Fibaro Keyfob

The Fibaro KeyFob is a six button Z-Wave remote that goes on the keyring. Each button reads a single, double and triple click and a hold, and on top of that you can record sequences of two to five presses, which takes it to 30 different actions from one small remote.

• How the Fibaro KeyFob gets to thirty actions
• It can be locked, which matters if a button opens a gate
• IP54, because it lives outdoors half the time
• Battery and encryption
• What it needs

A Z-Wave controller is required and is not included.

How the Fibaro KeyFob gets to thirty actions

Six buttons, and each one reads a single click, a double click, a triple click and a hold. That is 24 already. On top of that you can record sequences of two to five presses, which adds six more slots for the things you want to be deliberate about. Thirty separate instructions from something the size of a car key, and the hub decides what every one of them means.

It can be locked, which matters if a button opens a gate

Because it understands sequences, one of them can be set as an unlock code. Until that sequence is entered the fob does nothing, so a keyfob that falls out of a pocket, or gets picked up by somebody in a car park, is not a way into your compound. Very few remotes at this size offer that, and on a fob that opens a gate it is the specification that matters most.

IP54, because it lives outdoors half the time

A keyring remote spends its life in a pocket, in a bag, on a car seat and in your hand in the rain between the car and the door. IP54 means dust and splashing water are not a problem. It is a small thing that decides whether the fob is still working in two years or has quietly corroded.

Battery and encryption

One CR2450, included, which Fibaro rate at two years at five presses a day. It talks Z-Wave and Z-Wave Plus with AES-128 encryption, so the button that opens the gate is not sending a signal anybody can copy from the street.

What it needs

A Z-Wave controller, not included. Three of the ones we stock will run it: the Fibaro Home Center Lite, the Fibaro Home Center 2 and the Homey Pro.

For fewer actions in a smaller package, the Aeotec NanoMote Quad does eight. For something on a wall rather than a keyring, the Aeotec WallMote Touch. Fibaro publish the KeyFob at fibaro.com.