Onvis Switch HS2

The Onvis Switch HS2 is a five-key battery-powered wall switch that controls Apple Home rather than a circuit. No mains wiring is involved: it sticks or screws to any surface and sends scenes and commands.

That makes it a good answer to a common problem. Smart bulbs stop working when somebody flips the wall switch off. A battery switch mounted over the old plate, or beside the door where you wish a switch existed, gives everyone a normal-feeling button while the bulbs keep their power.

What works in Apple Home

• Trigger a scene or an automation from each key.
• Distinguish single press, double press and long press on each key, so five buttons cover far more than five actions.
• Report its own battery level.

Connectivity

Thread is the reason to prefer this over an older Bluetooth sensor. Bluetooth accessories talk to one hub and get slower and less reliable the further away they sit. Thread accessories form a mesh, where every mains-powered Thread device passes messages along, so a sensor at the far end of the house responds as quickly as one in the hall.

You need a Thread border router for it: a HomePod mini, a HomePod (2nd generation) or an Apple TV 4K.

Before you buy

Plan what each key does before you fit it, and label them. A five-key switch with three gestures each is fifteen possible actions, which is more than anybody remembers without a label.

Battery switches are stateless: they send a command and nothing else. If you want the switch to show you whether a light is on, that is not what this is.

Specifications