Xiaomi’s $17 Smart Switch Fixes the Wiring Problem That Stops Most People From Going Smart

The Xiaomi Smart Switch 2 Pro starts at CNY 114 (~$17) on crowdfunding and works in older homes without a neutral wire. You’ll see what a smart switch actually does, why it often beats smart bulbs, what its 2,200W rating means, and why buying one outside China is harder than it looks.

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Xiaomi just opened crowdfunding for the Smart Switch 2 Pro, a wall light switch that starts at CNY 114 (~$17), sits just 3.5mm off the wall, and works in older homes that lack a neutral wire, the missing cable that blocks most people from installing a smart switch. Smart switches are one of the cheapest ways to make a home “smart,” because they upgrade every light on a circuit at once, and Xiaomi now sells two generations of them for less than many single smart bulbs. Here’s what the Smart Switch 2 Pro does, what’s actually new, and the catches you should know before you get excited.

The Smart Switch 2 Pro comes in three versions, all sized for China’s standard 86-type wall box, the square box behind most switches in Chinese homes:

It’s on Xiaomi Youpin, the company’s Chinese crowdfunding and lifestyle store, in two colors. Crowdfunding prices are usually Xiaomi’s lowest, and some listings already show a regular price of around CNY 149 (~$22), so expect the price to rise once early-bird stock runs out.

A smart switch replaces the normal light switch on your wall. It still works like a regular switch when you press it. But it’s also connected to your phone, so you can turn lights on and off from an app, by voice, on a schedule, or automatically when something else happens in your home.

Here’s why that often beats buying smart bulbs, the other popular option:

The downside is installation. You’re replacing something wired into your walls, which in many countries legally requires an electrician. That’s where the neutral wire problem comes in.

A normal light switch is just a gap in a wire. Press it, and the gap closes so electricity flows to the bulb. That’s why many switch boxes only have a live wire going in and out. There’s no need for anything else.

A smart switch is different. It has a tiny radio and chip inside that need power all the time, even when the light is off, so they can listen for commands from your phone. Most smart switches get that constant power from a neutral wire, a return cable that completes the circuit. In lots of older homes in the US, UK, and Asia, that neutral wire simply isn’t in the switch box. Adding one can mean opening walls.

Xiaomi’s fix is a single live-wire mode. The switch sips a tiny amount of power through the light itself, even when the light is off, which is enough to keep its radio running. The Smart Switch 2 Pro detects whether your box has a neutral wire when it powers on and picks the right mode by itself, with no settings to flip.

There’s a known catch with this approach. That trickle of power can make some low-wattage LED bulbs flicker or glow faintly when they should be off. Xiaomi says its new generation is tuned to reduce LED flicker, and we’d still test it with your exact bulbs before swapping every switch in the house. In the West, no-neutral smart switches exist too, but rival workarounds typically cost $50 to $70 per switch, several times Xiaomi’s price.

Xiaomi launched the regular Smart Switch 2 just six weeks ago, in early September. Both share the same brains, so the Pro is mostly about looks and build quality.

The 3.5mm panel is the headline. Most wall switches stick out about a centimeter, so this one sits almost flush, like a thin glass tile. AG glass has a matte, anti-glare finish, and the AF (anti-fingerprint) coating helps it resist oil and smudges, which matters on something you touch every day.

A relay is the tiny mechanical part that actually switches the power on and off. Xiaomi says it’s rated for a million presses, which works out to more than 90 years at 30 presses a day.

Our take: the Pro is worth the extra money if the switch is in a spot people see, like a living room or a hallway. For a garage or storage room, the cheaper Smart Switch 2 does the same job.

This is what you’re really paying for. Some examples Xiaomi gives:

On dual and triple versions, the Mi Home app can also reassign which button controls which light. That sounds minor, but it’s a real fix for homes where an electrician wired things in a confusing order.

Control works three ways: press the button, use the Mi Home app, or ask Xiao Ai, Xiaomi’s Chinese voice assistant. Xiaomi says its Mesh 2.0 wireless module responds 50% faster than before.

Here’s the hidden cost. App and voice control need a Bluetooth Mesh gateway, a hub that links the switch to your Wi-Fi. Many Xiaomi smart speakers and hubs act as one, but if you don’t own any Xiaomi gear yet, budget for it. Without a gateway, the switch still works as a normal switch, and you lose the smart part.

The switch is rated for 10A (amps) and 2,200W (watts), with built-in protection against overheating and overloading.

Watts measure how much power a device uses. Amps measure how much current flows through the wire. The two are linked by your home’s voltage. China uses 220V, and 10A at 220V equals 2,200W. In the US, homes run at 120V, so the same 10A limit would allow only about 1,200W.

In practice, that’s plenty for lights. Even a large room full of LED bulbs rarely draws more than 100W to 200W. But don’t use a light switch like this to control a space heater, kettle or air conditioner. Those can pull far more power and belong on circuits built for them.

Not easily, and we wouldn’t try to import one. Here’s why:

If you live outside China and want a cheaper smart home, look for locally certified switches from brands that support Matter, an industry standard that lets smart home gear from different brands work together.

The Xiaomi Smart Switch 2 Pro is a clever, cheap answer to the most annoying problem in smart homes: old wiring. A sub-$20 switch that needs no neutral wire, looks like a sheet of glass, and triggers whole-home routines is exactly the kind of product that makes smart homes normal rather than nerdy.

For buyers in China, it’s an easy upgrade, as long as you already own a Xiaomi gateway or plan to buy one. For everyone else, it’s a preview. Xiaomi is showing how cheap a good smart switch can be, at a time when Apple’s first smart home line costs $1,740 for the full set. We’d expect Western brands to feel that pressure on price, even if this exact switch never reaches your local store.

Not directly, but it helped design some. Apple worked with LG on a smart lock, doorbell, and thermostat built to work closely with the Home app, which shows how hard Apple is now pushing into the smart home.

Yes, for its phones. Xiaomi designs its own XRING processors, and the XRING O3 chip broke the 4GHz barrier, putting it in the same race as Apple and Qualcomm.

For many small homes and renters, yes, if 5G coverage is strong where you live. ZTE’s $90 portable 5G Wi-Fi hotspot is one of the cheapest ways to try it before cancelling a fixed-line plan.

Yes, especially phones. Its latest flagship is going global as the Xiaomi 18 Pro, though smart home gear usually follows months or years later, and some never leaves China.

Some do, using face recognition. Apple’s $299 HomeView recognizes faces of people you’ve tagged in your photo library, which is convenient but raises fair privacy questions about who gets scanned.

Vincee Cole is a technology journalist with four years of experience covering the full spectrum of modern tech — from consumer devices, artificial intelligence, to quantum computing, blockchain, and digital assets. His reporting cuts through complexity to deliver stories that are sharp, grounded, and relevant to both general readers and industry insiders. Previously, he worked with fintech research teams across Southeast Asia, analysing how emerging technologies are reshaping financial systems at scale.