Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain Integration

Yes, the SwitchBot Curtain can make your curtains smart in 30seconds and it can be controlled from your phone, Alexa, Google Home or Siri. But is SwitchBot curtain going to work with Home Assistant? Let’s find out.

What is SwitchBot Curtain?

SwitchBot Curtain is a small battery powered device, that can retrofit your curtains no matter your curtain rail type as it can be ordered with Rod, U Rail or I rail hooks.

The battery of the device can last around 8 moths and then you just have to recharge it or you can additionally buy and attach a solar panel that will constantly charge the SwitchBot Curtain, so you don’t have to worry about the batteries.

Three ways for Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration

I will talk about more SwitchBot Curtain features later, because now I will focus on Home Assistant and especially on the Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration options.

As of now there are three ways to integrate SwitchBot products in Home Assistant (listed below):

The local Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration

The first method is to try the available SwitchBot integration in Home Assistant, which is working locally over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The whole process is very easy, but it is not very complete!

To try this first Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration method do the following:

• Download and install the SwitchBot mobile app on your phone. The app is available in Apple AppStore and Google Play for free.
• Create an account and add your SwitchBot Curtains inside by following the instructions that the app will provide.
• When you are ready you just have to get the Bluetooth MAC address of your SwitchBot curtain device by tapping on the wheel cog icon (upper right corner) of your Curtain Device and then on the three dots menu (upper right corner).
• Paste the MAC address in your Home Assistant configuration.yaml file under a switch section with platform switchbot as shown below.

switch:
  - platform: switchbot
    mac: "F0:11:16:32:2E:54" # USE YOUR MAC ADDRESS HERE
    name: Left Curtain
  - platform: switchbot
    mac: "E9:C9:84:B6:A1:2C" # USE YOUR MAC ADDRESS HERE
    name: Right Curtain

• Because I have two devices, one that control the left part of the curtain and one for the right I will add them both.
• Save the changes and reboot your Home Assistant.

As a result you will receive a switch or number of switches that you can add in your Home Assistant Lovelace and that will move the SwitchBot curtain(s) several centimetres on every click of yours.

Of course you can make a Home Assistant script that simulate X number of presses, so you can fully open or fully close the curtains.

The eventual problems with this local Home Assistant SwitchBot integration are:

• You cannot get the current status of the curtains.
• Also, your device where Home Assistant is installed should have Bluetooth capabilities. I’m using Raspberry Pi 4 and everything is working fine, but if your Home Assistant is installed on virtual machine you will have hard time making this work.

At least this integration is entirely local and you can save yourself from the Cloud if that is your goal.

Home Assistant SwitchBot curtain integration using Samsung SmartThings hub

The second method for Home Assistant SwitchBot curtain integration is to use the Samsung SmartThings Hub as middle layer.

The cons in this approach are:

• You need additional device that is the Samsung SmartThings Hub which will add more to your bill if you don’t already have it. Check the current price of the Samsung SmartThings hub v3 in Amazon – LINK.
• Also, big part of the communication to close or open your curtains is going through the Cloud, if that is something that bothers you.

Home Assistant SwitchBot API integration preparation

The third and final method of Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration that I will show you in details in just a little bit is to use the SwitchBot API and REST commands executed from Home Assistant.

Using this method you can have the current status of the curtains as Home Assistant sensor and everything is working fine. Similarly to the previous method we need an additional hub called SwitchBot Hub Mini (read below for more info). The SwitchBot Hub Mini is cheaper than the SmartThings hub, but we have similar cons here. The communication is also Cloud based and we have a limit of 1000 requests per day which is kind of enough if you have relatively small number of SwitchBot devices and you don’t want near real-time status of your curtains state.

Anyways, let’s see how to set the whole thing up.

Get SwitchBot API Token

First thing you need to do is to enable the Developer mode and to obtain an API token, this is as fun as finding an Easter egg:

We will need this API Token for two main reasons:

• To list and get the IDs of the SwitchBot devices.
• To execute REST commands from Home Assistant as you will see later.

Enable SwitchBot Cloud services

Next thing is to enable Cloud services in your SwitchBot Mobile app.

Have in mind that in order to enable the SwitchBot Cloud services you need another device from the SwitchBot family called SwitchBot Hub Mini.

You can add the Hub Mini to your home Wi-Fi and afterwards you will be able to control your SwitchBot devices using Alexa, Google Home & Siri.

On top you can use the SwitchBot Hub Mini as universal remote control for your other appliances like your AC, TVs, etc. There is an enormous database with devices (different brands & models) with predefined remote buttons that can choose from or you can learn custom IR commands easily using the SwitchBot app.

Pairing the device is as easy as walk in the park, so I don’t even bother describing it here. Anyways, if you face any difficulties – let me know in the comments.

The SwitchBot Hub Mini will cost you around $39 dollars, but you can get it cheaper if you buy it as bundle.

• SwitchBot Hub Mini ➡️ LINK
• SwitchBot Combo/Bundles ➡️ LINK

Now, let’s get back to Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration using SwitchBot API.

Home Assistant SwitchBot Curtain integration using SwitchBot API

The following procedure and YAML code are not my invention all the credits go to two nice guys (Wout & gdeboos) from Home Assistant community forum. Thanks guys!

Let’s start with listing the SwitchBot device IDs:

• Open a terminal (if you are using Linux/Mac OS) and paste the following command. If you are using Windows, open command prompt, but you need to download curl executable as well.

curl -H "Authorization: API_KEY_HERE" https://api.switch-bot.com/v1.0/devices

• Don’t forget to replace the API_KEY_HERE with your API Token that you get from the Get SwitchBot API Token section.
• You will receive a JSON answer and somewhere at the end of the answer you should find your deviceId, just before your deviceName.

• Copy your deviceId and open your Home Assistant secrets.yaml file (using text editor or File editor add-on for example) and paste the following YAML code inside:

switchbot_api: "<YOUR_API_KEY>"
switchbot_bedroom_status_url: "https://api.switch-bot.com/v1.0/devices/<YOUR_DEVICE_ID>/status"
switchbot_bedroom_deviceId: "<YOUR_DEVICE_ID>"

• Replace <YOUR_API_KEY> with your API token.
• Replace <YOUR_DEVICE_ID> with your deviceId.
• Save the changes in your secrets.yaml and open your configuration.yaml file.

#configuraiton.yaml entry
rest_command:
  switchbot_device_command:
    url: 'https://api.switch-bot.com/v1.0/devices/{{ deviceId }}/commands'
    method: post
    content_type: 'application/json'
    headers:
      Authorization: !secret switchbot_api
    payload: '{"command": "{{ command }}","parameter": "{{ parameter }}"}'

sensor:
  - platform: rest
    name: 'Bedroom Curtain Position'
    resource: !secret switchbot_bedroom_status_url
    method: GET
    scan_interval: 600
    headers:
      Authorization: !secret switchbot_api
      Content-Type: 'application/json'
    value_template: '{{ value_json.body.slidePosition }}'
    json_attributes_path: "$.body"
    json_attributes:
      - deviceId
      - deviceType
      - hubDeviceId
      - calibrate
      - group
      - moving
      - slidePosition

cover:
  - platform: template
    covers:
      bedroom_curtains:
        device_class: curtain
        friendly_name: "Bedroom Curtains"
        position_template: "{{ states('sensor.bedroom_curtain_position') }}"
        open_cover:
          service: rest_command.switchbot_device_command
          data:
            deviceId: !secret switchbot_bedroom_deviceId
            command: "turnOn"
        close_cover:
          service: rest_command.switchbot_device_command
          data:
            deviceId: !secret switchbot_bedroom_deviceId
            command: "turnOff"
        stop_cover:
          service: rest_command.switchbot_device_command
          data:
            deviceId: !secret switchbot_bedroom_deviceId
            command: "turnOff"
        set_cover_position:
          service: rest_command.switchbot_device_command
          data:
            deviceId: !secret switchbot_bedroom_deviceId
            command: "setPosition"
            parameter: "0,ff,{{position}}"

• This will create a REST command to open/close or set position of the curtains, a REST Sensor showing your SwitchBot Curtain current position in digits where 0 is fully opened and 100 is fully closed, and template Cover entity that can be added as Home Assistant Card to open or close the curtains.
• Save the changes in configuration.yaml file and reboot your Home Assistant from Configuration > Server Controls > Restart.
• Add a new card in Home Assistant (if you don’t know how exactly check my video)
• Enjoy!

Remember, to have this kind of Home Assistant SwitchBot API integration along with the SwitchBot Curtain device you will need the SwitchBot Hub Mini. If you choose this combination as a bonus you can add Alexa, Google and Siri in the game.

SwitchBot Curtain Other worth mentioning features

And putting the cart before the horse intentionally I want to say few words about the SwitchBot Curtain Installation and the device other worth mentioning features.

SwitchBot Curtain Installation

The installation of SwitchBot curtains was indeed very easy, it took me more time to decide which hook wheel to choose exactly for my rail than the actual installation.

SwitchBot Curtain + Solar Panels

I also mounted the Solar panels on my SwitchBot Curtain devices, but it turns out that they are not charging them due to not enough sunlight. Thankfully, SwitchBot have thought about this scenario and they prepared a long cable and hooks as well as a detailed and easy procedure how to move the solar panels, so they can face direct sunlight.

If you want to buy the SwitchBot Solar Panel you can use this link ➡️ LINK

SwitchBot Curtain Alexa integration

I said Alexa several times until now, but luckily she cannot read such articles yet (she only can listen us) Anyways, here is how to Integrate SwitchBot Curtain with Alexa:

• Open your Alexa mobile app > tap on More > Skills & Games > Magnifying glass > search for SwitchBot
• Tap on the result twice and then on Enable to use button.

• It will ask you to log in with your SwitchBot account and when you are ready you will see a message saying that your SwitchBot smart account has been successfully linked.
• Discover new devices by saying “Alexa, discover devices” or by tap on the Discover Devices button in Alexa app.
• You can now command your Alexa by saying “Alexa, open/close YOUR_CURTAIN_NAME”.

SwitchBot Curtain Siri integration

And with Siri which is the Apple assistant the things are even easier:

• Open SwitchBot mobile app > tap on your SwitchBot Curtain device > More > Cog wheel icon (upper right) > Cloud services > Siri Shortcuts > choose Turn on or Turn off function > in When I say field enter a respective voice command of your choice (ex. close curtains or open curtains) > tap on Add to Siri button.
• From now on when you activate your Siri and when you say your chosen voice command everything should click.

SwitchBot Curtain + SwitchBot Remote

Additionally you can add the SwitchBot remote to the whole picture which is a little battery powered device with two buttons that can be programmed from the SwitchBot app to open and close the curtains.

You can easily add the SwitchBot remote to Home Assistant using the first method that I showed you. The one with the local integration and the Bluetooth Low Energy MAC address that have to be added in the configuration.yaml file.

If you wan to buy the SwitchBot Remote you can use this link ➡️ LINK

SwitchBot Curtain Touch & Go

Another feature, that SwitchBot Curtain have is called Touch & Go. That is when you draw the curtains instinctively by hand the device should sense that and it automatically have to move your curtains by 5cm.

However, this feature didn’t worked for me due to some reason. If you know why – let me know in the comments.

SwitchBot Curtain Light Sensing

Light Sensing is another feature that SwitchBot Curtain have, just have in mind that at the time of writing this article it is still in Beta version, but Beta is good enough for me, so I will try to use it.

SwitchBot Curtain Scheduling Options

Of course the standard scheduling options are available for the SwitchBot Curtain, where you can set up to 5 schedules on the device or unlimited schedules if you have the SwitchBot Hub mini.

SwitchBot Curtain Motion Modes

There are also two motion modes: Performance mode which is faster and more noisier and Silent mode which is slower, but as the name suggest more quiet.

Where to buy SwitchBot curtain and others?

If you want to buy the SwitchBot Curtain or any of the other accessories or products I can suggest to check the SwitchBot official website and their hot deals section. You can regularly find different promotions and coupons there that can decrease the total price of the SwitchBot products a lot.

Right now (at the time of writing this) they have 25% discount on all combo products.

• SwitchBot flash deals – https://switchbot.vip/3BwF221 
• SwitchBot Curtain – https://switchbot.vip/3kDqXsz
• SwitchBot Combo – https://switchbot.vip/38rOyXF 
• SwitchBot Solar Panel – https://switchbot.vip/3yAIXJ0 
• SwitchBot Hub Mini – https://switchbot.vip/3yqKFNj
• SwitchBot Remote  – https://switchbot.vip/3DAFuxM 
• Samsung SmartThings v3 hub – https://amzn.to/3zzgcOd

Have in mind that the links above are affiliate links, which means that I will receive small commission of your purchase with no additional cost for you.

Kind of win-win situation.

Outro

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I’m Kiril and I’m done writing (for today).