Not all devices are smart, but the Adaprox Fingerbot Plus can help fix that. I bought the Zigbee version, so let’s check that out.

The Switchbot have been available for years, but they decided to stick with Bluetooth LE only. Adaprox Fingerbot Plus is using that gab in the marked and have released a ZigBee version of their Fingerbot Plus.
You can have the Fingerbot Plus with different kits so you can control different types of switches, I bought the plain simple version without any accessories.

My use case for the Adaprox Fingerbot Plus is as garage port opener. I know you can buy 433 MHz equipment that can be programmed to open garage doors, but this is a very simple analog solution, and with a window sensor attached to the garage door, I think it will be very reliable too.

On top of the Adaprox Fingerbot Plus, there is a cheap touch button, that only work half the time I press it, and it have no feedback. It’s a shame, since it’s a good idea with a local analog touch button, but they should have used a better one.

I have built mine into a box with foam to make sure it doesn’t move.
It works very reliable. I have been using this setup for 3 weeks now, with 1-10 press per day, and it haven’t failed yet.
Update 2024-04-20: The day after I published this article it stopped working.
I played around with the settings, but it wouldn’t press the button. Not until i changed the upper to 0% again. When I set it to 50% (to save battery), it doesn’t stop halfway, but more like 1/3 from the top.
The easy fix was to set upper to 0%, and now it works reliable again.

The entire setup process is very simple because this is a standard ZigBee device. It pairs with Zigbee2MQTT, and present itself in Home Assistant.
Here you have all the basic settings. I have left mine default because it works.
When I use it in automations I use the Switch “Toggle” function.

So no need for a 3. party app or for a cloud solution, just local plug and play.

The technology could fail, so as a precaution, I made 2 automations, 1 for open, and 1 for closing the garage port. Both of them toggle the Fingerbot switch, and then wait 30 seconds. If the garage port haven’t opened/closed according to my window sensor, I toggle the Fingerbot switch again.
I am sure the Fingerbot switch and the window sensor could be more tightly integrated, but for now, this works perfect.

Conclusion:
The Adaprox Fingerbot Plus works exactly as advertised, and having the option of connecting via ZigBee will be a big plus for many smart home enthusiasts.
Setup is easy, simple and without any cloud or third party apps.
When I first saw the Fingerbot my first thought was to use it to control my old AV receiver in my office, but I would recommend the Broadlink RM4 mini for tasks like that, and it’s even cheaper than the Fingerbot.
My garage port could be controlled by 433 MHz equipment, or by a simple wireless relay, which means that the use cases for a device like the Fingerbot are few, and will only be fewer with time.
But if you have that device without IR or any other smart interface, the Fingerbot get the job done.