Wemo Insight WiFi Enabled Smart Plug, with Energy Monitoring, Works with Alexa (Discontinued by Manufacturer - Newer Version Available)

These arent the most reliable or stable things in the world but they get the job done. The cool thing about wemo switches is being able to set up all sorts of cool rules and have them interoperate with other online services and stuff. I use a wemo insight to give me a push notification when my electric bike is done charging which is super useful. I use a wemo insight and IFTTT to turn on and off my dehumidifier according to the humidity measured by my netatmo internet connected weather station, then it tracks usage and sends me monthly reports and even send me an alert if the daily cost of dehumidification rises over a certain level. These things are great but you have to think about creative ways to use them to really get the full value out of them. I would recommend always spending the extra money to get the insight because its not that much more expensive but its way more useful to set up interesting behaviors.

This review is for the WeMo Insight Switch, Wi-Fi Enabled, Control your Electronics from anywhere + Monitor Energy Usage, Works with Alexa. I cant begin to explain how much I hate these things. They are a complete nightmare to set up, are totally unreliable, and this is coming from an IT engineer who builds and supports servers, networks, and other IT infrastructure. When you first plug the units in, you have to download the WeMo app to a mobile device and then connect your mobile device to the adhoc WiFi network the WeMo initiates. Then youre supposed to run through the setup wizard, part of which is to locate your own wireless network, connect to it, and then download the firmware update for your WeMo device. The problem is every time you try to connect to your WiFi network, it tells you that its unable to connect and you have to start the process all over; unplugging / re-plugging the device, performing a reset on it, etc... It took me hours to set each one up. Once I got them online, I noticed that I kept having communication issues with one of the units, it keeps dropping offline. Every time I open the app, it asks me if I want to remove it from my list of device. Its only 80 feet away from my router, theres no reason for it to have connectivity issues. Whats even worse is this: I bought these because there have been times where I needed to physically reboot my server at home or my security camera since it has stopped responding, so I figure Ill use these WiFi enabled outlet plugs in case of emergency. Normally Id never want to just power off and on a server, but when the need arises and you cant do it.. its extremely frustrating. Well, I was looking at the WeMo for my security camera which popped up a firmware update available window and asked if I wanted to install it. It mentioned power would temporarily be shut off while the firmware update installs, so since I was in the security camera WeMo device I figured why not. Well instead of just installing the firmware update to that one device, it did ALL of them at the same time. This means it did a hard power-off of my server which not only resulted in the loss of data and corruption of several VMs; somehow the thing blew the power supply in my server. I had to replace it to get the server to power back up. If I could return these things I would. Theyre useless, unreliable, and they cant even be configured with a static DNS entry. Awful.

This is the buggiest piece of tech I have encountered since CD-Rs were first introduced. I am an electrical engineer who specializes in embedded software and really, there is no excuse for how poorly the software operates - wether it be in the device, or the app required to use the device. I would love to get a look inside the software for this, as I can only imagine how awful it must be. When the solution to every problem is to reset the Wemo, forcibly stop the application on your phone, uninstall said application from your phone, and reinstall, YOUR CODE HAS A PROBLEM. Its like reasoning with a petulant child. EVERYTHING seems to derail it. Change the name of your wemo from the app? FAIL. Add a second rule to the device? FAIL. Connect the device to IFTTT? FAIL. Seemingly connect the device FROM the IFTTT website? FAIL I fought with this thing to enable remote access. It looked like it wasnt going to work. After repeated messages that it was not working, hours later I open the app and remote access is enabled. I vacillated between giving this review from one to three stars. It does have a great form factor. And in its most fundamental terms, it works. I can actually remotely turn on and off the thing. And the rule I created to turn it on works (after much fighting with the device). The subsequent rule to turn the thing off? Not so much. And there is no easy way to change the network settings. And the settings I can change, any attempt to change them often results in an eternal spinning wheel. The worst part is, I dont feel I can rely on this device. The one I have I wanted to use as part of my irrigation system. But, as of writing this, it only operates as a remote control.

The product works great for an air conditioner -- once you get it working. Thats the hard part. For me, the trickiest piece was realizing that the device will work reliably only on a DEDICATED 2.4 GHz WiFi band. If you have your router set up to use the same SSID over both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, it may not work. I had to go into my router settings and create a dedicated 2.4 GHz band (I named it SSID - 2.4 GHz, and named my separate 5 GHz band SSID - 5 GHz). I then connected the Insight to that band. Once my phone was on the same band, I could set up the device correctly. After initial setup, I could switch my phone to the 5 GHz band (or any other internet connection) and control the switch. All in all, its a great product and very convenient if you have a device you want to control remotely. But getting it set up does take some work. EDIT: See the helpful comment from PC Tech below on avoiding damage to an air conditioner. In short, dont turn the AC on and off in quick succession.

I agree with comment from Erick on November 1, 2013 The first time the switch install without any problems and works fine for a couple of weeks, but then I had to change th wifi setting at home. To reinstall the switch I had to reset it first, and after that it was impossible to connect it to the wifi, the switch signal only last for second and the disappears for minutes. It does not reset to factory settings. And to communicate with Belkin is impossible. I like it but it is not a reliable fixture. Belkin read the previous comment and contacted with me. Now I have a new switch, that is why Im changing the review and given then four stars, not five because they should advice that the switch could fail doing what I did.

After a few false starts (firmware updates and resets) I got the switch finally running, When it works, it works well. I have been trying it out around the house with various devices to monitor energy usage. Some times on re-plugging it in it will not see my WiFi network and must be reset from scratch, frustrating. The unit also will NOT work with IFTTT or show up in the WeMo application (iOS) outside my home network. Period. So I cant control it remotely, while my light switches work just fine. I have tried contacting Belkin support several times, to be blunt. Its just a waste of time and an exercise in frustration. They seem to only be available by email (I tried calling only to end up in voice menu/hold/voice mail hell) and respond with useless canned scripts that dont even address the questions Ive asked. If youre a technical person and dont mind diagnosing your own issues, get one or two of these devices and decide if they are for you. If you are not technical, stick with a more traditional time type switch, Belkin support is absolutely useless. *** 01/20/14 Update *** I left my response comment to Belkin here, and did reply to the ticket email again. I have yet to receive any response from them. So much for their being eager to help. I have dropped my review down to one star because of this. Again, if youre the tinkering type and dont mind spending the money, these devices are neat, but if you require any assistance from Belkin for their use Id save my money. They do NOT stand by their products.

In spite of great difficulty in getting it to work, I rate this product 5 stars because it DOES work and it solves a problem. I got it because the Amazon Echo now offers voice control over switches like this one which show up as devices connected to your homes wifi. With the device I hoped to be able to turn a light in our living room on or off, making it easier for an elderly person to control it. First problem: I need the WeMo app. Not available on the Belkin web site. I suppose more experienced users would have gone to Google Play for the android app first, but it didnt occur to me for a while. Second problem: The app on my Android phone said it was installed but it couldnt find the Belkin WeMo Insight Switch. Lots of plugging and unplugging, uninstalling and reinstalling, and finally it found the switch. The light that it controlled could be turned on and off by the manual button on the Insight Switch and by the app on my phone. Third problem: Alexa, the Amazon Echo device, could not find the device when I said, Alexa, discover my devices, as Amazons instructions specified. Again I tried unplugging, replugging, deleting the app, reinstalling the app, and finally, just when I was prepared to return the device, the Amazon Echo said it had found the device. Im not sure exactly what combination of bumbling finally worked, so I hope I wont have to do it again. The Belkin web site was not particularly helpful for this problem, and I couldnt find anything on Amazon that was helpful. But now it works. We can turn a light in our living room on or off by voice. I feel as if I have won a great victory.

I bought this from Amazon Warehouse Deals - packaging damaged, otherwise like new. It arrived on time. I downloaded and installed the WeMo app on iPhone 6. Then I plugged the WeMo Insight Switch into 120VAC, and the WiFi light blinked green for 30 seconds, then blinked yellow. I never saw the device listed under the Settings:WiFi tab for iPhone 6 or iPad Mini Retina 2. The WeMo app never saw it either. Using Net Analyzer on the iPhone 6, it never appeared on my network. I tried entering the WeMo ID in Settings:WiFi to find the device manually, but that didnt work either. After waiting on hold for 27 minutes, a Belkin service tech answered and told me to reset the device by holding in the small button on top for 5 seconds with the device unplugged, then for another five seconds with the device newly plugged in. This caused the device ID to appear in the Settings:WiFi menu on the iPhone 6 (and iPad Mini Retina 2). After acquisition, I was able to get the WeMo app to recognize the device. It now works properly. Some caveats - If the device doesnt appear in your WiFi, use the reset button/procedure outlined above. Have your WiFi network password available - the WeMo app will need it to connect to the device. It will be easier to do your first network connection with the device plugged in near your router. There is NO WeMo app available for iPad. Youll need to control WeMo devices with your iPhone or Android phone. ********** UPDATE 4/24/2015 After a power outage, the insight and switches gave us a bonus - they now come on at midnight every night, in addition to following their previously programmed rules. Ill try the reset procedure again and see if it cures the problem.

It works.. Finally. Replaced an unreliable mechanical timer for a fish tank light. Took two stars away, because: a) I had a problematic set up; b) You can only configure using a mobile device; c) Android software needs some additional development work: slow, UI didnt size well and not supported on all versions,. To set up: 1) You download a free, store application. 2) Device creates its own wireless network when you first plug in / reset it. 3) You then connect to that wireless network with your device and open that application, 4) In the application you provide configuration information about your current real wireless network. 5) Things then disconnect and the plug should reboot. 6) When your device connects again to your regular wireless network, the application displays your new device in a list view. In my case it would silently time out between the 5th & 6th step. Very frustrating. I spent an evening with many retries and no success. I was running an Android tablet w/ JellyBean. So on a hunch, I blew away my device and spent half a day re-flashing to Kit Kat and setting it up again. Once I did that, the software worked! So warning: if you plan to use an Android device - make sure its recent build. Also, while we are on that point, why the heck cant this be a built in web page, like many routers? I dislike being trapped into use a mobile device to configure. Nest Protect did the same thing. I hope this doesnt become a standard in the smart home of the future.

I must have good luck or maybe my **NEW** router with the 5G (which i dont think this connects to anyway)has great range and so far I have not had any problems! Review: Its a simple device you plug in , download the Wemo app, connect to your router (there are instructions on screen to help guide you through) The connection IS NOT IMMEDIATE so be patient till it all gets set up. YOU WILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD AN UPDATE of the FIRMWARE which enables the Wemo plug to work (it will not work straight out of the box) After you enter your password for your router and it connects to your network youre ready to go! The rules (AKA TIMERS) in which you set can have a learning curve because the timers for on and off arent clear cut the way it is for the sun rise sunset timer. If you play with it for a couple of minutes you will get it soon enough. I do not know how many rules/timers you can have, but at this time I have three (3) rules and I have my Wemo plug ***hooked up to a Quirky power pivot*** to give me six (6) plugs instead of JUST the one outlet! SO I can control the ON/OFF times of multiple tablets or phones(or what ever is plugged in at the time) from that one plug! The down side to that is they are all connected together so you CANT control each plug/outlet from your power strip individually BUT so what!!!! You dont have to use it like this you can JUST use the ONE outlet for ONE light or what ever you want plugged into it but I FELT this(plugging a power strip into the Wemo) is better for me and what I am using it for! I have the app downloaded on to 3 separate phones and 1 tablet! All of the rules/timers can be seen and edited from each of your connected phones/tablets and you can add more rules (timers) if you want at any time! You can also use the insight switch manually to turn off and on by lightly pressing the touch on off switch on the plug it self! I have not had any problems with it so far and am pleased with my purchase and what this plug does! I will be looking to buy another down the road.