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

The switch basically does what its supposed to however Ive run into several bugs in the Android app that make me question its design and long term usability. For example, when you go to change the default cost of a kWh, the app makes you use a set of four wheels to enter the value rather than just having you type it into a box using the keyboard. Also, when I saved the new value of $0.098, saved, and went back into the settings, the value displayed as $9.8 even though the calculations based off that value were still correct. That said, Ive been running around the house plugging all kinds of things into the Insight Switch to see how much power theyre using and its been a lot of fun to see where I can get the best energy savings by putting devices into standby or turning them off entirely. Ultimately the switch will end up on a dehumidifier in the basement and programmed to only turn on at night when no one will be disturbed by the noise it makes. Integration with IFTTT.com makes this a desirable item although I have a feeling that someone will come along and be able to make a better one. I would give the item an additional star if there was a sufficient web interface to control the product similar to the Nest or Dropcam however I have yet to find one other than using the aforementioned IFTTT. All in all I can recommend this product to anyone looking to tinker with and automate their home appliances but there are probably better options for a lot of use cases that are cheaper and easier to use.

Had a few problems getting it to set up. Had to go in my iPhone settings and forget all the wifi connections i already had cause it kept choosing the wrong one during setup for some reason. After that there was a problem with the firmware update. Had to do it over and over again till it final took. Then everything worked fine. I like how it shows me how much money the appliance or whatever you have plugged into it is using. I am using it for a ac window unit. The unit i have remembers the settings when there is a power outage so it turns right back on to the same temp as it shut off at. Works perfect for that.

This is a horrible product. Clearly it has not been tested for everyday use. Save yourself lots of trouble in setting it up, using it or burning up your living space and DO NOT BUY IT. The device itself is well packaged and is a good sized plug point. To use it, you put the device on a plug point, see it turn on and show green on WIFI. Then you change the wifi on your phone to the Belkin Insight Wifi and download the app. The app acts as a relay and it asks for your home wifi password. All this was okay. However within a few minutes I got really annoyed using it. After you provide your wifi connection settings, the device is activated. But the response is not instantaneous. Once I press the switch it takes ~1-5s to act on the device making it a horrible experience. After a few times hitting it on and off thinking it wasnt working, my lamp then suddenly started switching on and off as late responses! Annoying! The insight plug also gives misleading information about usage. For a single lamp it estimated after ~5mins that Id be spending $150/month for it. The usage in Watts was also incorrect for the lamp. Third, I put the plug between my stereo, lamp and PS3 and it it simply started switching green and yellow on wifi. Then after a few attempts the device started getting quite hot and would reboot continuously. I think the plug cannot be used for large voltage or units drawing high current. Now the icing on the cake: all the time the device was rebooting or trying to connect to wifi (or burning up internally!), it does not allow activity on the plug or manually controlling the relay inside it, rendering the entire plug point unusable. This is really bad design and execution. Finally, the plug itself occupies a good amount of space on a twin plug wall unit and hence if you put it on the top plug, the bottom one cannot be used. This is annoying because often the top switch can be controlled by wall switches and I would like to use it on the top plug, but it makes the bottom unusable. The app on iphone and android takes a while to update (and annoys you if you do not update firmware) and after updating gets stuck multiple times on various pages. It has minimal functionality and often takes a long time to connect to the plug when opened. The only good thing in this whole ordeal is that the shipping was pretty quick (1business day) by Amazon and returning it was equally convenient.

Ive tried many (over 10) different remote controls outlets, and this WeMo outlet is clearly the best. Its realiable, does not require a separate hub (other than your wifi AP), has great support from 3rd parties (I.e. IFTTT), and the power usage tracking feature is worth the cost alone. The programming capabilities (rules) are somewhat basic, but by using a combination of other WeMo products and 3rd party apps you can do nearly everything. For example, I tend to forget things on. Asimple rule can be set that automatically turns off the controlled device after a set number of hours every time you turn it on. For the more advances applications, by pairing with the WeMo Maker, you can activate this unit by virtually any electrical signal or sensor (when I enter the room and the existing brightness is less than a set value, turn on the light for 30 minutes). The integration with IFTTT allow you the ability to control the outlet based on many external conditions, such as turning on the outlet if the outside temperature drops below freezing. The power usage feature tracks power usage when the load is turned on (threshold is adjustable) and displays both power consumed and approximate monthly cost. Data is exportable via email. Provides a quick look into how many hours the outlet was on, how much power was used since the last time it was turned on, and daily totals. Note these units are not sealed, and therefore shouldnt be used outside unless protected. As with all wifi devices, the are multiple factors that make it less than 100% reliable, and therefore shouldnt be used in critical applications.

I bought the WEMO Insight about a month ago, installed it (it took a few minutes for the device to be recognized by my router) , and made a few power measurements with it. This was fun and informative. The list of features is impressive, since you can use it as a timer, a rule-based controller, a device to alert you when something happens to the power system, for power measurements, and more. What is problematic with the device is its frequent lock ups and inability to be recognized by my wireless router (one of the latest Netgear products) when further away than 20 feet (on the same floor of the building), while my laptops work flawlessly off the Wifi network in the whole house. A few weeks ago I came home to see the devices powered by the WEMO switched off with no warning on my WEMO app. What if it had been my refrigerator or some other vital appliance? This, and the too frequent software updates that take minutes to complete make the WEMO almost useless, because I bet if you really need it, say in a remote location you want to control and/or monitor, it will freeze up and will need some sort of hardware reset. It is unfortunate that green energy enthusiasts who want to do something intelligent and useful with a device like this get frustrated by a device that needs endless troubleshooting and coaching just to work as expected. Nobody would buy a refrigerator that shuts down every two weeks and needs some procedure to get going again, but apparently in the high-tech world we are expected to spend our free time tinkering with all sorts of half baked pseudo solutions. In conclusion, I think the WEMO Insight is a nice idea that suffers from bad execution.

I bought one Belkin WeMo Insight Switch to dip my toe into some simple home automation. It works well, easy to set up and the app is simple to use. I currently have it connected to a space heater and it shows the watts the heater is using which match the specs of the heater so it seems to be accurate. Somehow it even tells me the daily and estimated monthly cost. Time will tell if that is accurate. You can set up rules on the app to automate when it powers on and off which are handy and work well. I have also set up rules and an alerts using IFTTT which is pretty great. You do not have to be on your own home network to control it and you do not need a special hub which was a real selling point for me since I do not have one yet. My only complaint is that sometimes the remote access fails, when that happens if I close the app and re-open it that will usually get it working again. ....Update to initial review: After living with this for some time I have found it to be unreliable. Others seem to have the same issue and apparently it is linked to the loss of WiFi. If it disconnects from your router (which happens in every network) it cannot be counted on to work as expected. Randomly turns on on off...I was using it to control a space heater but since it would turn it on without my knowledge I had to unplug it. Currently sits in a drawer in my desk until I have the time the mess with it. All and all...it does what is says it will do and it does it well. I think Ill get at least one more.

Took a very long time to set up. Had all sorts of issues trying to get the app to recognize the device. I had to actually put it aside and try again the following day because it just wasnt working. Two days later, AFTER I already filled out the amazon return request, i tried one last time to set it up. It FINALLY worked. Now when I use it, Alexa never understands me the first time. I dont have that problem with any other commands except when I ask her to to turn this thing on. There should be a better way to have Alexa turn this thing on then by calling it Insight or Wemo Insight. Especially if she cant understand what Im saying the first time.

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.

The device itself works well once its set up, but the setup process was very buggy, for which I dinged it a star. I actually had to uninstall the software from my android phone, reinstall it, and go through the entire tedious process a second time (after spending a half-hour troubleshooting) because it somehow flaked out the first time through and just would. not. work. Once configured, the WeMo has worked pretty flawlessly. I use mine with my Flavia coffee maker, since I have Hue bulbs for my lights. I can tell Alexa to turn the coffee maker on from anywhere in the house thanks to our two Amazon Echos. Could I live without that functionality? Of course. But it does save me some time and effort, so I can be doing other things. By the time I get to the kitchen, the water is hot and I can immediately use my beloved Flavia machine to make my coffee, tea or cocoa.

I already had one WeMo switch to control a lamp in our living room. I wanted another one that I could use with our Bona Vita coffee maker that I could control with my iPhone. The WeMo Insight switch was on sale at Amazon and is significantly smaller than the original one I already owned. I decided to get one. Since I dont get up each morning at the same time I dont want the coffee to start when Im still sleeping. With the WeMo Insight switch, I set up the coffee the night before, turn the coffee maker to the on position and then when I get up, launch the WeMo app on my iPhone to turn the WeMo on. Coffee starts brewing and by the time I get to the kitchen, it is fresh and piping hot! I have the switch programmed to shut itself off at 3:00 PM so that if I want an additional cup of coffee during the day the coffee maker will work without having to manually engage the switch. I also have it programmed to turn on on Fridays only at a specific time since that one day I volunteer at a local park and know when I have to get up. Im a fan of these devices, but they do have some problems that Belkin needs to work on. Occasionally, in order for the app to work on my phone, I need to kill the app and relaunch it. I have a couple wireless routers in the house, all on the same network, but the Belkin seems to get confused as it passes from one to the other. Once its found the switches, it works perfectly. The big difference between the original Belkin WeMo switch and the WeMo Insight is size, with the Insight being significantly smaller. This works much better in an area where the switch is visible, in this case on my kitchen counter. Its also well designed to allow the use of the second plug in an outlet if the Insight is plugged into the bottom outlet. The Insight also has the ability to give you a lot of details about how much power youre using with whatever device youre controlling. In fairness, I dont use that feature, but if youre powering a device where you need that information, the Insight has a detailed report. You can see what it looks like on Belkins website. These Belkin switches are a bit pricey, but really do the job, day in and day out. Ive had the two mine for some time, and theyre very reliable. You can easily set a device to come on or turn off at a specific day, at a specific time, at sunrise or sunset, or manually. The rule is stored in the device which remembers it even during a power outage or it the device is unplugged. You can also trigger these devices from outside your home. When properly set up, you can control them on your phone from anywhere. With the WeMo Insight, you can also see how much electricity youre using on the outlet where its connected and potentially program whatever device youre controlling to lower usage and hence cost. This isnt a feature Im using, but if you need or want that information, the Insight gives very detailed usage stats. Id judge that the initial setup to be pretty straight-forward. You will need to know your wireless routers name and password. Setup joins the switch to your wireless network in order for you to control it. In my case, I use WPA2 Personal and had no problems getting the switches to function. Like most devices, there is a reset switch in case you need to move them to a new network. You then create rules for the switch which dictate how it will function. To do this, you need a free phone app that is available for both iPhones and Android phones. I really like this product and find it much more functional than just putting a timer on an electrical outlet. Theyre a bit pricey but appear to be very durable. Ive owned my original WeMo switch for three years and it hasnt hiccuped yet. Ive owned the Insight for about nine months, and it, too, has been reliable. I think of these as more than just a gadget. If youre looking to take control of an appliance or lamp or what-have-you, this is the product to consider. UPDATE Saturday, February 6, 2016: Ive been a fan of these devices for some time, but very disappointed in the iPhone app that lets you control it remotely. Until recently, my network consisted of multi access points. When launching the WeMo app, it was 50-50 whether it would find the switches, and if it did find them, identify them in the right state, e.g., on or off. There must be a new sheriff in town at Belkins software and engineering department because suddenly this app is working much better. They sent an e-mail out several months ago that said they were going to work on getting the device to work as it was supposed to, and by golly, it really is greatly improved! I always enjoyed using my WeMo switches and thought they were a good investment, but now Im far more enthusiastic. The app on iOS is greatly improved and the two switches I own are operating better than ever, even though they are both a few years old. Whoever took over the engineering department for WeMo at Belkin, Thanks! Great job!