Amazon Smart Plug, for home automation, Works with Alexa - A Certified for Humans Device

Very easy to use i got and less then 2 min had it working i pluged it in and opened my Alexa app aand it was ready to go will by more

This is great to be able to turn a light on after dark.

Got this on some Amazon deal when I bought my very first product on here. It was $1 more for it so I said what the heck and did it. Works like you’d expect it to.

I have Amazons Flex and like it very much. I decided to add a couple of smart plugs because I am disabled and sometimes getting up to turn lights on or off can be difficult. The first plug I got I used for the lights by my bed. Sometimes when Im tired and ready to sleep the activity involved in getting up to turn off a light wakes me up enough I *cant* sleep, which is really annoying. This has solved that problem. I just tell Alexa, Lights off, and theyre off. I love it. But. Setup was not intuitive at all. It took me about a half hour to wade thru the hassle of persuading Alexa that there actually was such a plug and getting her to name it. Part of the problem was that Alexa doesnt recognize the term Smart Plug, which is what I was ignorantly calling the smart plug. I finally figured out that I should be calling it Plug 1. Once that was going, I thought I would add an extra plug for a lamp I sometimes use. Plugging it in and turning it on wasnt sufficient for Alexa to find it, even tho I remembered to call it Plug 2. After searching thru the Alexa app on my Fire tablet I finally found a way to get Bluetooth to add it. Then Alexa was willing to rename it for me and it now works. All this took me over a half hour, but Im almost happy with it. Almost happy? Its theoretically possible to pair the two up so I can turn both on or off at once, but Bluetooth doesnt seem to know what the devices are so Alexa doesnt know, so its going to take another half hour, or more, to get that feature turned on. I recently read an article by a smart-home tech expert who says hes going with another brand (Google?) because Alexa can be too finicky. I dont want the stuff he was having problems with, like a curtain opener, but the hassle with setting up these two plugs makes me feel hes got a point. Still, things are easier for me than they were and I AM largely pleased with the results. It just seems like it should be simpler to get it going. If their e-readers and Fire tablets were this hard to setup, no one would buy them.

Can be used with Alexa.

I love my smart-plugs. It was easy to set-up and super convenient. All it takes is a verbal command to Alexa to turn on and off my lights in the morning and at bedtime. I can also use my mobile Alexa app on my cellphone to turn on or off from anywhere.

Works great

Edit: Ive bought the device a second time and it connected much better with the most recent Echo Dot. I plugged the device into a power strip and use it for my computer charger so it doesnt overcharge my laptop. I dont know if theyve made improvements, but connection worked out great so Ive upgraded my review from 3 stars to 5 stars. Thoughts: 1. I wanted to try using this as a plug for a power strip, but it doesnt work because there must be some safety feature. 2. If the Echo/Alexa has trouble finding your plug, dont panic. There is a button on the side of the device that you can press for the light to flash and for the plug to be discoverable. 3. The plugs are named in chronological order (ie. First plug, second plug, etc.) and you cant edit the names though you can group devices on your Alexa app. So keep track of which plug is which. 4. Again, I dont believe that this device should be used for life saving equipment as it is dependent on your wifi connection and Echo/Alexa adds an additional command step to the sequence of using a machine. I would recommend this product! Previous Review: I waited to review this plug because I wanted to try it out with different devices and at different distances from both Echo/-Dot and my modem. Devices: I tried the plug with a space heater and with a laptop (to avoid overcharging). I plugged it into a power strip with no problem, but do note if youre using a space heater with an automatic shut off, the plug is going to be shut off just like the rest and you have to turn on the strip and then tell Echo to turn on the plug separately. Ive decided that the automatic shut off is enough of a safety feature and the Smart Plug is best used for devices that are capable of utilizing a continuous stream of electricity without emergently overloading and need the plug to monitor the usage (e.g. a laptop). ***Please take note of my exception at the bottom of the review! Now for the big item issue: Connectivity. I believe the key is that your Wifi connection needs to be optimized to get the most out of this plug. If you have slightly unreliable wifi (e.g. I live out in the country with plenty of winter storms), plug the smart plug closer to your modem and minimize the distance from your Alexa. I dont know if this is a must, but it worked for me. If your internet shorts out in, you dont have to re-setup the plug, but the plug lights might get thrown off for a bit (it will stay red even when its on and flash blue at random points). Ignore that. If your Echo/-dot is flashing red as well, the plug is going to be down.Just give the Wifi a second to settle down and you should be set to go. The irritating part is that the Echo resyncs with the Wifi much faster than the plug. I tried to reset it up/give it time and it took hours for it to sync up again, but maybe that was because it was further away from the Echo/modem. Either way, just know that once your wifi has been signed in, as long as you havent changed the password, your sign in is set. Other reviewers are correct: the set up instructions are easy to overlook. Either have the instructions next to you so you have the set up password or be near an outlet. 1. You go into your Alexa app 2. The top left corner has the three lines 3. Click on add a device 4. Choose plug 5. Brand is Amazon, 6. Click Next to agree to the conditions of use and terms 7. Scan the barcode on the back of the plug or from the instructions (You have to get the little box with squiggly lines to be lined up in the sights of the screen) and then follow the instructions. Its okay if you have to unplug the smart plug for a second to scan the 2D barcode, just plug it back in quickly. 8. It will tell you to press the button on the side till the lights flash red and blue (keep pressing till that happens) and then make sure to follow the instructions for signing into your Wifi. ***IMPORTANT and MY OPINION: I really wouldnt recommend that you use this plug for life-saving/emergency equipment even if you think that you have the best Wifi in the world. A plug with a timer or any regular plug is reliant on electricity, but, as aforementioned, this plug requires an extra step of being turned on by Echo/-Dot. If your electricity goes out momentarily, you lose the time waiting for the lights to turn back on, but with the plug you have to additionally ask for Echo to turn the plug back on and/or resync with your wifi.

Efficient and effective!

This purchase was an impulse buy, actually. It was on sale, and I thought - why not? I have several uplights that are under and behind furniture and its a literal pain to hand plug-in and un-plug several times a day. Im really tired of crawling around trying to reach the plugs, and wow - with a simple command I can light up my living room, or with a tap on my Alexa app I can turn on or off specific lights depending on the time of day. I had no idea how much of a difference it would make not having to deal with all the plugging/unplugging. I cant believe I never thought to buy these before. Im getting older and its just not that easy (or fun) to climb on or under the furniture anymore. :-D Setup was very simple and I control mine via Alexa through my Bose 700 soundbar. I plan on purchasing a few more for the upstairs so I can turn on the lights on and off when i get up to go to work at 5:30 in the morning - no more tripping over stuff in the dark. Never had an issue and my only regret was not buying them sooner - could have saved a few scraped hands and bumped heads for sure! Very happy with this very simple purchase.