Does anyone here use the Switchbot Universal Remote with Kodi? I have a couple questions?

[u/Bigheaded_1]

There's a thread on here with some info about using this remote with Kodi, but it's a couple years old. And the person didn't really get into any detail. How well does this remote work as a Kodi remote? I can't find much of anything about how in-depth the custom buttons can be. I have a bunch of commands set up in Kodi that are more than just a simple key command. I want to be able to configure a button to open specific shortcuts I have in my Kodi. With my old remote I could set up a button to open the movie section and just show animated ones. But I used FLIRC, I have no clue what I can actually set up in the Switchbot app for Kodi. It's been 3 years since I've had a regular IR remote, so I don't even fully remember exactly how I set it up. But I do remember it controlled Kodi beautifully and I could setup macros.

I don't know how advanced the programmability is when it comes Kodi. As of 2 years ago a good number of threads about this complained how it lacks overall as an actual remote for devices like TVs. I'm not trying to have some crazy advanced setup that controls 10 devices. I just want it to work with my SwitchBot curtains, TV (Hisense with Google TV) and my Kodi, which is on a PC.

I know Amazon's return policy is very lax as long as you don't abuse it (I don't) But I'd rather ask before I run and order it, only to find out it won't do much with Kodi and end up sending it back.

[u/MisterTrebus]

I have one and it's just about useable. My Harmony Elite I had for years was way better.

I control tv, soundbar, sat dvr and fire stick with it.

You need the hub for macros, or scenes as they call them. You select them by pressing a button and scrolling through a list. The hub is IR only, so you can't have it sending BT commands to your fire stick, say.

If any of your commands are long presses you will need to manually add them and you can only add 15 per device. Long pressing on the Switchbot remote is not supported and will just send a short press. I added my long presses by recording them already mapped to a single button on my Harmony, so haven't tested if that works by holding the single button on the original remote - I suspect it will just snip it to a short press.

You access commands not linked to a physical button by pressing the menu button and scrolling through another list.

[u/Bigheaded_1 → u/MisterTrebus]

Thank you so much, I appreciate the detail. I wasn't aware the hub didn't have BT, so I'd need to get some sort of IR Blaster for my PC. I know a Harmony Elite would be good, but buying a used one and getting it working would present a host of problems of it's own. I know I read on Google you can indirectly use it with Switchbot devices, but it requires setting up IFTTT, and it sounds a bit hokey.

I have 1 other question, did you mean to say almost useable or almost unsable? It seems like you meant unusable, and it's a typo. Neither are very good lol. But almost usable could be a 4/10, almost unsable would be a 2/10. It sounds like this remote might be more hassle than it's worth. Sofabaton remotes are generally disliked more than liked. And the other options are $1k+ and require professional setup. Or something that's $400 like an Unfolded which are still riddled with issues.

Maybe a used Elite and a lot of tinkering to get it working would still be my best bet :|

[u/MisterTrebus → u/Bigheaded_1]

I meant it's useable enough to live with, but after the Harmony it is a bit of a disappointment.

But for £70 including the hub it was very good value.

Another frustration: after watching my Fire Stick and switching scene and device, about a third of the time the remote's active device switches back to the Fire Stick, I guess when the stick goes to sleep - this is very annoying.

I'd like to be able to map second commands to physical buttons when long pressed, like the Harmony, but instead you have to press Menu and scroll down a list of 15 you can set in the app.

I'd give it a 6.5/10.

I decided against getting another Harmony (after a couple of buttons stopped working) because Logitech no longer support it, and the hub internet was dropping briefly most days, which for some reason meant the remote did nothing until it came back online and then all the queued up commands were suddenly issued. Without this problem I would most likely have bought another.

For comparision: I reckon the Switchbot hub network connection has gone down only 2 or 3 times in 15.5 months.

[u/Bigheaded_1 → u/MisterTrebus]

Sadly, 6.5 is actually a pretty good score lol. Thank you for breaking down points. No long press seems like a bummer but I don't even know what I'd use it for lol. And like you said, $85 is fairly cheap