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

This has been working well so far, and since its able to interface it with both Alexa and IFTTT, its extremely flexible to automate! I do wish it came with an Ethernet port to set it up though, because for me, the wireless setup was very frustrating! In order to supply your routers credentials to this outlet, setup requires you to connect a wireless device to a temporary Wi-Fi network with the plug. Doesnt sound too difficult, but it took me several dozen attempts to successfully connect to the outlet! After a failed connection, youre given the option to set up manually, which consists of manually switching your network to the one supplied by the outlet. However, my connection kept telling me that I was in fact connected to the device, with no internet connectivity. Great, I wouldnt expect internet, but if Im connected, why does the setup keep telling me that Im not connected. The setup also helpfully states that maybe you should try again while being closer to the outlet. I literally had my phone resting on the device! So, I tried various outlets throughout my home in case I just happened to be trying to set it up in a wireless black hole, but to no avail. The only other wireless device that I have that I could use to set it up is a Kindle Fire tablet. Unfortunately, for some reason, the TP-Link Kasa app, that is used to setup and control the device, doesnt exist on the Amazon marketplace... Just when I reached my limit after dozens of setup attempts and was going to box the outlet back up and return it, it finally allowed me to input my routers credentials and connect it to my home network! Since attaching to my network, Ive had no issues whatsoever with the outlet! So while I like the device itself, and it works great, Im subtracting a star because the setup was beyond frustrating... If this device worked well, I was planning on purchasing some more. At this point, I dont know if Ill do that because while Im satisfied by the way the outlet is working, Im literally dreading trying to set another one up.

I have a water well and one year the outdoor plumbing from it froze. We had no water pressure when that happened because the part that froze was a 2 inch section of pipe that had the pressure sensor on it. You cant buy heat tape for a 2 pipe! The well tech said to insulate that pipe and place a heat lamp near that pipe, turning it on when it gets close to freezing. That involves clamping a heat lamp near the pipe and running an extension cord from the well head to my house, turning it on when it gets cold. It rarely stays cold enough during the day here, but it could happen. But what would I do if I was not home? This WiFi smart plug will hopefully be the answer. Basically, this is a WiFi relay/switch. You download the app, plug in the device to a wall outlet and the app connects the plug to your home network after you supply your routers WEP code. You next specify when the device will turn on. Generally, accessing the device turns it on. The icon on your smartphone Kasa app will turn green. You can have it turn on and off at a certain time on a specified day of the week but not on a specific date on the calendar. By doing so, it acts like setting a smartphone alarm. It asks for your location for sunrise/sunset information and can turn on the device at sunset, etc. There is an option to turn on the device for a low temperature situation, which I assume means outdoor temperature, but there is no setting for what that temperature is when it will turn the device on or at what subsequent temperature will it then turn it off. What if there are conflicts between the set schedule and the temperature? I will have to ask the company about that. In the meantime, I can check the weather and turn it on an off remotely. How long does it take for the smart plug to turn on or off when using the app? It is almost instantaneous. How far away is the smart plug from my Comcast router? About 80 feet.

Works smoothly with Alexa. After you install the TP-LINK software / app, Alexa is able to link with the cloud based TP-Link app and discovers the devices registered with TP-Link. Alexa will discover the device name(s) given at the TP-Link site. If you want to change the device name, because some may sound similar and Alexa has trouble to understand correctly, youll have to visit TP-Link to change the name and have Alexa possibly re-discover. I have a few of them smart plugs to switch certain lights on / off that dont have a dedicated light switch. If I remember correctly, the plug is rated at 1800 Watt and can switch heavier loads than light bulbs. There are other switches / plugs on the market that may be a little less expensive, but I didnt want to mess around with there link apps for security reasons. TP-LINK is in the business for network devices some time and I trust (hopefully) they made the app reasonably secure against hacker. I believe it is best to keep any of your skills to a minimum (in particular the free with adds), so I just use TP-Link products since they can be controlled by one app / skill. Each device acquires a seat in your router (with DHCP enabled IP-Addressing) also using the embedded MAC (Media Access Control Number) to keep it reasonably safe from intruders. Most routers can assign 255 IPs hence 255 devices. I havent tried, but one could probably run the devices on MAC. As of the time of this review, all is working as intended! Alexa can hear my commands over a distance of a little more than 10 feet, although I have to admit, she is a little shielded from my voice. (Placement for strong router signal) Since I am somewhat lazy, I purchased a second Echo-Dot with a little bluetooth speaker for my Bedroom. This way I tell Alexa to switch off my bedroom light and play some music for a given time. I also, have some difficult to reach light switches e.g. behind doors and replaced them with TP-LINK WiFi light switches.

Initially I left a horrible review. Im not ashamed to retract and admit it was my User error. I mixed and matched with Wemo light switch and didnt realize I choose a less expensive TP Link outlet plug. I tried connecting it via Wemo app periodically for 2 days with no sucess. I decided to write a bad review and return it. I began looking for a different brand when I realized the price difference between Wemo and this tp link. It hit me I did pay the lesser of the two, I mixed the two product brands! Duh!!! Immediately I went on YouTube , viewed the directions and set this up in 5 minutes. I linked it to my network and my Alexa. The easiest thing Ive ever done. I purchased this for my young son who was scared to go to the bathroom at night because of the dark. He would wake my wife and I up at night to escort him to the restroom. That started getting old quick. Now he tells Alexa to turn on the lights; no longer afraid and goes on his own. This is an awesome product and made me feel like a great Dad. As a young child I too was afraid of the dark, sometimes still am, lol. My father use to scold me, be a man, there are no monsters. I didnt want to take any chances, so like many kids, I suffered some nights holding it in. As parents, I feel we must be more understanding and not unintentionally traumatize our children by becoming an unsympathetic monster. I am so great full we have this technology. I hope to make my entire house Smart. This is the way of the future, embrace it! I highly recommend this product.

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.

This plug is great. The app is very fast to open and locate the device. Easy to setup and use remotely. I bought this for my mothers house because she uses lights on mechanical timers and is always calling me to complain that the lights are coming on too early, too late or turning off at the wrong time. I have a wifi bulb at home from a different manufacturer, which I set to turn on automatically every night at a specified time but the app is slow to locate it when I want to adjust the time. This TP-Link is very fast with the Kasa app. I was driving home after installing it and she called to tell me the light was still on, so I pulled up the app and I was able turn it off from 10 miles away and adjusted the turn off time from the road. I didnt need to change the IP account to static or anything. It just works. I will be buying a few more for my own use and a few light switches as well. You have to setup and an account to use it remotely, but thats just an email address, which you verify by clicking on the tab when you receive the confirmation, and a password. Ill be buying a few smart switches from TP-Link soon to change in her house too. Two more things to note. This has a USB port on the side I believe to charge things with. It was not used in the setup at all. Also, you can see remotely which devices are on or off. Great product TP-Link!!

The Good: Setup is a breeze. I had this thing up and running within 5 minutes. I didnt have to deal with port-forwarding from my router or any complicated setup process. If youre not very good with computer or technology, you should still be able to set this up without too much hassle. I did not connect this to an Alexa device, so I cant comment on how complex that process it. Im only using this as a way to remotely turn on/off an electronic device in my bedroom. The Bad: There is no web interface that you can access from a computer. The only way to control this device from via the Kasa app. It appears if you set up any customization, they are stored on Kasa servers. If this is truly the case, then this means if Kasa or your own internet connection are ever offline, so are these functions. Furthermore, because custom settings are stored remotely, the device has also opened up certain ports on your router for you, for communication between the device and the server. While this is good for people who arent technically-savvy, its bad for internet security. Personally, I wish that TP-Link would have made a more secure and less cloud-dependent version of the device. Id be willing to pay an extra $10 for that. As long as my home has a connection to the Kasa servers, though, the device appears to function flawlessly. One thing to note: Sometimes if you turn on the device remotely (via the app), the ON icon displayed in the app may not reflect that. Im not sure why. However, it appears the app pings for the status of the device every 10-15 seconds. So, if you hit ON and you dont see the ON icon on your app turn green, but you know for a fact that device is actually on, give it about 10-15 seconds to refresh and itll turn green.

Setup for the device is very easy and works on Echo devices. Setup for Echo devices include: 1. Downloading the TP-Link Kasa app on iOS app store or Google Play 2. Create an log in and password on that app 3. Sync the smart plug to the same network as your Amazon Echo. Follow directions on card included to sync: basically just holding down sync button and waiting for it to register. Then name your plug 4. Open Alexa app, go to Smart Home 5. Find and select TP-Link under Smart Home Skills 6. Log in with email and password you created in step 2 7. Go to your devices on Alexa App and find the device you named in step 3 8. After it syncs go to groups and add the device to it. Name the group something simple like lights Now by saying Alexa then lights (or other group name) on or lights off. itll turn the power on the plug on or off. The TP-Link Kasa app you downloaded has nice features also as you can remotely control the plug when away from home either manually or setting a scheduled time. You can also delete the app if you dont want this feature and it will still work on any Amazon Echo device after you have everything setup The smart plug is pretty large and fits well on the top plug of standard double 3 prong wall outlet. If you put it on bottom it will take up two outlet spaces which is not recommended unless you want to cover the top half. You can plug it to an external outlet hub, but know that its a bit wide also and may take up two plugs (unless maybe you plug it on the edge?). If you plan to plug it into an external outlet Id measure the dimensions first before purchase just to be safe. Overall the smart plug works as intended.

This item worked well for years with minimal problems. But when my modem died and I had to change the network I found out that you cant change the plug. They advise me to set up the new network with the same network ID and password as the old network. Since Id already set up the network and many many devices in my house I ended up just ordering a different plug. From Amazon of course. I will get it tomorrow

I never thought Id buy one of these. But I got one as a gift with an Amazon Echo (also not something I thought Id ever buy). It sat for months until I finally decided, what the heck, Ill set up a floor lamp using this. Set up was relatively simple. The app can be kind of glitchy though and sometimes it loses my preset schedule, but then it appears again, so Im not sure what that is. I moved in with my boyfriend so it migrated to his house. He enjoyed getting to give the lamp a ridiculous name. Its actually turned out to be very convenient because we no longer come home at night to a dark house due to the schedule the lamps are on. And when were watching tv/movies, we can turn off the lamp without getting up. It became so convenient we bought one for the lamp on the other side of the room, which my boyfriend also enjoyed giving a ridiculous name. Now I kind of want one for the floor lamp in the bedroom (its such a first world problem, but its a pain to get out of bed to turn off the lamp when you just got in it). However, wed need another Amazon smart device, and I havent decided if I want to buy one of those yet. Still a little iffy on Alexa listening to all that I do, and do I really want her in the bedroom listening?