TP-LINK Kasa HS100 Smart Plug Wi-Fi Enabled

Pros: If you have a smart phone and know how to use it, you can set this up, no problem. You can setup the app to only work locally, or you can have it work away from home as well. Great for if you know you’re going to be late and want a light on in the house, or you know it’s going to be hot/cold and want to turn on a fan/heater a half hour/hour before you get home. Obviously you want to be careful when it comes to a heater, so as to reduce/eliminate any risk of fire. Also, if you’ve got a room/porch/patio setup with alternate lighting (LED strips or Christmas Lighting) this is great for making it easy to set the mood before you go out there, without having to hunch over in a corner to switch it on/off or unplug it when you’re not using it. It’s a fairly simple product, and it works. There’s not much to be said in the way of pros/cons. Cons: While it’s not so bulky that it blocks the second outlet, I kind of would’ve preferred a two outlet version (with two different power options in the app) or maybe a version with a smaller bottom so you can put a bigger plug on the bottom outlet. Some people complain about it being limited to 2.4Ghz, but honestly, that’s the best place for it to be. 2.4Ghz gives it greater range and isn’t eating up a high speed 5Ghz antenna at any point. I consider that to be a good thing. Overall Review: Several people have mentioned it, but it is SHOCKINGLY easy to set this thing up. I plugged it in between a lamp and the wall, downloaded the Kasa app on my phone, and setup an account (literally just put in an email an password). Boom! It found the item without me having to switch WIFI networks or anything. I wish more things (I’m looking at you, WIFI extenders!) were this easy to setup. It’s worth mentioning that there’s an HS110 model that tracks energy usage as well, and only costs about $10 more. I could see that being the more useful item in the long run, but I’d like to see the price on these come down a little bit. I’d love to have a house full of these. Honestly, I’d like to see this built into the outlets themselves, so we don’t have to have anything in front of them.

Pros: – Aesthetically pleasing design, looks good on the wall plug (unlike some other ones that are just huge!), this one is smaller and oval shaped – Good construction, quality build, hard plastic and won’t just crack if it fell off the wall plug (for some odd reason) – 2 Year warranty with 24/7 tech support (not a lot of companies offer this) – Has a 3 prong input outlet (some only have 2 prong inputs) – Conveniently located ON/OFF switch (button) on the front of device – Glowing LED light isn’t too bright, but bright enough to see in dark – Download app; compatible with iOS and Android devices – The app is called “Kasa” – easy to use, intuitive, looks good as well. – Easy to use and easy to set up – plus it’s simply “set it and forget it” – The included software makes this unit extremely easy to set up, you can schedule times when to turn on/off, there’s an away mode so it turns on/off connected devices at certain times and it consistently works. – The best feature I liked, was being able to set lights to turn on at “sunset”; the app automatically uses GPS coordinates to determine your location and uses the sunset time to schedule the light to turn ON when it’s sunset. That is awesome! – Connects to WiFi so you can change or control it anywhere in the world with the iOS or Android. – They’ve taken a lot of thought into this product: for example; if you plugged a lamp into the TP-Link HS100, you can take a picture of the lamp and set it as the icon (or use their included icons) so you know what it’s plugged into. – You can have multiple TP-Link HS100’s plugged throughout your house and each one has their own “profile” with unique icons and can be controlled individually or set up to turn ON/OFF at the same time! Cons: – Like other devices of this nature, it’s big and bulky and fills up the whole wall plug so you can’t use the 2nd plug whether you plug it to the top or bottom wall plug That is really my only real con, the rest are just ideas or things to keep in mind: – Supports up to 15AMPS, so you can only plug smaller devices. Can’t plug in like a 20amp swamp cooler or use a multiple power strip where you’re going to plug in multiple items over 15amps total. – You’re going to need to purchase one TP-Link HS100 for each lamp or device you want to automate in the house, which is going to be costly. – Not a total CON, but..it would be nice if they included a “dimming” function so you can dim lights down, maybe in higher models? – Must be connected to WiFi in order for device to work out of the box. I know these type of products were meant to be used with WiFi..but what if the house never had WiFi to begin with but still wanted automation? Overall Review: Overall, this TP-Link HS100 is a great Smart Plug. You can tell that TP-Link has spent some time designing the device and making the software simple to use for an average person. The price point is on par with other devices, but I’d like it best at just $20 for each device or maybe have a bundle (like 5 for like $75). You get the concept. Still, if you’re in the market for a smart plug, or something to turn on/off devices at certain times with a great warranty, 24/7 support and works as it should; this TP-Link HS100 will do you just fine…I’d highly recommend it! I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now and it works just like it should. There are included instructions for those who are too tech-literate but it’s really simple enough to start right away. You’ll need the instructions to get to the Apple Store or Android Store to download the Kasa app. Once you download the Kasa app, get the device connected to your WiFi, it’s a breeze to get it set up. Again, I just love the “sunset” feature where the app uses GPS to pinpoint your location and uses the predetermined sunset time to turn ON devices. In my case, I have it connected to a lamp in my living room so it turns on as soon as sunset hits the porch and it automatically turns off at 11pm because it’s when everybody’s supposed to be sleeping anyways. In the future, I hope they can make a power strip with WiFi features so I can turn on/off multiple devices that are plugged in; lamp, tv, satellite receiver, computer(s), etc.

Pros: – Sexy design – Easy Setup – Scheduler/Custom Schedule – Away feature – 2 year warranty – Works with Alexa/Echo Cons: – Blocks the other connection to the outlet Overall Review: Setup was super simple with this device. I had it connected to the network in under 5 minutes using only my smartphone (Android OS). First I installed the Kasa app from the Play Store and then plugged the device into the wall outlet. I did notice that I had to remove the cord connected to the bottom plug port, so this thing will take up an entire outlet. Once connected, I opened the Kasa app and clicked to add a device. You then specify what type of device you are wanting to connect. The app confirmed the Smart Plug was ready to be set up asking if the amber lights were flashing and then disconnected from my wireless and connected wirelessly to the Smart Plug. After adding network credentials and naming the device, it was connected and ready to go. To test the device I plugged a floor lamp into it. I went back to the Kasa app and simply clicked the power button on my phone screen and the lamp came on. The Smart Plug makes a noise like turning a switch on when you power it on and off. It worked great with zero lag between my touching my screen and the plug responding. The scheduler is pretty nice and you can add the time frame you wish to keep the Smart Plug ‘on’ and when you want it ‘off’. There’s custom settings for the scheduler as well as things like “sunset” that uses GPS and whatever the sunset time is for that evening. This device works with The Alexa/Echo service. I’d like to see it support IFTT as well as Google’s Home Hub (similar to the Echo). I’m sure future firmware updates will probably include these services. Overall I am impressed with this device, it’s nice looking and it’s an eye-sore and functions as you’d expect.

Pros: Works exactly as you would expect it to in my case, I’ll explain. Set up is a piece of cake…plug in, connect to your wifi and download the app. Clicks on and off quickly using the manual buttons in the app, the app is very simple, elegant, and easy to use Cons: The size, it simply eats up an extra plug no matter where you plug it in (top wall socket is obstructed when you plug in on the bottom socket/ bottom socket completely covered if you plug it in on the top, neighboring spots on a power strip are also obstructed) TP-Link, making this smartplug in a form factor that has compatible with the silly EU and UK plug types is not a problem you should be worried about for a US product. Overall Review: Not sure why there are so few features listed on the item description but lets go through them here. Smart app lets you control many smart plugs from home or away Lights can be scheduled ON/OFF for each plug or plug groups (the same rules can be applied to multiple smart plugs) The app even uses GPS to know when sunset is to tune lights N for when it gets dark Away mode turns lights ON/OFF to fake out the burglars while you are out of town Compatible with Echo if you like yelling at your lights (think The Clapper just funnier) Take a photo of each item being controlled so you can set an icon for each smartplug in the app Overall its a very good product and app combo that works well to solve the problem at hand. The price is reasonable and the functionality is solid.