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

I have a water well and one year the outdoor plumbing from it froze. We had no water pressure when that happened because the part that froze was a 2 inch section of pipe that had the pressure sensor on it. You cant buy heat tape for a 2 pipe! The well tech said to insulate that pipe and place a heat lamp near that pipe, turning it on when it gets close to freezing. That involves clamping a heat lamp near the pipe and running an extension cord from the well head to my house, turning it on when it gets cold. It rarely stays cold enough during the day here, but it could happen. But what would I do if I was not home? This WiFi smart plug will hopefully be the answer. Basically, this is a WiFi relay/switch. You download the app, plug in the device to a wall outlet and the app connects the plug to your home network after you supply your routers WEP code. You next specify when the device will turn on. Generally, accessing the device turns it on. The icon on your smartphone Kasa app will turn green. You can have it turn on and off at a certain time on a specified day of the week but not on a specific date on the calendar. By doing so, it acts like setting a smartphone alarm. It asks for your location for sunrise/sunset information and can turn on the device at sunset, etc. There is an option to turn on the device for a low temperature situation, which I assume means outdoor temperature, but there is no setting for what that temperature is when it will turn the device on or at what subsequent temperature will it then turn it off. What if there are conflicts between the set schedule and the temperature? I will have to ask the company about that. In the meantime, I can check the weather and turn it on an off remotely. How long does it take for the smart plug to turn on or off when using the app? It is almost instantaneous. How far away is the smart plug from my Comcast router? About 80 feet.

Oh, Alexa, what did I do before I had you? TP-LINK offers this wifi plug that works with Amazons Alexa, and its currently 10 dollars cheaper than the most popular other wifi plug. I now have five of them, and although its only been a few weeks, I am extremely satisfied. I have an apartment with horrific built in lighting, so I have lamps everywhere to keep the mood right. I have known for years that I have a penchant for laziness, but I cannot express the level of satisfaction I have when I sit on my couch and command lamps to turn on or off with my voice. Sometimes I do it just to entertain the cats. There are some pros and cons to the device: Pros: Does not require a hub - these plugs connect directly to your Wifi router. Thats a good thing, but as you keep adding them your router is going to do more work. Relatively easy software setup - if you have an iPhone or Android phone, setup is a snap Reliability - I havent had a failure yet Software - Scheduling is a plus, remote control from outside your home is an even bigger plus. I have a paranoia about my coffee maker burning the house down due to my father, so that plug turns on at 4am every day but it shuts off at 10am (except on weekends!) so I never have to worry about it. If youre on vacation you can setup a lighting schedule, but even if you forget you can just turn the outlets on from your phone wherever you are in the world. Cons: Does not require a hub - customers with cheaper/leased routers may run into a device limit Software - you NEED an iPhone, Android phone, or one of those tablets to set this device up. Apparently programming for an actual computer was too much work for TP-LINK Interference - dont put them near a microwave and expect them to work. Some people may experience less than ideal performance if they have a large house and their wifi router is not nearby. I live in an apartment, so I havent run into any issues with reception. I am very happy with this plug, and if you have to choose this one or the more expensive option, I cannot think of a reason to get the more expensive option. They offer identical services.

I bought three of these when they went on sale a while back. It took a while to figure out the correct way to get them set up. I wasnt aware you still had to go online and set up the app on the Kasa web site before you could us it through the internet or Alexa. You can do this with a smart phone or Ipad, it didnt work with a PC. Once I found that out, it went smooth from then on. I first used my Ipad to locate and set them up, no problems here, I could turn them on from anywhere in the house or outside, I havent tried them from another location yet, but it says they will work away from home. Whats keeping me from giving five stars is that its so hit or miss with Alexa. I have two Echos, one in my house and another in my moms house and they both have the same issues. The first issue with Alexa is range. I cant put these farther than 7 feet from the Echo. I can get about 10 feet away in my moms house. Weird thing is that I tell it to turn on a light and it says OK and nothing happens if its over 7 feet away. I tried it with all three units. Keep in mind that it works fine through the internet app and my Ipad. Sometimes, Alexa cant seem to locate one or more of these devices and I have to reset them and set them up again. Also, if you plan on using Alexa, sometimes, you have to say your words a certain way to make her happy. I can say turn on the living room light and Alexa sometimes responds I cannot locate a device called Living Room Light. Then I say turn the living room light on, and Alexa says OK and it happens if Im in range. If you just plan to use your smart phone or Ipad to control these, you should have no problem, they seem to work fine every time.

Works as intended which is always a good thing. The only negative Ive found is that once you connect it to one device it and decide to use it with something else it does not want to connect with it. That is a problem. If you leave the same device connected all the time it should work great.

Im used to setting everything up via my computer. But you have to use your phone to set this up. At first, I couldnt get it to see the wireless account I needed. (My computer modem was seeing it but not my smart phone) I called the help line a few times and then I thought, Maybe I should restart my phone. This was after I tried everything else. I felt kind of dumb taking that long to realize that because Im usually pretty good around electronics. I did the turn off the phone, turn the phone back on thingie and it popped up. I also had to move the device closer to my modem to set it up, but its just a simple thing to move it to the room you want to use it in once you get it set up. It worked great... then my cat walked across my laptop and somehow turned it off. I must learn to close the lid when I walk out of the room.... Was able to reset it and its working great again. One thing to note.... I *think* that if you want to use the remote settings you must use the wireless account they give you. As it was, I used my own network address which works fine here. Not sure, need to check all that out. Ill come back and update this review once I do that. I know that it sounds like I had a lot of problems but they werent that bad and the help line people did their best to help. I plan on getting one or two more of these. Now that I know how to hook them up it will only take minutes set them up. I gave it 5 stars because of the help desk. Yes, they were all from another country but I could understand them and they did do their best to get me up and running. Now that Ive had it for awhile I have something to add. I moved to a new apartment building and thought Id have to set up my plugs again. Didnt happen. Just plugged them in and they worked fine. No re-setup needed. It could be because Im using the same modem and stuff but it was nice not having to do a re-set. Id like it enough Im saving up money to buy one more for the extra bedroom in my apartment.

This review is more about the provider than the Plug. Purchased this item in December 2016 shortly after obtaining my first of 3 Amazon Dots/1 Amazon Flex. Installed the KASA plug shortly after receiving it. It was a little complicated, but then AI in general was new to me. Plug has worked FLAWLESSLY. I upgraded my internet somewhere in between 2106 and now. The gentleman from the internet service helped me update the few AI devices I had at that time. All were a piece of cake for him, except the KASA plug. It took him longer to get that one updated than all the others combined. I recently upgraded my modem and router when increasing my internet speed. The provider installed the new modem/router. I upgraded all of the 12 devices I currently have as peripherals for the Alexa Dots. Absolutely NO PROBLEM with my phone, thermostat, multiple Alexa plugs, Roku, TV, etc. etc. I checked with Amazon/Alexa department if they had any information about how to update the address info on the KASA HS100 plug. Unfortunately they did not, but they did provide an telephone number for the KASA Company. After being disconnected three times following long hold sessions to reach an a representative, I finally was on the phone with someone at KASA. Explained my need for instructions to reconnect the plug so it could be recognized by Alexa. After being given multiple. serially changing directions, 49 minutes on the floor under my desk in order to have plug within less than 1 of the modem, the plug was still not connected. The representative said that since I seemed to be confused he was going to send me an e-mail with written instructions. I asked two questions: If I couldnt follow directions with an expert talking me through the procedure, was it likely I could follow written ones? He ignored that question. I also asked more than once; how, since at no time during your fluid directions did we do ANYTHING that included providing the plug with my new wifi name/password, could we expect this to be a successful effort; which surprisingly he ignored every time I asked. I had successfully added a KASA app on my phone and opened what appeared to be a new KASA account during this time; neither of which helped with my problem. The second sentence of the e-mailed directions told me (without any directions as to how to do so) to create a cloud account. I have successfully avoided having a cloud account for years and years and alas thus didnt have a clue, nor understand the need since the plug has worked for years without the presence of one. I called back to the KASA Company and received a new representative who from direction #1 gave me an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SET OF DIRECTIONS THROUGH THE ENSUING 50 more minutes under my desk. (Did I mention Ill be 79 next month?). One of the directions the 2nd fellow gave me this time was to enter the new WIFI name/password into the plugs memory. Hallelujah! I was optimistic. He also had me touching, pushing, holding etc entirely different parts of the plug this time. Another hopeful indication. He then told me we had added the plug to the KASA list. But what about Amazons list I asked. Not necessary he replied. I asked him to please give me 3 more minutes of his time while I toted the newly updated plug to the room where it was going to be used to see if it would communicate with Alexa. He said we didnt need to do that. It was added to KASA and it was going to work and could he help me in any other way. I am thinking I dont need to tell you that Alexa still could not recognize a link to a foyer lamp, though she dutifully kept asking me did I mean couch light. I quickly received an e-mail Survey regarding my satisfaction. I responded pretty much as above. One question was do I still need to be contacted. YES was the reply. Today I received another e-mail asking why I had not replied to the first one and was I satisfied. They did not receive my Survey response and apparently cant receive my response from today either. They wont let you respond via your regular e-mail, they provided an alternate system which obviously I also havent mastered. Ive only worked at a job for 23 years using a computer 12 hours a day for anywhere from 4-7 days a week. And I have used a home computer, sometimes two at a time, for 39 years more days than I probably should have. So it is understandable I suppose that I dont have a Degree in technology, and apparently only have a passing ability to follow directions that even a child would recognize as not going to be successful as provided. I am going to send the KASA Plug back to the company and buy yet another Alexa plug. To get them connected and working you need about 5 minutes tops and NO PHD in Technology. I recommend if you need workable, easy to use, understand, set up, and connect plugs to for Alexa to communicate with you START from Day 1 with only ALEXA Plugs. I have multiple ones connected to multiple items around my home and they NEVER fail and when you update you ALEXA WIFI information, it covers all your specific devices, all your plugs, etc. Separate items like Roku boxes, speakers, TV, etc are pretty easy on their own. Please save your self much grief, aggravation, and possibly a near serious brush with a stroke and buy ONLY ALEXA plugs. Alexa will appreciate you and so will your blood pressure.

I got this in 2017 as part of the combo with the echo dot, 2nd gen. I ended up getting another one shortly thereafter because I loved this thing so much. It literally changes all electrical things into Alexa-enabled, with voice or app control. We actually used it for our Christmas tree lights, and would tell Alexa to turn on and off the Christmas lights. It worked wonderfully, because our kids were able to partake in controlling the turning on and off of the Christmas lights. Although there is recommendation to turn on and off appliances, theres always a fear of having appliances turn on without proper supervision, with little kids in the house that can accidentally turn them on via voice control. The only device that would make plausible sense would be the coffee maker, which would require leaving fresh coffee grinds in the pot, and voice control every morning when you wake up to turn the coffee pot on so as to heat up the water in the coffee. Beside that, we have been only using our second TP smart plug to turn on and off a plug-in light in our daughters room. This would work very well with any types of plug-in lights, such as lamps, but because we have built-in ceiling lights, or daughters room is the only place with an additional plug-in light to use the smart plug for. This means we have let one of the two smart plugs sit around, waiting for Christmas again to be in use. The thing is, this smart plug was great when not everything is app or voice accessible, so literally a great purchase in 2017 and maybe through 2018. However, in 2021, if I were to buy an appliance or anything electrical today, there are already options for these devices to have already built-in Alexa-enabled ability. As such, the smart plugs are no longer as versatile or as useful as they were once when they were first introduced.

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.

*** Edited, after response from TP-Link support, I see the device does support the features I expected *** I was looking for a plug to turn off a noisy fridge near my movie room during hours Im likely to be watching movies (plus let me turn it on/off with a tap if I want to override that schedule). This device lets me do exactly that, though the Kasa app that controls it leaves these features somewhat buried (I initially couldnt figure out how to find the scheduled on/off settings, and left a negative review, which you can read below, but TP-Link support replied to the review with a description of how to find the features I needed, so Ive updated the review). The trick I needed in the Kasa app is, after setting up the switch, in the Devices tab with the list of switches (maybe just the one), tap on the name of the switch (and if that doesnt work, keep tapping other parts of the same row) until a new screen opens up with schedule/away/timer options (and a gear icon which opens a deeper settings screen which lets you enable a remote control mode). I initially got confused because the main screen of the Kasa app has a smart actions tab which leads to a teaser screen for a separate smart home router product which isnt available yet. *** Original review below *** I assume this thing works fine if all you want it to do is turn on and off directly from your phone and have only one Wi-Fi network that both your phone and the plug are connected to. That doesnt work for me because - I put my Internet-of-Things devices on a separate IOT network because I dont trust them, and dont want to allow every vendor with some remote cloud access into my entire home network. This device required my iPhone (where the Kasa app runs) to be on the same layer 2 network as the smart plug device, both for initial setup and thereafter (I tried putting my phone on my IOT network, setting up the smart plug device, then switching my phone back to my main Wi-Fi network, and the Kasa app would no longer control the smart plug, even though direct IP access works fine between those networks). - both the Amazon product page, and the product packaging, say it supports timer features. This isnt true, without a separate smart home router device that not only is a separate purchase, but isnt even shipping yet. So in the Kasa app, I now have 3 tabs: - Devices has the smart plug grayed out because its not on the same network - Scenes has the same story, cant see the smart plug - Smart Actions is just a teaser screen saying Add a Smart Home Router and enjoy smarter control of your devices, with a LEARN MORE button that takes me to a page on tp-links website saying Smart Home Router. COMING SOON. Pretty weak for a device whose Amazon product description is TP-Link Smart Plug, No Hub Required.

I bought these over a year ago and when I had first used them, they seemed to work just fine, which is why i bought four more. Well as time went by, it seems as if Alexa no longer wanted to work with them anymore and the kasa app would continuously disconnect. So I just ignored it for a bit, but after I did a little digging today and googled possible problems as to why I couldnt set the remote toggle to on, I stumbled onto this same problem someone else had and posted in a forum on the tp-link site. My plugs wouldnt stay connected to the wi-fi, and couldnt be remotely managed by Alexa. After seeing this link to a zip file on the tp-link forum, it said it was probably a firmware problem. I decided to try to download it and try it. I could not download and install the firmware updated directly from the Kasa app as it could not connect to the server I assume to get notified that my plug needed the firmware update. So I had to go find one of my windows machines (Im a MAC user) to use the application in the zip file. Here’s where I got the fireware software.... static(dot)tp-link(dot)com/iotUpgradeTool_V1.0(dot)zip So anyway, the text file basically tells you to just run the main executable file. What I did was reconnect my plugs to the the Kasa app (reset the plugs to default and set up), then i would run the main exe file. At first it didnt want to work so I kept hitting the scan and upgrade buttons. Every once in a while (because I had to upgrade all five of my plugs) i would wait a little after connecting to my kasa app and my wifi network, then i would try the scan and update, and i eventually got all five of mine back up and running! So basically, the firmware the forum suggest would fix everything seems to have worked, and i can now control the plugs with both Alexa and the Kasa app. Im happy theyre working as they were intended to be used again. I just wish there was an easier way to get the firmware updates, rather than having to google it and stubble across it. I guess I could have contacted them, but since I found the solution, I thought Id share it here in case anyone else might be having the same problem connecting theirs to their wifi and alexa. The fact that the firmware could not easily found from their site is the reason I gave it 4 stars. But I still like the product when it works.