As announced by us in November, the next Thread device from manufacturer Onvis is now on sale. Even though the release was planned quite a bit earlier, the Onvis HS2 5-button switch is now available for purchase.

The switch measures approximately 55 × 55 × 20 mm and is powered by a CR2450 coin cell battery, which should provide power for up to one year.

In HomeKit, the switch is integrated in a few seconds by the usual scan of the QR code. The Onvis Home app is not mandatory, but it is useful for getting firmware updates for the device.

The special feature also on the new Onvis HS2 switch is, of course, in addition to the wireless connection through Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0, the new Thread technology. This also ensures low energy consumption and a fast response time. The switch transmits a button press instantly to your Apple Home to switch other devices, lights and scenes. The Onvis switch is one of the few of its kind so far. A programmable switch with Thread is currently only offered by Wemo with its Stage Scene Controller. But it is only available in the US.

Even though Onvis advertises the HS2 as a 5-button switch, it actually has even more buttons. This is because each of the five buttons can be assigned a “Single Press”, “Double Press”, or “Long Press” in HomeKit.

The switching of devices and scenes that you trigger with the Onvis button works promptly and to a certain extent without delay. Even if you don’t have to worry about the Thread connection as a user, since everything is activated automatically, it is still interesting, at least for us, to be able to view the Thread connection using the Eve for HomeKit app every now and then.

The Onvis HS2 switch can be mounted on any smooth surface thanks to the included mounting plate. The shell holds the switch magnetically. In addition, the holder itself can also be easily removed from the surface again and again, since it has a special coating without adhesive, which can always be repositioned without leaving any residue.

Unfortunately, the outer keys cannot be felt because the marking points are not raised. However, the markings are applied with a fluorescent print, so they are easily visible in the dark.

The switch itself holds magnetically to all metallic surfaces without a plate. The Onvis HS2 5-Key Switch finds its place in our kitchen on the refrigerator. This means that the light can be switched on, music can be played or a scene can be activated quickly at the touch of a button.

We had a few problems with the connection during the initial setup. However, after resetting the switch (press key 1 + key 5 for a long time), the problem could be solved directly and therefore does not seem to be a persistent problem. You can get the new Onvis HS2 5-button switch with Thread now on Amazon.