frustration when I’m pushing the manual button and it doesn’t seem to want to go for the first few pushes.
This is rare, but it has happened and has given me some frustration.
Overall, I think it’s a great little unit if you’re looking to manually push switches and buttons anywhere in your house.
Any questions, let me know in the comments below.
Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.
Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.
This post was last updated on 2024-10-31 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.