Kasa Smart HS100 WiFi Smart Plug, Classic 1-Pack, White

I liked the fact that the price of this Smart Plug was about $10 cheaper than the other big brand one and seeing as how I really just wanted to plug in 1 floor lamp, I didnt need the fancy energy readings, etc. Does it work as stated? YES! Was it easy to install? Not really. Right out of the box, I downloaded the app, plugged in the Smart Plug and started following the directions. I hit a road block when I got to the part asking for WIFI password which would link the Smart Plug with my WIFI. I entered my password, and received an error message stating the password is not in the correct format for WEP. I am not a super techie person, so this is where I scratched my head and tried the password again. After numerous phone calls with my service provider and then TP-LINK which patched me through to what sounds like an overseas tech support person who ended up just saying the same thing to me password is not in correct format for WEP, I did more research and this is what happened: if you have WEP security on your WIFI, your password has to be either 5 or 13 characters long for this to work. If you have any other number of characters, it will not commute for some reason. My solution was to call my service provider and I had the security changed to WPA2 which did the trick. After it authenticated my password, the app indicated I was Almost Done and stayed on that screen for a good 2 minutes after which it stated it could not find my network. I looked at the Smart Plug and the power indicator is solid green and the WIFI indicator was also solid green - based off of the indicator chart that was provided, this mean the power was on and it was connected with my home WIFI network. I tried to turn on and off the floor lamp connected to the plug and it worked! So basically, the app itself is not the best, but the actual plug works well enough for me. I connected it to my Echo Dot and everything is a go!

This is my second Wi-Fi plug (the other one is an Insignia) and found that this one was even easier and faster to set up. I got my husband a coffee/espresso/cappuccino machine for Christmas and decided to hook up that bad boy to this plug. The machine needs a couple minutes to switch on and heat up and now we can do it from the comfort of our own bed. Plus, we sometimes forget to turn it off and could turn it off via the app from the car. It took less than 10 minutes to set up with both Google Home and Alexa. We live in a small enough home, so one assistant would be able hear us from a nearby room but fix this problem by using both. Now, we can simply say Hey Google, turn on the coffee machine or Alexa, turn on the coffee machine depending on where we are in the house. One thing I wasnt too fond of is that its quite bulky, so make sure to plug in the top outlet so that you dont lose one. Since ours isnt covered by furniture and plugged in above our kitchen counter, its pretty much guaranteed to be seen by everyone due to its size. What I like: Set up was a breeze with both Google Home and Alexa. What I dont like: Its big and bulky.

After reading a lot of reviews, most purchasers have this product (HS100 TP-Link Smart Plug) interface with other voice command devices. I purchased for a specific purpose. I have two separate controllers for outdoor landscape lights. Due to the configuration of my home and outside, I have two separate sets and the units that control them are located inside (garage and the basement). Therefore, the HS100 would not be exposed to outside. When I bought the two controllers I could have had them app controlled but that would have been $200 extra per unit. The units come with a simple pin timer. However, the times are hard to set to come on at the the same time and then the times typically gain or lose time. I started to research the smart plugs to see if I can use those rather than the timers. I put the smart plugs in the units and they appear to work. I have the lights off during the holidays. I tested them with holiday lights in the house that were on timer and both sets of lights for each timer come on at the same time. The current manual pull pin times have gained about 15 minutes in less than a month. Setup of the plugs - actual it is easy if you follow the directions. Of course, I did not. When I created my account and password, I kept using the new password when it was asking to connect to my wireless network. If you have to call support...good luck. They are oversees (maybe China) and rush to get you off the phone. However, it was my error. Scheduling - again it would have been faster to follow the directions, but you can figure it out. I linked both units to the app and both are set off and on at the same time each day. So far, no issues. For both of these times I have been home. I am going to test what happens when I am not at home for these times and also when my phone is powered off at these times. I will keep you posted. Away - they have a nice feature that lets the time vary when the unit powers on. This is so the connected light is not coming on at the exact same time each evening. I am not sure I will purchase more. I would like them at the holidays as I have lights on 6 different times. It would be nice to have them all on the same cycle and exact time. Not sure it is worth the price to be using them about a month a year.

The short version.....these work great and these should be your choice in Smart Plugs. Longer Version: When I started out with the home automation stuff, after purchasing an Echo, my first purchases were the Wemo plugs......that was a mistake. I have written a review on those and they have only gotten worse since I wrote it, due to Wemo updates which have only served to make both the plugs and App less usable. As far as the TP-Link plugs (and I have also purchased and installed TP-Link Switches), these work great and, while the App could be a little more user friendly, thus only 4 Stars, they so far out-distance the Wemo stuff that the decision on which to buy is, in my opinion, a no-brainer. The set-up process is, I guess, standard for these types of devices, but it worked flawlessly with each of the 4 plugs and 5 switches I have purchased. They are reliable and I have had absolutely no issues with them as far as function and reliability. As I said, the App is a bit clunky and could be more usable, but it is not THAT bad and, again, completely blows away Wemos in functionality. They also all work flawlessly with my Amazon Echo with minimal delay. As a matter of fact, I have made the decision to replace the 3 original Wemo plugs I bought with TP-Link plugs because the Wemos have become unusable in 80% of their function and completely unusable for a lot of uses for which I purchased them. I apologize if this seems more like a comparison report, but I figure that if you are reading the reviews, you are trying to decide which Smart Plug brand to purchase. TP-Links would be my very clear recommendation.

Installation was a bit of a nightmare at first. Even though the app loaded just fine on my phone, and even though my phone (a HTC Volt 2) was on the this should work list, the app kept freezing whenever it tried to name the plug. I must have done it over and over 500 times, until I was ready to drop the entire thing into an active volcano. If youre having trouble with setup, forget the helpdesk and try using another phone or tablet. (Once the plug is synced and working, the app on my phone controls it just fine. Setup just has a few bugs in it). I finally used a tablet that has Google play on it to download the Kasa app and install the plug instead of my phone. So setup is kinda hit or miss depending on how the app works with your phone, but once its working, the plug is fantastic! Its way better than Wemo in that it never loses connectivity or needs to be reset. I actually have five of them now that I use with Alexa, and they are all 100% responsive. (Be sure to name the plug something easy for Alexa to understand if you go that route. She sometimes cant tell the difference between Bed and Bath if I mumble or have the TV on, but that isnt the plugs fault). So yes, I highly recommend this smart plug once it is up and running.

Let me start by saying, when I first installed these they worked great. I have four of them. The reason I bought was to help my mother who has a hard time getting around. We loved showing them off to friends and family. Soon the love turned to frustration. They are easy to set up, my Wi-Fi had no problems finding and set up was fast. I put the app. on my phone and Fire tablet. Even setup groups to turn all on and off at same time. I could control while away from the house or using everyones wi-fi or cell tower. The problem is they continue to lose connection to Wi-Fi and then Alexa will not control. App says local only, meaning you have to get your phone to turn on and off, and you have to be in the house on your Wi-Fi. I have strong Wi-Fi signal at my house. You can get 300 plus yards away and still get a signal. I live in a rural area, no neighbors. So there is no other Wi-Fi interference. Other problems, re-setting them all the time. You have to delete one by one and sometimes the app will not let you do that. Why cant there be a simple reset? Then when you go to reinstall it, can not find. You can do it manually, then that is hit or miss. I have had them for over six months. I reset all of them last night 12-2-16 and today when I woke up two were off line. I really want them to work. Talking to Alexa is a fun way to control lights, but im getting tired of hearing Alexa say sorry I cant find table light and so on. Dont waste your money on this. I am curious to know if the people who left good reviews, did it right away or waited a few weeks to try out? I always wait a few months before I do. I am ready to recreate the scene from Office Space with the fax machine. Q, generic response from TP-Link, Ill update if they have any real answer to the problems. UPDATE 12/14/16 I did a reset on all 12/4/16 as of the 14th they are all working fine. So 10 days with no problems. Lets see how long we can go. Also for the people how say plugs are to big and block furniture. Try Power Extension Cord Cable, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CEJW0WQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought this to control a TV & Satellite box but after reading some others reviews I realized that it would not do the job I was expecting it to do in that capacity. Im grateful and thankful to those people for their reviews detailing why it wont work to control your TV (basically the device thinks its unplugged from the wall if turned off from a smart plug so turning it back on means rebooting tvs & satellite boxes) before I started unplugging and setting things back up only to find my dreams dashed. Seriously, search TV in the reviews search and see their knowledge and save yourself the hassle. I figured I might as well try plugging an awkward to access lamp into one of the two plugs I bought before I initiated a return and was happy to find that the set up and connection process was effortless and fast. The app was easy to use on my phone, I literally just plugged the plug in, waited for lights to turn colors per the apps on screen directions and within a few minutes, it worked. I then connected my Google Home to it in another seamless & simple set up connection process and now I no longer have to contort my arm to find the switch for this lamp, I just say Hey Google, turn on the lights and on it goes. Theres an audible click when it goes on and off that comes from the plug itself, its a satisfying sound to me. So I was bummed I couldnt use these for what I intended, but am thrilled that I was able to simplify something and expand my Google Homes capabilities. This was my first Smart Home purchase and Im very pleased with the ease of this system. So trust the reviews, dont use this for your TV, but do use it for lamps or other appliances that dont need to reboot to be used. Also trust us that youre going to want the Mini plug if you want second outlet access. This one hangs too low over the bottom outlet if you plug into the top. Lesson learned. If I ever decide to add more smart plugs, I will go with the mini.

Before we get into what I dont like about this, it should be known that I love this plug. We use it on a bedside lamp combined with an Echo, and Alexa turns our light on and off every morning and evening without fumbling for the pull chain. Its great. I just have seen a few ways it could be better. Software can be a bit finicky - has a tendency to reset with a power loss, but not every power loss. And even then you just need to reintialize - all of the data is still saved about the device name. After initial setup, the next one I use will be much easier (already having an account, having the phone app, etc.). Naming was easy, and the app even comes with little icons to remind you what is plugged into the outlet. Biggest issue, and the only reason were not at 5 stars is the plug covers both wall outlets. The housing is too big on the bottom to allow even an ungrounded connection beneath it. You could get short, grounded extension cables (6 or 12) to overcome this, but it starts to become ridiculous. Fortunately the plug we use only had the lamp on it, but its still annoying. Would also be nice if the plug was actually on one of the sides instead of head-in. Naturally, this unit sticks out from the wall, but then once you have your switched device plugged in, the wires extend pretty far. If the switched device plugged into the side, you could avoid the wires coming out several inches from the wall. Maybe thats another reason to get the short extension cord. So plan for this to be in a hidden location where you only need to have one device plugged in, and its a winner.

I continue to love these units. Originally, I had a problem remembering that my beds headboard light was on a smartplug, but eventually, that problem disappeared because I decided to make it a non-smart light. (It is now my power-failure security light, the only light I can turn on when the power fails, plugged into a UPS). I love being able to ask Alexa (my Echo device) to turn lights on and off while Im in bed. I have four of these units and two of their smart lightbulbs. I have * my bedroom ceiling (smartbulb) * living room ceiling (smartbulb) * my office recliner (smart plug) which has a second normal light. * bathroom hanging light (smart plug) * christmas tree (smart plug) which will go back to controlling a different light in January) * security camera (smart plug) Two of the lights I have set to random on-and-off times so that when Im not home, the lights are going on and off. Unfortunately, the random vacation mode does not appear to be a choice for the lightbulbs) but I have them on a fixed schedule. Finally, I also have some of the lights grouped as Everything so I can turn a bunch of things off at once. That is a great feature. I can turn things on and off by group name or by item name, and all the names are things that I defined. When I do decide to use a smart plug in a different place, its easy to rename it on my smartphone, then Alexa figures it out without my having to tell her anything. I love these units, especially the fact that I dont need to have a special controller to use them, and I dont have to use contorted commands, like Alexa ask whatever to do whatever that is required by some remote control devices. (I dont use another device that requires such contortion).

The plug arrived a day early, which has been pretty standard lately. Id already downloaded the Kasa application and setup a user account so all I had to do was plug the plug in and follow the instructions in the app. The plug showed up and other than being patient while it made the changes to the network configure, saved and then rebooted the plug it was very quick. I then tested the plug using the Kasa app and both my Echo and Touch. It worked without a problem, Id read the instructions and followed them so Id already discovered the device with Alexa. I had my daughter test it remotely, again no problem. I suspect the biggest issue will now be my daughter messing with me by turning the light on and off on me. I then unplugged it, gave it the 10 count and plugged it back in. Oh no, it isnt working, the sky is falling! Ha, remember I mentioned the reboot earlier, be patient, dont start unplugging and plugging it in again and again. I waited and what do you know, its working. So far its worked exactly how I expected it too. The only issue I have with it so far is that it does block both ports on an outlet. Id expected this as well however, Id done my homework and read the reviews so as you can see from the picture I had an extension cord ready. I did knock a star off for this however, this day and age with everything requiring power blocking an unused outlet port is unacceptable IMHO. I like that I dont need a separate hub for the TP-Link Smart Plug. Now to see how it handles everyday life, will it hold up, will my wife finally allow me to bring the Echo out of the man-cave? Only time will tell.