Kasa Smart HS100 WiFi Smart Plug, Classic 1-Pack, White

UPDATE: I left my original review as written below, but the issue described there that caused my initial 1-star rating has been corrected. I now have 5 of these and they work very well with my Echo, without the annoying middle man. I can now glad,y recommend them. Bought this in order to control my TV and streaming stick with Echo, and now I am returning it. It did not function well with Alexa, and I do not want a bunch of devices I have to control independently with 3rd party apps. This device turns Alexa into an extraneous middle-man. Here is the breakdown of how this product performed for me: Pro: - Unit appears to be decent quality and arrived well packaged. - Unit set up easily enough; instructions were simple to follow Con: - Unit requires the 3rd party Kasa app - Because the device is run by the Kasa app, not Echo directly, it turns Alexa into a middle-man; Echo becomes a silly extra step. - Echo could find the device to turn it on, but then could not recognize the name to turn it off: The whole process felt passive-aggressive. You cant say, Alexa, turn on the TV. You have to say, Alexa, ask Kasa to turn on the TV. Its like sitting around the table and saying, Sweetie, ask your father to pass the salt... Honey, ask your mother why she couldnt ask for the salt herself. It was ridiculous. In fairness, most of the extra skills for Echo currently work this way. Alexa ask for this, Alexa ask for that. For this very reason I find myself not using many of those extra functions. It takes away from the conversational, direct-control feel of the Echo, and Im hoping that this is corrected with future software updates. The problem seems to be that Echo has trouble recognizing the word Kasa. When you give Alexa a command, she searches around your profile for a device or group with the name she heard you say. She is no doubt looking for the word Casa in your lists, but its not there because the manufacturer named this Kasa with a K, which is not actually a word. Oddly enough, Alexa could turn the device on about 1 out of 5 tries. She could never turn it off. Alexa, ask Kasa to turn the TV on, (and tell dad to pass mom the salt)....The TV comes on, sometimes. Immediately after that, Alexa, ask Kasa to turn the TV off,.... Im sorry. I cannot find a device or group with that name in your profile. Every. Single. Time. Sure I can keep the Smart Plug and control my TV/streaming stick with my phone, but that defeats the purpose. The point is voice command control through 1 master device (Echo). If I have to pick up my phone and use a 3rd-party app to turn on the TV, I might as well just use the TV remote.

I own three of these plugs, the oldest is about a year old, and they work very well. They are very easy to connect to setup and the Kasa app is simple to use, and has a lot of great features. I use these to control some lights, fans and space heaters, so I can have them on timers to turn on in the morning/evening. Its also really nice to be able to turn on your space heater when youre away from home, say if youre returning from a trip and want the house to be warm when you get back. It also integrates with IFTTT. So for example, I have a Wifi Security camera that can detect smoke alarm sounds. I have it set up so that if the camera detects the smoke alarm going off, it will automatically turn off my smart outlets so any fans or heaters I have connected can turn off. You can easily set it up so that something turns on when you get home, and turns off when you leave, etc. The away mode feature is really nice, just set the time that you will be away and it can randomly turn on and off a light to make it look like you are home. There are a few missing features that other smart plugs offer. One is an energy monitor, this plug will tell you how long something has been on, but not how much energy its drawing. Also, the away mode instructions are bit confusing. It seems to indicate that you cant run away mode past midnight, into the next day. I.e., you can set up away mode from 5:30PM to 11:59PM. But you cant set it to run from 5:30PM to 6AM, so its not all that useful if youre actually gone all night. The instructions in the app are confusing in this regard, thats really the only major downside.

In my opinion, critical thing here is these are UL certified which is important if you dont want to burn your house down if trying to use with high-current device. I have a space heater in my home office which is in a kinda remote place in my house and I wanted to control it from google home. The heater has 1500 watt capacity which at 120 volts is in the neighborhood of ~12 amps (more to that calculation than I know) so theres not a tremendous amount of wiggle room in order to stay a decent amount below capacity, which I prefer. The UL certification gives me a substantial amount of peace of mind over not being certified and that is why I chose to buy this socket over other ones. On top of all of that, TP-Link has been doing a tremendously good job at integrating all of their devices and improving their user interfaces in ways I havent seen their competitors do in my anecdotal experience. I just coincidentally have a TP-Link mesh wifi network for my house. If TP-Link didnt have a UL certified plug and a competitor did, I would have bought that. But it happened to be TP-Link too. If or when my TP-Link account becomes relevant, I already have it set up. 1 account, all devices, and they are for the (arguably) best consumer (vs prosumer) devices available for sale. Bought to go buy some stock...

If I could give a product a minus number as a rating, this would be IT. Heres the skinny after two hours of screwing with my networks: Right from their live tech support ----- george ure I do not have a smartphone but I do have a PC and an Amazon Dot. How do I get it connected? Jerry A Unfortunately you need to install the app for IOS or Android for the device to work. [I didnt bother mentioning everything else on my network (printers, hubs, audio devices, mass storage...all somehow manage to work george ure 12:48 pm YOU DONT HAVE ON ONLINE OR A PC APP!!!!!??????wtf --- THAT SHOULD BE THE WARNING before any of specs or anything else: THIS PRODUCT ISNT FOR PC/ LINUX or another OS except the two (Android AND IMac) Would not even work with WeMowhatever, either. Heres my time-sunk bottom line on this little gobbler: I am all in favor of home automation. BUT instead of just being discoverable on your network, this clown posse app demands you set up an account on their server and log in just to pair with your Echo or Dot (which we do love, BTW). Now lets think this through: One of this switches was to simply turn on my laser printer so it didnt burn power all day. You know Alexa, turn on printer was what I was thinking. Nope. First I need a phone. Friend, I live in rural Texas. I mean its 15-miles to a gas station out here. We are at the end of the string for phone service and there is NO CELL coverage at all. We pay a bundle for satellite access. Still I thought Gee, this would be fun... So I ordered a couple of them. Came in a box (duh). Followed directions as far as Download the app on your phone and set up the account language. Then I got papa indian sierra sieraed. Who are people that think everyone is dumb enough to have a cancer-causer in their face all day? If you think Im just a grumpy old man in the woods, 69 aint old... Save your money and by a clapper. Amazons gottem. They will work as good as a smart whozzit like this thing. No set up an account requirement (with a password on who knows what server) either. Take the money you save and give it lto the homeless. For now, this kind of home automation is just another online layer of nonsensical complexity and another thing to break when the net goes down. Whew...feel like I have helped the non-phone addicts wise up enough to avoid my aggravation. Have a nice day...Peace out. ====== Updated 5/9/18 Got it to work. Pairing is devoid of logic. But now, for the price, I can turn my shop lights on or off from 5,000 miles away. Do you have any idea what a breakthrough this is for humanity? You have to enable stuff in this occult setup world...but it can be done by any idiot (which Im well qualitied for) I need to visit China now to I can once (before I die) turn off my shop light from Beijing. My lifes mission will be complete.

I bought this to control a TV & Satellite box but after reading some others reviews I realized that it would not do the job I was expecting it to do in that capacity. Im grateful and thankful to those people for their reviews detailing why it wont work to control your TV (basically the device thinks its unplugged from the wall if turned off from a smart plug so turning it back on means rebooting tvs & satellite boxes) before I started unplugging and setting things back up only to find my dreams dashed. Seriously, search TV in the reviews search and see their knowledge and save yourself the hassle. I figured I might as well try plugging an awkward to access lamp into one of the two plugs I bought before I initiated a return and was happy to find that the set up and connection process was effortless and fast. The app was easy to use on my phone, I literally just plugged the plug in, waited for lights to turn colors per the apps on screen directions and within a few minutes, it worked. I then connected my Google Home to it in another seamless & simple set up connection process and now I no longer have to contort my arm to find the switch for this lamp, I just say Hey Google, turn on the lights and on it goes. Theres an audible click when it goes on and off that comes from the plug itself, its a satisfying sound to me. So I was bummed I couldnt use these for what I intended, but am thrilled that I was able to simplify something and expand my Google Homes capabilities. This was my first Smart Home purchase and Im very pleased with the ease of this system. So trust the reviews, dont use this for your TV, but do use it for lamps or other appliances that dont need to reboot to be used. Also trust us that youre going to want the Mini plug if you want second outlet access. This one hangs too low over the bottom outlet if you plug into the top. Lesson learned. If I ever decide to add more smart plugs, I will go with the mini.

After reading a lot of reviews, most purchasers have this product (HS100 TP-Link Smart Plug) interface with other voice command devices. I purchased for a specific purpose. I have two separate controllers for outdoor landscape lights. Due to the configuration of my home and outside, I have two separate sets and the units that control them are located inside (garage and the basement). Therefore, the HS100 would not be exposed to outside. When I bought the two controllers I could have had them app controlled but that would have been $200 extra per unit. The units come with a simple pin timer. However, the times are hard to set to come on at the the same time and then the times typically gain or lose time. I started to research the smart plugs to see if I can use those rather than the timers. I put the smart plugs in the units and they appear to work. I have the lights off during the holidays. I tested them with holiday lights in the house that were on timer and both sets of lights for each timer come on at the same time. The current manual pull pin times have gained about 15 minutes in less than a month. Setup of the plugs - actual it is easy if you follow the directions. Of course, I did not. When I created my account and password, I kept using the new password when it was asking to connect to my wireless network. If you have to call support...good luck. They are oversees (maybe China) and rush to get you off the phone. However, it was my error. Scheduling - again it would have been faster to follow the directions, but you can figure it out. I linked both units to the app and both are set off and on at the same time each day. So far, no issues. For both of these times I have been home. I am going to test what happens when I am not at home for these times and also when my phone is powered off at these times. I will keep you posted. Away - they have a nice feature that lets the time vary when the unit powers on. This is so the connected light is not coming on at the exact same time each evening. I am not sure I will purchase more. I would like them at the holidays as I have lights on 6 different times. It would be nice to have them all on the same cycle and exact time. Not sure it is worth the price to be using them about a month a year.

Oh my god, it was like buttah! setting the TP-Link up with the Amazon Echo. Thank you so much TP-Link Support for responding to another persons review, because that made me more inclined to purchase this! I along with my mother - who is on the other side of Texas - have been having weird problems with the Wemo plug and Echo, where it only works when it wants to. The times you need the Wemo, it wouldnt work and I would have to go into the Alex app and have to discover the Wemo plug again - it wouldnt be discovered if I simply asked Alexa to do it. Seems that that lots of people started having this problem starting @ 4-6 weeks ago. So the TP-Link was at the top of my list, but I didnt know if it worked with the Amazon Echo. After seeing a reply from TP-Link support regarding the echo and saying it now works, I thought I would give it a try. I set up the TP-Link Kasa for iPhone on my iPad, signed up, followed instructions, and the app itself was breeze - especially compared to the Wemo app. Remeber, you have to start in the TP-Link Kasa app and be signed in. Follow instructions. When it tells you to leave the app, that means that you then go to your settings for wifi and then select the TP-Link device as your wifi. Then, go back to the TP-Link Kasa app to finish. After you are done in the Kasa app, go into the Alexa app. In the Alexa App, go to the menu and select Smart Home, then go to Device Links - find and select Link with TP-Link Kasa. This will bring up a menu where you put in your TP-Link Kasa email & password. When you are done with that, go back to Smart Home in the Alexa app, then Devices, where you will then select Discover Devices. Let Alexa discover the TP-Link and Viola, youre done!!!

I got this as part of the Black Friday promo for purchasing an Echo Dot. Like the other TP-Link products I have purchased, the set-up is pretty easy from the TP-Link Kasa app. I think some people might get stuck when they attempt to connect to their own wi-fi network. For what ever reason, I notice that the TP-Link products always list my neighbors network first instead of mine. I solved that by clicking the option below the listed network to find my own. As for the product I have had no problems connecting or loss of signal. My plug is on the second floor of my home about twenty feet in distance from the wi-fi router. Not bad considering all the flooring and walls. My only complaint is that the smart plug covers the entire outlet. Not a problem for the room I am using as it only had one lamp running to that wall outlet. All the same, I cannot plug anything else into that wall outlet. My suggestion is that you might want to use this smart plug for a single appliance like a fan or Christmas lights. If you want to have smart features for a lamp, I would suggest purchasing a smart light bulb (see my review for the TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch HS200) which is likely to have more features and allow you to keep full access to your wall outlet.

This review is for an item I just received. The setup is straightforward, TP-Link include a small card that takes you through the basics of setting up the switch on your home network. It took a lot longer to move the couch and physically install the switch than it did to do the network setup. To setup the device you do need a smart phone or tablet to instal the KASA app. Not sure why they call it KASA. The KASA app searches for devices and runs through the setup onto your WIFi. I checked for new Firmware using the KASA app but it the unit I received was up to date. Wemo devices need updating frequently, maybe TP-Link have simply got this right. Alexa integration worked first time without issues and has been solid since. TP-Link instructions on the web have you use the Alexa app on your phone to detect the devices, you can in fact do this by voice command by saying, Alexa, discover devices, wish the instructions had incuded the voice command. I attached two living room lamps to this one smart switch and it works fine. Using a smart switch without the need for a hub is a much simpler and cheaper way to control lamps than getting smart bulbs plus a hub. I was successful in controlling the switch away from home using my phone, but I found it doesnt work consistently like it does when at home. Id occasionally get a could not connect message. Waiting 10 seconds or so resolved the issue. It is possible to establish scheduled on/off events for each of your switches at different times of day and days of the week. It has an away Mode but this was kinda useless. You can say you will be away from 9am to 6pm for instance and schedules are modified, however much more useful would be an away mode over multiple days for when you are away on vacation. I was surprised that managing your switches cannot be done on the web. The Phone app works fine, but the limited screen size limits how much they can get on the scree at once. Id like the ability to manage the switch(s) from a web page. The Amazon Echo has both app and web page control, TP-Link need to do the same.

Im used to setting everything up via my computer. But you have to use your phone to set this up. At first, I couldnt get it to see the wireless account I needed. (My computer modem was seeing it but not my smart phone) I called the help line a few times and then I thought, Maybe I should restart my phone. This was after I tried everything else. I felt kind of dumb taking that long to realize that because Im usually pretty good around electronics. I did the turn off the phone, turn the phone back on thingie and it popped up. I also had to move the device closer to my modem to set it up, but its just a simple thing to move it to the room you want to use it in once you get it set up. It worked great... then my cat walked across my laptop and somehow turned it off. I must learn to close the lid when I walk out of the room.... Was able to reset it and its working great again. One thing to note.... I *think* that if you want to use the remote settings you must use the wireless account they give you. As it was, I used my own network address which works fine here. Not sure, need to check all that out. Ill come back and update this review once I do that. I know that it sounds like I had a lot of problems but they werent that bad and the help line people did their best to help. I plan on getting one or two more of these. Now that I know how to hook them up it will only take minutes set them up. I gave it 5 stars because of the help desk. Yes, they were all from another country but I could understand them and they did do their best to get me up and running. Now that Ive had it for awhile I have something to add. I moved to a new apartment building and thought Id have to set up my plugs again. Didnt happen. Just plugged them in and they worked fine. No re-setup needed. It could be because Im using the same modem and stuff but it was nice not having to do a re-set. Id like it enough Im saving up money to buy one more for the extra bedroom in my apartment.