Amazon Smart Plug
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'So I’m kind of new to the amazon device family. We just got our echo a few months ago. I’ve been a prime member for over 10 years so I’m familiar with how amazon has changed life as we knew it (for me anyway). I saw the amazon smart plug when I was searching for any brand smart plug that had Alexa control with it. It’s been in my cart saved for later for at least a month! I finally decided to just pre order it so that I could review it and hopefully help other people that are like me and have fallen way behind in the tech field. For reference I’m an almost 34 year old mom of 2. This means that my 8 year old stole my iPad, iMac, and I haven’t had a computer of my own in about 4 years! So I do everything from my iPhone. I’ve had some weird issues with our echo and my Alexa app that it will just randomly pause a song so I’m not sure what that is about.\nANYWAY! I received my new amazon smart plug the day it was released (so glad it’s not like a new iPhone or PlayStation where people camp out ahead of time or do people still do this??). It was easier than I expected but harder than was described in the listing because my Alexa didn’t just recognize it.\nSetup:\nSince my Alexa didn’t recognize it on its own, I had to unplug the smart plug and quickly scan the code on the back of the plug, then plug it back in fast so that when it scanned for it it would see it plugged in. After that it was very simple. I was able to plug in my baby monitor and then tell Alexa to “turn off plug one” and it turned off! It is so cool!\nFuture:\nI think homes will end up being built with these right into the electrical system. Maybe they already are.\nComparing:\nWith so many different brands offering smart plugs with Alexa integration I can’t see myself buying any more than 1 for $25. Too many are 2 for $20. While it’s nice to have the amazon support backing this up, I just can’t afford to fill my home with them at such a high cost comparative to other brands that do the same exact thing.\nOverall:\nIf you can afford to fill your plugs with these then do! This smart plug is easy and awesome! But if you’re on a tight budget like I am, I would try a different brand first and see if those will work just as well.\nEvery time I purchase something online, I always check the reviews. I count on others to help me choose the best option. My reviews are always my honest opinion and I try to include photos if possible.\nIf my review has helped you in any way, please click the "helpful" button below so that I know! If you have any questions feel free to ask! Thank you!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Got this smart plug so I can remotely turn appliances/lights on and off in an Alzheimer's patient's home. I can remotely make sure things are off by simply turning them on/off in the Amazon Alexa app - super simple to use and really helps me out. Now I don't have to drive over there to make sure the lights are off, or the AC or TV are off, etc. Thank you!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I have owned several different brands of smart plugs, and this one was BY FAR the easiest to to set up. I plugged it into an outlet and within a few seconds the Alexa app on my phone recognized it as a new device, prompted me to give it a name, and I was all set! Awesomeness all around.\n\nThis may seem obvious, but it you are already an Alexa user, this may be the best smart plug to get simply because it integrates so easily with Alexa. It\'s really nice not to have to install another app on my phone for a different brand of smart plug and then link that app to Alexa -- eliminating that extra layer of complexity means one less thing that can go wrong.\n\nLike other smart plugs, there is a single button on the side which allows you to turn the plug on and off manually.\n\nI have just a few complaints:\n- First, the plug itself is very large, especially compared with other smart plugs on the market; it projects over 2" out from the wall and is over 3" wide. Surely Amazon can make these smaller? Please?\n- Second, the plug is on the pricey side as smart plugs go. $25 is steep for a single plug. Then again, it\'s nice to keep everything "within Alexa," and hopefully Amazon will offer some deals on them as time goes on.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I had a few WeMo smart plugs before ordering these. First of all, I HATED the app because adding a plug was so cumbersome. Plus, one of the plugs never did show up on the app so I couldn\'t really control it. It was in a room upstairs and I thought it must have been out of range of my WiFi router. I do not have a WiFi extender and almost bought one due to this issue. Had to send those plugs back.\n\nI was excited to see Amazon was coming out with their own smart plugs and pre-ordered them right away. Controlling everything through one app is way preferable. As a huge bonus, my upstairs plug that I previously could not control with the WeMo plug and app now works flawlessly with the Amazon plug and Alexa app. I guess it wasn\'t out of range after all.\n\nPros:\n1. if you\'re already tied into the Amazon Alexa ecosystem this just makes sense, and you keep things under control with a single app. And easily controlled with your Echo device if you wish.\n2. Really easy to add a plug via the Alexa app. Alexa will recognize it right away and you just scan the back of the plug to add it.\n3. Shorter and less bulky than the WeMo plug.\n4. Smart plugs that may have been non-responsive on my network before are working flawlessly now with the Amazon plug in use instead.\n\nCons:\n1. A bit pricey. I wish they offered multi-packs for a lower price per unit. This will probably happen later.\n2. Adding a plug to operate on an on/off schedule was NOT as easy as with WeMo. It took too many steps, was not straightforward, and should be more streamlined. Basically, you\'re creating what they call a "routine." You have to add a start time. Then go back and do it all over again to add an end time. So I had to create two routines to get my coffee maker to start on weekdays at 6:45am and turn off on weekdays at 7:45am. That was silly. I did eventually figure it out, but they should really work on making it involve less steps and be more intuitive.\n\nI will buy more but will wait until the price comes down or they\'re on sale.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4 review-rating', 'review_body': "For the past few years we've only used WeMo smart plugs by Belkin. They've worked ok and rules are easy to set up BUT, like any other smart plug, WeMo requires users to manage smart plugs using the WeMo app. The WeMo smart plugs were relatively easy to set up with Alexa, however, the moment there was a power outage, reboot of router, etc. they have been a royal pain to get back online.\n\nI received my new Amazon Smart Plug today and the setup was very easy and took minimal time. This was so much easier dealing with one single app (Alexa) that I will now be replacing all of my WeMo devices. I would have given it 5 stars but using the scheduling option (days and times) in Alexa required too many steps. Users should ideally be able to add start times, stop times and days when creating a schedule versus creating separate schedules for start and stop times. Perhaps a lower price would be good. Not just because I want a less expensive product but more importantly, many people have already invested a lot of money with their current smart plugs. For example, over the past years I've added (7) WeMo plugs at an average cost of $30 each and $210 for all (7). Personally, I think it would be a wise decision for Amazon to drop their price so that they can win over customers like me at a faster rate."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Anyone else have a problem? Surprised that the instructions (hard copy and online) were not complete. Did not tell you that the plug needed to be turned on in a specific way to allow for setting the plug up---" press and hold the on/off switch until the LED light flashes blue and red." After that, the set up process was simple.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Totally brilliant is the best way to describe these plugs. For more than 30 years, I’ve put up with the madcap craziness of my spouses’s obsession with Christmas. That means those cheap mechanical timers eveywhere. Guess who gets to set those up? Guess who gets the complaint that lights don’t turn on and off at the same time? This guy. Guess who hates Christmas? This guy.\n\nThis year, I ordered a bunch of these - they take about 2 minutes to set up. You open up the Alexa app. Hit the plus sign to add the device and scan the bar code on the back, then plug it in. In about a minute, the plug is added to your system. I renamed each and then marked it on the bottom where it’s located (“Christmas Tree”). I set up a group (“Christmas”) and put all the plugs into the group so there’s a single word (“Alexa turn on Christmas”). I’ve set up a schedule so all the lights in the group come on and off at the same time.\n\nOne annual headache solved and the spouse is happy that the lights all come on at the same time and they can be controlled with a single word, and it’s not my name anymore.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-2 review-rating', 'review_body': '"Smart" home automation gadgets are a mixed bag, in general, with varying levels of compatibility, functionality and reliability across many different manufacturers. I was hoping that with their own "made for Alexa" smart plug, Amazon would hit a home run in the home automation space. However, I\'ve been disappointed with the Amazon Smart Plug.\n\nWhile setup is supposed to be "plug-and-play" with the Alexa app handling all the heavy lifting, I found both of the Smart Plugs I purchased had problems connecting and I had to (repeatedly) go through a manual pairing and configuration process.\n\nConnectivity has been marginal, as both plugs occasionally lose connectivity and require power-cycling to restore communication. This is despite the fact that I have a mesh network in my home with terrific coverage, as well as 9 Alexa devices. So no matter how the Smart Plug needs to communicate with Alexa, my infrastructure shouldn\'t be a problem.\n\nReliability in operation is problematic, too, as Alexa frequently and unpredictably informs me that she can\'t turn on one of the Smart Plugs right now, and to try again later. Frustrating!\n\nFinally, there\'s no compatibility with home automation apps like SmartThings or Stringify, and the Echo app doesn\'t provide basic capability such as the ability to turn on a plug/light at sunset or off at sunrise.\n\nOverall, a disappointing purchase. Hopefully a Gen 2 Smart Plug will offer more compelling capabilities and performance. If you\'re looking for an Alexa-compatible smart plug today, however, there\'s definitely NO advantage purchasing this one.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I am no tech expert but the reviews said easy to set up. I have an iPhone and use an eero wifi network throughout the house and have my echo dot on that network. I have spent HOURS trying to get this set up and Amazon customer service put me on hold for an hour after being unable to resolve the issue. I FINALLY read that it only works on a 2G network (I have 5G) and so I managed to somehow reset everything and get ONE to work. In trying to set up the second, it kept reverting back to my 5G and it took me another 1/2 hour to figure out how to forget the network settings in Alexa. I had to completely forget all the networks and reset everything several times. I FINALLY managed to get them working.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I bought the smart plug to pair it with Echo dot, and both of them see to work smoothly. Once the smart plug was paired with Echo dot, it works like a charm. I can issue voice commands to Alexa and the plug works as expected.\n\nThis plug is aesthetically pleasing with rounded corners. The manual power switch for the plug is installed as a small dimple in the side which doesn\'t protrude out sits flush with rest of the body. This plug is wide but not tall, because which it doesn\'t block the sockets next to it on the wall plates. When the plug is turned on or off, it makes a small clicking noise, that is probably the sound of internal relay opening or closing the connection.\n\nThis looks like a well-built plug and works reliably, with rare instances of not working and when I asked Echo dot to turn on the plug it would tell me that the plug is not responding. In such instance, I asked Alexa to turn the plug off (even though it was already off,) and then asked it again to turn it on. That seemed to fix the issue. However, if your switch seems to be unresponsive then I would recommend resetting the plug by removing the plug from socket and wait for 10 seconds. Then press and hold the power button on the plug. And while holding the button, plug into an outlet. After this step, try to pair the device again with the Alexa app.\n\nThere is a small LED in the front which doesn\'t light up when the switch is off and turns to blue when the plug is turned on. If there are any issues with the plug or when the plug is initializing (after being plugged in), the LED turns to orange.\n\nBy default, Alexa adds the smart plug as "First plug". The name of the plug can be changed in Alexa app (shown in the Video of my review)\n\nSETUP\nWith Echo dot\nThe setup with echo dot was extremely simple. As soon as I plugged in the Smartplug, Echo dot recognized the plug and responded that it has recognized the "first plug".\n\nWithout Echo dot or if Echo dot cannot detect the smart plug\nI have shown how the setup process works in my video review.\n1. First, put the plug into pairing/discovery mode by pressing the power button on the side of the plug until the LED in the front starts blinking between blue and orange.\n2. After that open the Alexa app, and add a new device of type "plug". Plug type is Amazon.\n3. Alexa App will try to connect to the plug. At this step, we have two options. Either scan a QR code that comes with the plug (it is also printed on the plug as well.) If scanning the QR code is not possible then the app can also try to connect to the plug with Bluetooth.\n4. Once the App connects to the plug, it configures the plug for Wifi by asking you to select the Wireless network. After this step, the setup is done.\n\nOPERATING THE PLUG\nWith Echo dot\nWith echo dot I can simply say "Alexa, turn on first plug" and it turns on the plug. After I changed the name of plug to "Christmas tree" in the Alexa app, I could simply say "Alexa, turn on christmas tree"\n\nManually\nThere is a switch on the side of the plug as well which you can use to manually turn on/off the plug. The switch gives a tactile feedback when you use it.\n\nTHINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY THIS PLUG\n1. This plug supports current up to 15 Amperes, which is good enough for most of the appliances.\n2. Alexa adds the plug as "First plug" by default. But you can change the name of the plug in the app.\n3. This plug doesn\'t remember the state it was in if you remove it from the socket. If you remove the plug from the switch while this was on and plug it back in, the plug will be turned off. I think this might be because of safety issues and I prefer this behavior.'}]