Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip HS300, Surge Protector with 6 Individually Controlled Smart Outlets and 3 USB Ports, Works with Alexa & Google Home, No Hub Required , White

This worked great for a few months, then I changed my router. It still honestly worked fine as a powerstrip/surge protector until recently when I tried making it a smart strip again. My pc is plugged into it(mostly to monitor power usage) along with some other stuff like a normal lamp, fan etc. normally all off. Since I got a re650 tp-link wireless extender to strengthen my network connect around 6ft away from the strip, it has been randomly shutting itself down for an instant effectively shorting anything connected... (testing my network on my pc the signal is 300mbps, regardless wifi shouldn’t be triggering a reset if it wasn’t a problem when I hd no router for a full month) 3 times just today and I refuse to continue using it for fear of damage to my electronics. It’s not even about this being a good smart strip this is literally not even a good power strip anymore. I opted to go for tp-link because they have a lot great reviews and if this was still the product I got when I opened the box I’d agree but now I’m shopping for a simple surge protector to replace this hemorrhage of wasted money. I’m usually about reading every level of reviews and am very careful with my purchases so I hope this review helps people. Not all bad reviews are reflective of performance but I’d definitely take risks with something else, this didn’t even make a year. After my recent problems with my extender and router I’d suggest avoiding the tp-brand altogether as their 5 star reviews seem inflated compared to my own experiences. My fault for banking on 3 devices all from the same company. Either a lot of the better reviews are bots or there’s a huge silicon lottery with these things.

So far its been great. Does exactly what is supposed to and setup was simple. I love how you can control each outlet and it has power monitoring. Wish the app was better for routines/skills but it does exactly what I need it to so oh well. I can control it through Alexa and so far no weirdness there. I havent tried the USB ports but Im glad they are there. The cord is a good length and I already had some kasa products so I was used to the features. The app is really simple though. That is both a good thing, for newbies and a not so great thing for power-users. Im already looking at other kasa products so Id definitely recommend this to others.

Didn’t realize it had a built in schedule function. Great for aquarium hobbyists.

I am using three of these Kasa Smart Power Strips to control my hydroponic equipment (water pumps, lights, fans, etc). You can easily setup schedules to turn equipment on/off. With the WiFi, I can easily turn equipment on/off or modify schedules if needed. I am using these Kasa Smart Power Strips in conjunction with GROPLANNER WiFi Smart LED Grow Lights. With both being Smart WiFi, I can do everything that other more expensive systems do at half the cost. I will definitely be purchasing more Kasa Smart Products.

I got this mainly to monitor power drain. Sure, some plugged-into-the-wall devices work to that end, but either you have to scooch down to the outlet to see it, or put it on an extension cord and then its still far too unwieldy. With this, you can just open the Kasa app and see what the wattage is real time, plus see kWh of daily and long term use. Thats just nice. Also just having the switches there on the strip to turn items on and off individually is great. Especially good if you have a computer you like to put into hibernate. The lightest wind gust against the mouse and its right back on again. Not anymore! Heh heh. My only real complaint is that, like a lot of smart devices like (scales, lightbulbs, etc.), it only uses 2.4GHz, not 5GHz. Fine if youre in a house surrounded by nothing, but if youre in an apartment, hoo boy, better make sure youre not sharing WiFi channels with anyone. Theres tools for monitoring whos using what nearby, and as long as you use your own router, changing those settings are easy. Still, idk why they cant use 5GHz. Why do some devices do that? Why do so many still use Micro-B USB plugs/ports? Other than that, I have no complains. Highly recommend.

4 Stars because this helps with scheduling of lights and airstones on my 4 aquariums so they are automatically consistant everyday. I would give this product 5 stars but some days the schedule is not accurate e.g. today my light had to be turned on in the app manually but the other 6 days this week it was completely automated. Not sure why it blips but I wouldnt trust it to automate my filters or anything critical like that.

I use it to control multiple life-support equipment on my saltwater reef aquarium... one of the best investments I made. If you can’t afford an expensive aquarium computer/controller system then this is the next best thing. Every outlet has its own schedule that you can set to turn on and off multiple times per day. For example, I have the filtration system automatically turn off for 5 minutes twice a day, while an automatic feeder provides food for my fish while I’m at work. I also like that it provides energy consumption information for each outlet. If I’m on vacation, I can check in real time throughout the day that the equipment is consuming energy, which lets me know that there hasn’t been a power outage in my house and that the equipment is running properly, so for me this feature is critical. As a side note, a good upgrade they could make would be phone alerts letting you know that the power strip has lost electricity. But this product still provides more than enough value to earn 5 stars. Everything can be controlled remotely, I can turn the outlets on and off manually from literally anywhere and I don’t have to have my phone connected to WiFi. Highly recommend this product.

Simple IOT device providing remote of plugged in devices. Quick response through app because of use of wifi. Con that it requires creating an account to use. Haven’t tried controlling from outside the app though. Like feature to monitor run time and power usage.

The Kasa platform has proven itself to be reliable. I have developed an interest in monitoring the energy usage, not just controlling the power, of every device in my house. Ive slowly been buying into smart plugs, and I am only interested in ones that enable both functions. I am also very concerned with network integrity. Everything Ive read and experienced so far about Kasa smart plugs has been positive. It would just take one security flaw to shake my confidence in the platform. I have yet not seen any flaws. I now have 3 of these Kasa Smart Power Strips (HS300). The design of the product appears simple on the outside. During setup, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make it simple for the user is evident. Each plug on the power strip is registered as a separate object in the Kasa app. Once registered in the app, Alexa and Google Home are automatically updated so that if you call its name you can control the power to that object. The app enables easy customization of the name of each object. The Kasa app also allows you to view statistics, such as energy usage, of each object registered that is equipped with energy monitoring capability. I have so far experienced availability issues only when there were legitimate problems with my WiFi network. Once the power strip sees the network signal, it will automatically reconnect to the network. It is not reasonable to expect this product to work in an area where there is a low network signal. One will find themselves having to manually unplug and replug in the power strip to restart it. I am looking forward to more energy monitoring smart products from TP Link on the Kasa platform. I have avoided in-wall smart plugs and switches due to products from other companies which do not have a discipline toward cyber security or have frequent network issues. I think TP Link could be a brand that drives further seamless integration of smart products into my home. I would definitely consider an in-wall smart plug with energy monitoring from Kasa.

I bought this power strip to help me monitor electricity usage in an off-grid situation. I would not recommend it for this purpose. For one thing, the monitoring capability is minimal. You can monitor each outlet individually, but you can only see three numbers for each: how much is currently being used, how much has been used for the day, and how much has been used on average (but for what time period is unclear). There is no historical data available, so you cant evaluate usage patterns or identify spikes without constantly monitoring the app on your phone. The other downside probably should have been obvious, but I didnt think of it before I purchased it. Which is that the power strip itself draws power, even when nothing is plugged in. I didnt measure how much it was drawing specifically, but it was enough that the power strip was getting quite warm to the touch from just sitting idle, plugged in. It wasnt quite uncomfortable to hold, but lets just say it would work nicely as a hand warmer. It makes sense, when you think about it, because theres a WiFi radio in there thats running all the time. If youre in a normal on-grid situation, this is probably not much of an issue, but when youre counting your kwh, you dont want your monitoring equipment adding to the overhead. It also, really does need an internet-connected wifi router to connect to. Its absolutely mandatory to set the thing up. It was strange, because when I plugged the power strip in for the first time, it shows up as an available wifi on my phone, and you can successfully connect to it. But this connection is not sufficient for the app to work. It cant find the power strip even though its connected directly to the power strip. I then tried to turn on the hotspot for my phone, and let the power strip connect to that, but that also doesnt work. You and the power strip must both be connected to a third wifi network, then the app works as expected. However, all that was mostly due to the fact that I was using the item for a purpose other than what it was designed for, so I cant fault the manufacturer for that. All in all, its a very solid piece of equipment, very high quality, good thick cord and good solid manufacturing. The app is well designed and easy to use It is a large power strip, probably 25% bigger than your normal, average, non-smart power strip, which means its got lots of room between the plugs for big adapter- or brick-style plugs. The one thing thats poorly designed is the mounting holes on the back. It has two holes that are the typical keyhole style, and they are made in such a way that you can mount the power strip either horizontally or vertically, which is a nice touch. However there was an error made in the design process, because a screw will not slot into the narrow part, no matter which way you try to slide it. Theres a small piece in the corner that blocks a screw from entering the slot either way. Thats an unfortunate error in an otherwise excellently engineered piece of equipment.