Kasa Smart Plug Mini 15A, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet Works with Alexa, Google Home & IFTTT, No Hub Required, UL Certified, 2.4G WiFi Only, 4-Pack(EP10P4) , White

As a software engineer and home automation enthusiast, its rare that I find an electronic gadget that does exactly what I want. When I do, I buy a few, even having no immediate plans for them, because I never know when theyll be discontinued and replaced by a newer version that just doesnt work as well. This Kasa smart outlet from TP-Link is one such diamond in the rough. After putting one into operation, I have purchased four more just to have on hand. The deciding factor? Total local control. I hate IoT gadgets that depend on The Cloud for part or all of their functionality, as their usefulness diminishes or disappears when their manufacturers eventually go under, get acquired, or simply decide they no longer want to support their older product lines. These Kasa smart outlets work without needing to phone home. In fact, I blocked my units MAC address in my routers firewall so that it *cant* reach the Internet, as I have security concerns about IoT gadgets, and its still completely usable via a local protocol over my LAN. Of course, cloud-based integrations wont work in this configuration, but that doesnt bother me. I especially appreciate that the energy monitor features of the KP115 are accessible over the local protocol, too. The only feature that might not work without giving the unit Internet access is the scheduling feature, as the unit cant set its internal clock without Internet access. (I havent investigated whether theres a local command to set the clock.) [UPDATE 2021-09-07: The device does have a command that allows setting its internal clock. Once the clock is set, the device starts saving per-day and per-month energy usage statistics, which are retrievable via the local protocol.] But I wouldnt do scheduling on the device itself anyway; Id do it in home automation software. I only need the device to switch on and off when commanded and to do so reliably, and to that end the KP115 works a treat, especially for the price. You cant buy a Kill-A-Watt meter for this price, and those dont have Wi-Fi or switching capability. Moreover, the readings of voltage, current, power, and energy have greater precision than on the Kill-A-Watt. Only disadvantage, if you could call it that, is that the Kasa doesnt have a display; you have to read the meters via Wi-Fi. No big deal for me. The energy consumption meter *does* survive loss of power. There is a local command to reset it to zero. Aside from the local control aspect, the physical unit is attractive and sleek. It does not block the other receptacle in a duplex outlet. The blue power indicator LED, which lights when the switch is closed, can be disabled if you find it distracting. The mechanical switch does make a click when toggled, but its not too loud. The switch remains in its current state when the unit loses power and will remain in that state when power is again applied, and no click is heard at either point. I take this to mean that the switch is not a simple relay and is in fact a bi-stable mechanism, probably one that consumes essentially no power except when transitioning between states. The contacts are rated for 15A. So, in summary, the Kasa KP115 is an EXCELLENT smart outlet if you, like me, are wary of giving closed-source (unauditable) devices access to the Internet in your home or simply dont want the devices you buy today to become landfill when the companies that made them give up on supporting them. As long as 2.4GHz 802.11n continues to be implemented by home Wi-Fi networks, these KP115 smart outlets should continue to do their job admirably.

I bought these on a whim- I wasn’t completely sure how well they would work, but a friend recommended them. When they arrived it took me about 15 minutes to set up the first one, and maybe 5 minutes for the second one. They work great. I have some lamps attached to them, and it’s nice to be able to turn them on or off like night lights. It’s also nice to be able to turn lights on from the car when I know my hands will be full when I come home. The price is very affordable, and the app is easy to use. (I only use the app- I don’t have it hooked up to Alexa or anything like that.)

The product is excellent, connected fast and entered the network without a problem.

I use these with Google, and they work flawlessly. I previously had a bunch of the Cync (or C By GE) plugs, and they caused me endless grief with Google. Ive had absolutely zero such problems with these Kasa ones. I have 16 of these things and will get more as the need arises. Plus theyre skinny enough they they dont obstruct multiple outlets.

What a game changer! Light timers simplified, easy to use app, no noisy grinding timer noise. Lights can be turned on and off without messing up timer schedule. You need these in your home!

I chose it to measure the wattage used to determine if a device was working right. I used with android and used the remote just briefly. Also makes a great WiFi status indicator, solid blue light is good to go.

Only wish I had found these sooner. Purchased when I saw the name TP-Link who is behind this Kasa brand apparently. TP-Link is renowned for making top tier wifi devices. After taking the one minute to set these up with the instructions in box, these things can reconnect back to my wifi after being unplugged within seconds of being put back in. (I use a starlink router so results may vary). My best devices struggle to do that. Connectivity is absolute top tier. On to the performance aspect, youll want to download the Kasa app on your phone and do a quick setup. There are certain premade settings and theres also a sort of programming (much easier than the real thing) you can do to personalize the function of whatever you have plugged in. Want your coffee machine to turn on to start brewing a batch for you before work? No problem. Want a lightbulb to turn on a bit before your alarm as a sunrise alarm? Sure, just add it into the Scene with the coffee maker and make it even easier. Or go ahead and buy one of their cheap Kasa color changing lightbulbs and pick your sunrise color while your at it. With one click you can have your entire back porch and yard set up to entertain guests, no hunting for power buttons or light switches. Tons of possibilities, all yours to choose. The biggest problems with smart devices these days is they all want to do their own thing, with their own firmware, constant fighting for internet usage, and seemingly needing to be reset endlessly just to stay connected. There should be a standard, and Ill let mine be Kasa.

I tried these in my garage which is located about 100 feet from my house and the signal seemed to be ok. They worked and functioned with no issues (slight hiccup with Alexa) but I ended up returning them because I didnt like that the lighted power button is located on the side of the plug. It makes it very hard to tell if the plug is on or off unless you are standing to the side of the outlet and plug. Other than that issue they seemed pretty good.

Great choice for remotely controlling devices. Reliable, stable connection to internet. Good app.

Finally getting on the smart home stuff, after resisting for a long time. I hate how fragmented all of it is and that there are separate apps for every brands stuff. I dont want to use a bunch of different apps, and you never know how long companies will support these things. Lifespans of LED bulbs are very long, and plugs like this could last decades. But, if the company stops supporting them theyll become paperweights. However, I have a set a JBL LSR305mkII studio monitors I use on my desk for guitar-playing, music recording, and general listening. These have switches on the back. With these plugs I can control them without having to reach behind and thats great! Because they also make affordable bulbs I was able to add those to my network without the need for a separate app. The app works pretty well, too. Others have confirmed that these will work without contacting TP-Links servers, including blocking traffic to them over the internet after you set them up. So, that means there may be potential to keep using them after TP-Link drops support in favor of newer devices in the future. The setup could be confusing if youre not very tech savvy. If you use any kind of VPN on your phone, it might not work. I had to disable mine to do the setup. Afterward, I could re-enable the VPN and use it without issue. At one point in the setup you need to connect to temporary wifi network broadcast by the bulb, this isnt the clearest in the directions. The only negative I can see here is that TP-Link hasnt come out and said theyll support Matter once thats released. However, it should be doable since these use 2.4ghz wifi.