WiOn 50049 Outdoor Wi-Fi Wireless Plug-In Switch; Smartphone And Tablet Automation For Up To 12 Devices 2 Grounded Outlets Weather Resistant Energy Saving Wifi Controlled Switch

Product worked fine when acquired in August. Stopped working after latest Apple iOS 16 update. Manufacturer says they are working on compatibility, but no ETA, so outlet cannot connect to app until then.

Stopped working after a year.

I had a similar unit for Xmas lights control and couldnt find it. I went to order another since I didnt have the time look through all the stuff in our garage (its there somewhere). I found these units on AMZ and they were the half the price of my other unit, so I said what the heck order two of them. I figured if they didnt work, I would return them to AMZ with their ironclad guarantee. Didnt have to, worked as described and quite happy with them. These units do not require a hub and you install them with your router. Havent quite figured out they do other then the units first power up as a router and then you connect and they become a pass through to your regular router. I have other devices that use this method and it seems a bit odd but it works. Either way, no hub or setting up a network account with someone. They have been in for several days not and work great. I now have a very interesting Networks, my hub system, Wifi bulbs using a network account to store schedule and settings and now these devices. As long as I can keep it straight as to what device belongs to which network, should be good.

In short, I am very happy with this purchase and would buy it again. The reason I took off 1 star is that although the outlet works just fine and is reasonably priced, the whole idea of a smart outlet is to be able to be controlled via an app. Since most people will buy this first, then download or even look at the app after receiving it, I thought this might be helpful for people to be aware of the one shortcoming I found. My use case was very simple, though probably fairly common for most people looking for an outdoor smart outlet, controlling Xmas lights. I simply wanted them to go on at sunset, and go off at a predetermined time, like 1am. At least with the Android version of the app for this, it isnt possible. You can do on at sunset, off at sunrise (which seems excessive to have Xmas lights on at 4 am), or you can turn on at a certain time and off at a certain time, but cannot combine the 2. Other than that small issue, everything works fine. It pairs fairly easily, and works like it is supposed to.

Great product to control landscaping lights remotely and programming them to automatically turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. Once programmed, you can forget about it. I like products that you forgot about because they don’t give you any problems. 5 month update: Both units continue to perform flawlessly. They have weathered through many AZ monsoon storms and driving rain with no problems. Thinking of buying a third unit to control a UV bug catcher. In Arizona my power utility charges double rates from 3-6pm, so I’m thinking of setting up the bug catcher to turn off from 3-6pm. Highly recommend.

The hardware seems to be well made, but software is pretty bad. It seems that Woods has done almost nothing to fix it other than rebranding the Eco Plugs software to look different. For me, the biggest shortcoming is the astronomical timer, where the on/off setting are limited to three hours and 59 minutes before/after sunrise/sunset. For landscape lighting this potentially great feature is made useless by the software. Woods, if you are reading this, PLEASE FIX THE ASTRONOMICAL TIMER.

This would have been a 5 star review, except for one major issue: software. I have 4 of these outlets and they have worked dependably and consistently for several years. However, the WiOn app hasn’t been updated in quite some time, and it no longer works with my iPhone running iOS16. So… I’m unable to set up and program the outlets anymore, rendering them useless. I’ve contacted customer service three times (both email and voicemail; couldn’t talk with an human) and have received no response. I can’t recommend this item until the software issue is resolved. UPDATE: WiOn has updated their software to work with the new iOS update. All is fine, and I reiterate the complement I made: it works reliably and consistently. Highly recommend WiOn outlets.

4 of use, one iPad and 3 iPhones wanted to control the one WiOn switched 120 volt outlet. 2 of the 4 it woks great on. The other 2 for some reason will only work on the Wi-Fi network. Ive emailed the company but haven’t gotten a response yet. If I do I’ll edit this review

While the instructions on this item suck, it does work! For anyone else that is trying to set this up, when it tells you to connect your device to the wifi, it ACTUALLY means to connect your cell phone to the WiOn device, via wifi. That means, when the device is blinking, go to your devices wifi settings and look for your WiOn device there. Select it and then it will let you connect to it, for the initial setup. Life would have been much simpler, if those instructions had been given up front. I had to figure it out on my own. Im using this to control a new fountain that I built and it works perfectly. I just tell Alexa to turn on the fountain and both the fountain and light come on right away.

Edit 2: It seems Southwire / Woods has merely rebranded the ECO Plugs RC-028W. I was able to install the ECO Plugs app from the Google Play store and successfully connect a factory-restored WiOn outlet to my router with it. It took me a few factory resets and forgetting the ECO-serial network on my phone and reconnecting, but the connection eventually succeeded. Although the Woods WiOn app is abandonware, the ECO Plugs app is a passable substitute updated for compatibility with Android 9. Connecting with the ECO Plugs app is quirky, though. A successful connection to the router does not deactivate the plugs temporary wifi access point. --- Edit 1: Beware! The Woods WiOn Android app doesnt fully work on the latest version of Android. It doesnt appear that Woods / Southwire has updated their app in a year and a half. Unless you have access to a device with an older version of Android, you may not be able to get this outlet to connect to your router. The out-of-box router connection dialog simply will not appear as it should when a new outlet is detected, regardless of clearing your phones cache and app data or resetting your outlet back to factory defaults. Maybe the ECO Plugs app would be a suitable workaround? Maybe, but I havent tried it to see. I ended up digging an ancient Android 4.4.2 device out of a drawer to perform the connection to my wireless network. Also, the WiOn products domain seems now to be controlled by a cybersquatter. There is no longer a website available for you to find support or documentation for this outlet. The outlet and its app are abandonware. I emailed Southwire a request for assistance, then followed up with my Android 4.4.2 workaround. If they respond with anything worthwhile, Ill update this review. So far my emails have gone ignored. --- Original review: Rugged, stable network connectivity from the opposite corner of the house and through walls, and Alexa integration is flawless. The WiOn app features above-average flexibility, offering automation with many triggers: time of day, countdown, astronomic, and random vacation timers. It does not offer Google or IFTTT integration, though. Bear in mind that Internet of Things devices such as this are heavily dependent on a reliable router. If youve got a garbage router, dont bother with this or any other IoT / smart home devices until youve upgraded. The Internet of Things tends to expose latent instability in mediocre routers. If youre not running Tomato, DD-WRT, Google Wifi, Ubiquiti, or better, dont blame inexplicable disconnections on your outlets. With OEM router firmware, more often than not, bugs are par for the course.