In June, SwitchBot announced the SwitchBot Water Leak Detector. This device is able to detect water leaks by using multiple sensors to determine if there might be a potential leak. We’ve tested the SwitchBot Water Leak Detector in the past few weeks in several situations.
Features
These are the main features of the SwitchBot Water Leak Detector:
- Bluetooth and Wifi connection
- Matter support added later this year
- Four sensors on the top and bottom
- Detects water drip, water immersion and water level
- Detection of water levels from 0.5mm high
- 100dB alarm
- Alerts through app, e-mail or voice assistent
- Powered by 2 AAA batteries for up to 24 months of battery life.
Set-up
The SwitchBot Water Leak Detector is very easy to set up. You can use the included AAA batteries and place them into the device. The device doesn’t need a hub as it uses WiFi, so you can directly start the installation using the SwitchBot app. After the initial set-up, there are a few settings you can change, such as alerts on your smartphone, through email or on the device itself with the 100dB alarm functionality. You can determine to length of the alarm or silence it when you only want a notification on your smartphone.
The Water Leak Detector has a total of 4 sensors, two on top and two on the bottom. The device will notify you as soon as there is water detected that will connect both sensors. This means a single drop of water on only of the two sensor on one side does not trigger the alarm yet, to avoid unnecessary warnings. You can place the device anywhere you would like to monitor potential water leaks, such as your laundry room or sink. In a later stage, a version with a wired sensor will also be available for harder to reach areas, such as under the washing machine.
For this review I’ve tested the SwitchBot Water Leak Detector is various places such as the bathroom.
Daily use
As water leaks are hopefully not happening that often, I tested this device by recreating these events in e.g. the bathroom. In all my tests, the device triggered as soon as it got I touch with enough water to connect the two sensors on the bottom or top of the device. This was directly followed by a loud alarm on the device itself, a notification of the SwitchBot app and an email. When the device stops notifying water, is sends a follow-up email to let you know the leak has cleared.
In general I was happy about the fast response and the multiple options to get notified in case of a leak. I did miss integration with Apple HomeKit as there’s currently no Matter integration. This should however be added later this year, so I will be waiting for that to integrate this sensor with the rest of my Smart Home and e.g connect a valve controller to stop the water supply automatically in case of a water leak. The integration with Google worked fine, but there’s no integration with routines, so I wasn’t able to let other devices react to the sensor, but this is a shortcoming of the Google Home platform. Therefore, Matter seems an important update to be able to get everything out of this Water Leak Detector.
Conclusion
With the SwitchBot Water Leak Detector, SwitchBot broadens its product line with a new product type, which is always welcome. Especially for people with a lot of SwitchBot devices, it’s nice to have such a sensor available within the ecosystem. For others, a Matter update would be a big upgrade to integrate this device within their Smart Home. The Water Leak Detector reacts quickly and is able to detect water in various situations. If you’re creative, you can e.g. use this device in your bath tub to detect when it’s almost full for a reminder to stop the water supply. Most people will probably use this under their sink or near their washing machine or similar devices to detect a water leak and be alerted as soon as possible. There are various ways to be notified, such as the on-device alarm, the app or an e-mail. Most likely you will leave all of them on the be alerted asap when a water leak is detected. A big plus for some will be the fact that this device does not need a hub, however if you would like to install many sensors, a hub would probably be preferred over WiFi.
As water leaks can cause serious damage, this SwitchBot Water Leak Detector could be a good investment for a fair price. It’s available on Amazon or the official SwitchBot website for 19,99.
