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

The TP LINK HS100 is an excellent choice for a WiFi smart plug. Set up is easy with the KASA app and once you establish an account for remote control, adding additional plugs is a fast and simple. I especially like the icon selections avaliable to assign to the plugs along with unique names. The app works on both cellphones and tablets. Your phone/tablet and the smart plug must be configured with both on the same 2.4Ghz network, but once completed, the phone/tablet can be switched to an 11a or 11n network. This only works with remote control access or you are confined to local access under 11g only network. I recommend setting up multiple plugs on the same phone or tablet first, discovery and connection is quick and easy on the second device. I deducted a star for the bulkiness of the plug. I also have installed several units of the Power X WiFi Remote Smart Plug by Raynic Electronics, they are not as bulky and have a slimmer profile. You can control local or remote access with the TP LINK HS100, the Power X once configured is remote by default. When on remote you are server dependent and I have experienced server connection issues with both and had to manually control the on/off function of the plug. I recommend the TP LINK HS100 WiFi Remote Smart Plug as a starting point to creating a smart home, with or without the Amazon Echo and Alexa.

At first, I had a lot of trouble getting it to work. Please note: these things do NOT work with custom firmware routers (DD-WRT, OpenWRT, etc.) I had DD-WRT on my router, and I just couldnt get it to work no matter what. It couldnt connect to the router, and I have no clue why. So I flashed my router back to stock firmware, et voila. It worked just as expected. You download the Kasa app, plug in the plug, and go through the on-screen instructions to set it up! Its very simple. It then gives you the ability to turn on and off things you plug into it remotely (I used mine for a space heater). You can also setup a schedule for it to turn on. For me, I have my heater turn on at 630am so its not cold when its time to get out of bed. This is also good for automated lights and other things. PACKAGING: the packaging it comes in is very good, and very nice looking. The instructions are semi-ambiguous, but they can be. The app walks you step by step through setup. This plug is not compatible with 5GHz WiFi networks...so you need to have a 2.4GHz WiFi network in order to use this. Honestly this part is my own mistake, but I only bought the Smart Plug, and not the model with energy monitoring...DO NOT make this mistake. Its literally 4 cents more to get the one with energy monitoring, and it would be well worth it just for some cool extra information about your plug and monitoring it. Currently, you can only see how long its been on...not that useful for much. Anyways, amazing product, very nice and convenient, and glad I purchased. Giving it 4 stars because the headache I had with DD-WRT and because a model without a feature is the same price* as the model with a feature...very unfortunate as I dont want to wait to send this back and forth.

This has been working well so far, and since its able to interface it with both Alexa and IFTTT, its extremely flexible to automate! I do wish it came with an Ethernet port to set it up though, because for me, the wireless setup was very frustrating! In order to supply your routers credentials to this outlet, setup requires you to connect a wireless device to a temporary Wi-Fi network with the plug. Doesnt sound too difficult, but it took me several dozen attempts to successfully connect to the outlet! After a failed connection, youre given the option to set up manually, which consists of manually switching your network to the one supplied by the outlet. However, my connection kept telling me that I was in fact connected to the device, with no internet connectivity. Great, I wouldnt expect internet, but if Im connected, why does the setup keep telling me that Im not connected. The setup also helpfully states that maybe you should try again while being closer to the outlet. I literally had my phone resting on the device! So, I tried various outlets throughout my home in case I just happened to be trying to set it up in a wireless black hole, but to no avail. The only other wireless device that I have that I could use to set it up is a Kindle Fire tablet. Unfortunately, for some reason, the TP-Link Kasa app, that is used to setup and control the device, doesnt exist on the Amazon marketplace... Just when I reached my limit after dozens of setup attempts and was going to box the outlet back up and return it, it finally allowed me to input my routers credentials and connect it to my home network! Since attaching to my network, Ive had no issues whatsoever with the outlet! So while I like the device itself, and it works great, Im subtracting a star because the setup was beyond frustrating... If this device worked well, I was planning on purchasing some more. At this point, I dont know if Ill do that because while Im satisfied by the way the outlet is working, Im literally dreading trying to set another one up.

I have three of these HS100 smart plugs and the first two worked fine for turning on/off lights at night, holiday lights and such. They are relatively easy to set up and work with Alexa devices (after additional set up). A minor issue is that they are quite large and can take up a lot of space on an outlet. You can really only plug them into one of the outlets or they will end up blocking both. A bigger issue is with the third plug I purchased. It set-up fine but it will not stop supplying power. It appears to work fine (power light goes on and off either by button on plug or using the app) but even with the power light out it continues to supply power. Based on some online research, this appears to be due to a bad relay switch that is stuck in the closed position. I did not pull this out of the box until I was already passed the Amazon return window so I am dealing with the manufacturer. They responded to my issue by email in a timely manner but gave me a list of so many troubleshooting items and information required (most of which is written in micro-text on the plug) that I can see getting a replacement is going to be quite a pain. I think this is a decent product when it works but it should not be that difficult to quality control for something like this. Luckily it was a great deal on Prime Day so I guess I am not out of too large an investment.

I was very impressed with this product. I have written very few reviews of products but I felt compelled to relate my experience. Setup was incredibly easy. Download the app, go through the very simple instructions there. 15 minutes after opening the box it was working perfectly. I used the timer feature several times and it worked great. I have it set to turn on every weeknight at the same time, and so far (last night), that worked as well. I love that it stores all schedules, network information, and away mode setup directly on the device, so even if the app is not running, or you even move the plug to a different outlet, all your settings will be maintained. Away mode lets you set up certain times (including the possibility of sunset to sunrise or vice versa) where the plug will turn on and off randomly, so if a light (or TV) is attached to the plug and it is visible from a window, it will look like someone is home. Havent used this yet, but it looks like a great feature. I just set this up yesterday, so I dont have a lot of experience with it yet, but so far it has worked perfectly. The only downsides I have found so far, is that the plug is a little bulky, although its not really a problem (If you have it plugged into the top plug in a normal 2 plug outlet, it wont block the bottom plug). Also, if you are trying to trigger the plug from the app while you are not on the same network as the plug, it might take as long as 10 seconds the very first time. Every subsequent press of the power button will be nearly instantaneous. If you are connected to the same network, there are no delays.

The new Echo compatibility works very well and allows grouping controllers under a single group name. I just set up three controllers and now I can say Alexa, turn on the living room lights and viola, theyre on! Much easier than finding each lamps on/off switch on a cord behind a piece of furniture. I can also schedule them to turn on and off when were away from home. Go to the TP-LINK support site for full instructions and to the Alexa app if youre using an Echo to control the switches. The set up was mostly straight forward once I read the TP-LINK full instructions, but below is an more detailed hint for part of the instructions that werent clear to me at first. I spent about 30 minutes puzzling this out, but the rest was fast and easy. The controllers can be configured with Kasa to be local or remote connected. To be controlled by Echo each individual controller must be set to Remote Control ON, in the Device Settings menu. That menu is accessed in Kasa with this process after the controller is initially set up: From Kasas home page tap the device name; a screen for that device appears, with selections for Schedule, Away, Timer, an off/on button and at the top right corner an icon that looks like three little sliders. Tap that icon to open the Device Settings screen and then slide the Remote Control slider icon to the right so that it lights green. Do that for all controllers you want to be controlled through Echo.

UPDATE: I left my original review as written below, but the issue described there that caused my initial 1-star rating has been corrected. I now have 5 of these and they work very well with my Echo, without the annoying middle man. I can now glad,y recommend them. Bought this in order to control my TV and streaming stick with Echo, and now I am returning it. It did not function well with Alexa, and I do not want a bunch of devices I have to control independently with 3rd party apps. This device turns Alexa into an extraneous middle-man. Here is the breakdown of how this product performed for me: Pro: - Unit appears to be decent quality and arrived well packaged. - Unit set up easily enough; instructions were simple to follow Con: - Unit requires the 3rd party Kasa app - Because the device is run by the Kasa app, not Echo directly, it turns Alexa into a middle-man; Echo becomes a silly extra step. - Echo could find the device to turn it on, but then could not recognize the name to turn it off: The whole process felt passive-aggressive. You cant say, Alexa, turn on the TV. You have to say, Alexa, ask Kasa to turn on the TV. Its like sitting around the table and saying, Sweetie, ask your father to pass the salt... Honey, ask your mother why she couldnt ask for the salt herself. It was ridiculous. In fairness, most of the extra skills for Echo currently work this way. Alexa ask for this, Alexa ask for that. For this very reason I find myself not using many of those extra functions. It takes away from the conversational, direct-control feel of the Echo, and Im hoping that this is corrected with future software updates. The problem seems to be that Echo has trouble recognizing the word Kasa. When you give Alexa a command, she searches around your profile for a device or group with the name she heard you say. She is no doubt looking for the word Casa in your lists, but its not there because the manufacturer named this Kasa with a K, which is not actually a word. Oddly enough, Alexa could turn the device on about 1 out of 5 tries. She could never turn it off. Alexa, ask Kasa to turn the TV on, (and tell dad to pass mom the salt)....The TV comes on, sometimes. Immediately after that, Alexa, ask Kasa to turn the TV off,.... Im sorry. I cannot find a device or group with that name in your profile. Every. Single. Time. Sure I can keep the Smart Plug and control my TV/streaming stick with my phone, but that defeats the purpose. The point is voice command control through 1 master device (Echo). If I have to pick up my phone and use a 3rd-party app to turn on the TV, I might as well just use the TV remote.

The Body: Its 2019 and this plug cannot be used in a wall outlet with other plugs. The bottom of the device is rounded to give a sleek, aesthetic look but prevents any use of the outlet below it. I dont understand why its 2019 and we still have cable/cord manufacturers who cannot design a product or adapter that doesnt hinder the user of adjacent plugs. This device can only be used in one orientation, meaning on a standard US plug, with two outlets, you have to use the top one and because of the extended bottom, you cannot use the second outlet. Wifi: So far, the connection seems alright but the setup in the app required the first plug to update firmware. After waiting, it failed to update. When I found the place to try it again, the device no longer needed a firmware update. I have no idea if the update passed but didnt send the right code for the app to confirm it installed, or what. I guess well never know. Kasa App: During the setup process, youre asked to create an account. It also asks for your location so it can sync the time. You can skip it at that point but you are REQUIRED to enable location services in the app to add a device, with no option to skip. I also dont trust the reason provided for needing the permission as you could allow manual timezone additions. I might return the product just for this fact as theres no reason an app on my device needs location services turned on for a smart plug that wont be moving. If you truly needed the location for time settings then you would let us manually enter the timezone. Conclusion: I have no idea why this has the star count it does. I was frustrated by the design, frustrated by the app, and frustrated by the permissions. I wish electrical cable manufacturers would care about their customers enough to design their products in a way that doesnt prevent the use of adjacent outlets. Either you dont want to or you simply dont care. Based on the design of this product, I can see no reason the bottom of the device had to be the way it is but I guess Ill break out the Dremel and shave off the bottom of the outlet (if I can) so I am not out two different outlets.

This plug is great. The app is very fast to open and locate the device. Easy to setup and use remotely. I bought this for my mothers house because she uses lights on mechanical timers and is always calling me to complain that the lights are coming on too early, too late or turning off at the wrong time. I have a wifi bulb at home from a different manufacturer, which I set to turn on automatically every night at a specified time but the app is slow to locate it when I want to adjust the time. This TP-Link is very fast with the Kasa app. I was driving home after installing it and she called to tell me the light was still on, so I pulled up the app and I was able turn it off from 10 miles away and adjusted the turn off time from the road. I didnt need to change the IP account to static or anything. It just works. I will be buying a few more for my own use and a few light switches as well. You have to setup and an account to use it remotely, but thats just an email address, which you verify by clicking on the tab when you receive the confirmation, and a password. Ill be buying a few smart switches from TP-Link soon to change in her house too. Two more things to note. This has a USB port on the side I believe to charge things with. It was not used in the setup at all. Also, you can see remotely which devices are on or off. Great product TP-Link!!

What did I do without these? I bought one to try on Prime Day. Thats all it took. Pretty soon I was thinking of all the places it would be convenient to use them. The first one went on the bedroom lamp, because I hated trying to fumble in the dark to try to get light. I was always worried Id tip the lamp over. It became indispensable when my arms were full of baby and I didnt have a free hand to turn the lamp on or off as I carried him to bed. The next one I needed was for the tall living room lamp behind the bookcase, followed by the overhead lamp in the office. Now Im pretty sure I need a few more - one for the nursery lamp, one for the garage ... Id even sort of like one for the Christmas tree. The thing we like the most about these smart plugs is not only can I turn them on and off just by talking to Alexa, I can also use my phone to turn them on and off if Im not home. That means when it gets dark at 5 pm and Im lugging groceries up to a dark house ... I can turn the light on before I even get there. I dont have to open the door and wake the baby to go downstairs if someone is coming home late. I can just turn the light on from my bed. I really, REALLY love these plugs. Ill definitely be buying more in the future.