Smart Plug ESICOO, WiFi Plugs That Work with Alexa, Echo, Google Home, Surge Protector & Timer & Group Controller, ETL & FCC Certified, No Hub Required, 2.4G WiFi Only, 4 Pack

This was so easy to install and use. I did have to download the app, but after syncing it with Alexa, I just use the Alexa app to run. But you can use the app to run schedules if you don’t have Alexa. We have the lights turn on and off automatically on a schedule. We can also turn on the lights by saying, “Alexa, turn on living room lights.” You have to set the devices up in Alexa and put them in the living room to do this. If not, you just say, “Alexa, turn on [name of plug] smart plug.” You can use the same words to turn the lights off. This works really well for plugs that are hard to reach. But if you can easily reach the plug, you can manually turn the plug on and off with the button on the side. Also, in the Alexa app, you can create a routine that turns on/off according to when the sun sets or rises. You can set it for the sunrise/sunset or minutes before/after the sunrise/sunset. We have the schedule running even when we are home! And when we leave, it continues to turn on and off as if we are home. It’s fantastic.

I bought these specifically to work on the SmartLife App, and it didn’t. I use this app for all my plugs and outlets. I bought this for a friend. Told them all they had to do was download the SmartLife app. They don’t have Alexa or Google. I had so much trouble connecting to their wifi. It refused to go automatically. I had to do it manually. I KNOW I connected to the 2.4 Gz network. The plug had the hardest time. Went round and around. When it finally connected and I was able to click on and off, the schedule did not work. This was supposed to be a simple installation. I finally told my friends to get a different plug. I returned this set. * I write reviews to let you know how this product was for me, and to aid you in your decision to buy or not buy.

This is an updated review - after a year I pulled them out and tried to configure them again. It was still not as easy as some, but I was able to complete the process now and have it all working. One issue seems to be in using an iPhone and connecting to the wifi of the plugs themselves. The phone wants to switch back to a network with Internet access, so you must work quickly to connect to the plug and add it to the app. I did find that when I tried a second one, it would time out and fail. I could not get past this last time. The secret was to configure one, then force close the Cloud Intelligence app, launch and do the next one. Once they are all added, they all seemed to work fine. Note that when you add them, the app tries to give them all the same name - its easiest at this point to rename them as you go. If you do not rename them, including the first one, a bug will cause them to appear in Chinese characters when you are later programming them. I had to reset that one and start over, so rename them as you add them. It is difficult to move them from whatever group you join them to into another group - I found simply renaming the groups and rooms to be easier, then deleting what I did not want. Connecting to Alexa in the app was fairly easy following the directions in the package. Click the person, then services, then bind with either Alexa or Home. At that point, my Alexa app saw all four of the plugs and I was able to easily group them and use voice control. My new assessment is that I suspect something has changed, perhaps due to the negative reviews, or perhaps even iOS is giving another second or two of time when you connect to unconnected APs. The seller did contact me multiple times asking me to take my 2-star review down when it was first posted in exchange for a refund, and I refused. Since I have now made them work, and I see that others are posting that they do not understand the bad reviews it seems appropriate to come back and update my original review with details and a better rating. These are still not the easiest smart plugs I have set up (those use a Bluetooth connection so you do not have to connect to the plug via wifi) but once they are set up and working they seem to do the trick and work. As such I have increased my rating to 4 stars because I do believe the customer service team did listen and try to fix things in the past year. My original review follows - but is no longer valid... ---------------------------------------------------------- These are similar to plugs I bought maybe 4 years ago. Setup requires a series of complex steps including setting up each plug as a separate access point. Modern iPhone software doesn’t like staying connected to APs without internet, so you need to disconnect and rejoin your network multiple times including forcing the phone to stay connected to the plug. Unfortunately it still repeatedly failed during installation after fussing with 2 of the 4 plugs for an hour, I’m giving up. They do not provide any actual diagnostic information, they simply fail to work. The Cloud Intelligence app is similar to the Smart Life app used by BN Link devices. However those devices use Bluetooth to connect to the app making it far easier to further connect to the network. I suspect these are old stock returns getting recycled, hence the number that simply don’t work.

Switch works great, but the app needs work. It logs you out and you have sign in every time.

works great till you loose power or unplug it. then it will switch some of yours settings off/on and break your schedule.

I have to unplug them and plug them back in every two weeks or so when they stop showing up on the phone app. The phone app is a swiss army knife made for dozens of different kinds of devices, and needs more permissions than are justified. Every couple of months the app forgets who you are and youll be digging for your login credentials, so youve been warned... put them in a password manager. Other than that... yeah... they work OK.

With a Wifi 6 mesh network. With both 2.4 and 5ghz networks with same ssid. This does not work at all with out breaking the network settings. Needs to be on a ssid thats 2.4 only and not smart enough to know what is what. All are like this but thought Id try. Sent back.

Only issue I had was that it suggests that the product needs updated software but when you try (in the US) to do it...you get a forbidden to upgrade message. It did not stop the product from working as expected however, just click ignore and it works fine.