Skip to main content

SwitchBot temperature sensors

SafetyBrik can read live temperatures from SwitchBot sensors so your team doesn't have to open every fridge with a probe at the start and end of every shift. The reading still gets logged, the corrective-action prompt still appears if it's out of range, but the number comes from the sensor instead of someone's notebook.

This is an optional layer on top of the manual temperature flow. Manual entry is always available as a fallback.

SwitchBot is the alerting source

SafetyBrik reads sensor values when your team logs a check. Realtime out-of-temperature alerts continue to come from the SwitchBot app, not from Brikly. Keep SwitchBot push notifications enabled for whoever is on call - that's still the fastest way to find out a fridge has failed overnight.

What you'll need​

  • A SwitchBot account with at least one supported temperature sensor (Meter, Meter Plus, Outdoor Meter, Hub-connected meters)
  • The SwitchBot Hub Mini / Hub 2 paired with the sensors (so they're reachable from the cloud)
  • A SwitchBot API token and secret - you generate these in the SwitchBot mobile app under Profile > Preferences > Developer Options

Connect SwitchBot to Brikly​

The connection is set up once per location.

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations.
  2. Find the Temperature Monitoring section.
  3. Click Connect SwitchBot.
  4. Paste your API token and secret from the SwitchBot app and pick the location this account belongs to.
  5. Click Save.

Brikly verifies the credentials against SwitchBot and pulls the list of devices on your account. If the credentials are wrong or the SwitchBot service is unreachable you'll see an inline error - the integration is only saved once it works.

You can repeat the steps above for each location if you have separate SwitchBot accounts per site.

Where to find your token and secret

In the SwitchBot mobile app, tap Profile > Preferences, then tap the app version number ten times. A new Developer Options menu appears at the bottom of the Preferences screen, and that's where the token and secret live.

Bind a sensor to a fridge or freezer​

Connecting the account makes sensors available to Brikly. Binding tells Brikly which sensor belongs to which piece of equipment.

  1. Go to Temperature checks (/safety/temperature-checks).
  2. Click Edit on the fridge, freezer, hot hold or display you want to monitor.
  3. Scroll to the Temperature sensor section.
  4. Pick a sensor from the dropdown. Sensors are listed by their SwitchBot device name (rename them in the SwitchBot app if the names aren't operator-friendly).
  5. Click Save.

Each sensor can only be bound to one piece of equipment at a time. If a sensor is already in use elsewhere it appears greyed out with the equipment name beside it.

To unbind, edit the equipment again, set the sensor dropdown to None, and save.

Use Check via SwitchBot on the daily checklist​

Once a sensor is bound, the daily checklist gets a small upgrade.

When a team member opens an opening or closing checklist that includes a temperature item linked to a sensor-bound fridge, they'll see a Check via SwitchBot button next to the temperature input.

  1. They tap Check via SwitchBot.
  2. Brikly fetches the current reading from the sensor (typically under two seconds).
  3. The temperature input fills in automatically and the in-range / out-of-range status updates.
  4. If the reading is out of range, the Corrective Action Required box appears just like a manual entry - the team member still describes what they did about it.
  5. They submit the checklist normally. The reading saves to that fridge's temperature history with the source marked SwitchBot.

This means the team can do an opening sweep across every fridge in the kitchen with a couple of taps each, instead of opening doors and waiting for a probe to settle. The audit trail is identical to manual entry: timestamp, value, who logged it, in-range judgement, plus the source badge.

Manual entry still works

The Check via SwitchBot button is a shortcut, not a requirement. If your team prefers a probe reading, or the sensor is offline, they can type the temperature in by hand exactly as before. SafetyBrik treats both readings the same way once they're saved.

What happens when a sensor is unavailable​

Sensors drop offline occasionally - flat batteries, a hub that needs rebooting, the SwitchBot cloud having a slow day. SafetyBrik is designed so this never blocks a checklist:

  • Check via SwitchBot fails gracefully - if Brikly can't reach the sensor within a few seconds, the button shows an error and the temperature input stays empty.
  • Manual entry is still available - the team member just types the reading from a probe or the equipment's own display.
  • The checklist still submits - there is no requirement that the reading came from a sensor. A manual reading carries the same weight in your records.
  • The sensor status is logged - the response notes that a sensor lookup was attempted and failed, so a reviewer can see why a manual reading was used on a particular day.

If a sensor is offline for more than a few hours, check it in the SwitchBot app. SafetyBrik does not try to re-establish the connection on its own - the SwitchBot app and hub are the right place to triage hardware problems.

Where SwitchBot readings show up​

A reading captured via SwitchBot is stored exactly like a manual reading, with one extra detail:

  • Equipment temperature history - the Source column shows SwitchBot instead of the checklist or Manual badge.
  • Records and Reports - SwitchBot readings are filterable in the Reports view, so you can see at a glance which fridges are being monitored automatically and which are still on probes.
  • Prove It - sensor-sourced readings are included in the Prove It bundle alongside manual readings, with the source noted.

Removing the integration​

If you stop using SwitchBot, or change accounts:

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Temperature Monitoring.
  2. Click Disconnect beside the SwitchBot account you want to remove.
  3. Any equipment that was bound to a sensor on that account is automatically unbound. Manual entry continues to work as before.

Disconnecting does not delete any historical readings - the audit trail stays intact.

Cross-references​