Aoycocr Alexa Smart Plugs - Mini Bluetooth WIFI Smart Socket Switch Works With Alexa Echo Google Home, Remote Control Smart Outlet with Timer Function, No Hub Required, ETL/FCC Listed 4 Pack

I picked these up specifically because as much as I like zwave technology, it seems to be rather expensive to implement large scale (even if it works pretty flawlessly). So thus became the hunt for some Home Assistant compatible plugs for some limited use applications. (turning off floor lamps and the such).. The box doesnt state HA compatibility, but after testing with Home assistant and my Conner ZWave/ZigBee stick, I can say HA does see the device and is able to toggle the state. Other than that, its a wifi Electrical outlet.. it works (ie: current passes through to the device, voltage seems pretty stable, noticed no major spikes or drops (have a multimeter)). Note, its not rated for a Fridge or other HEAVY motor (I have not tested it, but reading through the specs.. I wouldnt try it.. but for non-motorized applications it seems to work pretty good. Wifi/ZigBee, while MUCH cheaper to implement over ZWave (Opensource vs. Licensed), I have to say implementing Zigbee is a pain.. (not the device, just the overall tech). But the range for it is quite nice (much better than zwave, assuming a small number of devices) If you are not a sadist.. you can just grab their Smart Life app and use that to control the plugs and make scenes.. But the real power in these plugs is integrating them into larger systems so you have true automation.

I bought a four-pack of these smart plugs last year and after deploying them, I got a second set recently. Easy to add. I would note that one of the first 4 failed after about a year of usage, so I cannot rate the longevity at this point.

If you look closely, you can see the plug starting to melt! I kept smelling something and couldnt figure out where it was coming from. I had my electric fireplace plugged into a power strip. The fireplace finally just turn off. I found out where the smell was coming from. The app told me I was offline. Be careful not to use a power strip or smart plug to run your fireplace.

I bought two sets of these. While they are quite easy to setup, the Wifi module has a tendency to go bad. 4 of the 8 have failed in less than a year. This is independent of any load through the AC portion. Plan on replacing them fairly regularly.

We purchased separately a echo show to communicate with our children. So, since we bounced back into the Amazon Alexa universe, we decided to plunge into all the device options. Previously we used smart home light controls with Lightify. These required the use of an injector hub (my words) to send the control signal over the internet to their server and back again. And the individual bulbs were controlled with signals over the house wiring, at least that was our vague understanding of the way it worked. These seemed to always break, lose the signal, or just not work right especially after a power grid brown out. Fast forward to todays technology which uses Wi-Fi directly to the device, again the way we understand it with limited technology smarts. WOW, gotta say, it works so much better. Instant on, instant off, no lag, no configuration reset after a power grid failure. SO, its our non tech savvy opinion that these work great. Seems a little difficult to setup with some of the other brands we purchased. But the Amazon brand setup was much simpler. If your going to do a smart home, go with this generation (gen 4) and buy enough to make the experience from room to room convenient. Otherwise why bother if the technology makes life more complicated...these make bedtime and wakeup much easier. Our advise, keep the device names simple, one word. Do your own custom name and group the devices together into rooms like living, master, for living room and master bedroom as an example. Above all enjoy the convenience, no more wall switch routines especially in the dark with Grandkids toys on the floor...ouch!

With my old wifi, this set up was done in minutes. It worked so well, I bought a second one for another device. However, by this point, I had upgraded to an Eero Pro 6. Apparently, the Eero Pro 6 puts out 2.4 & 5 ghz signals simultaneously, so there shouldnt be an issue. I have other 2.4ghz products and I dont remember having this much issue connecting those items. However, this plug wouldnt connect no matter what I did. I finally went on the Eero website to see if I can get get a clue by reading the help section. Sure enough, one of the reps recommended a low tech solution, and it worked perfectly for me, I hope itll help you too. Connecting 2.4ghz Products: If a device manufacturer requires the 2.4GHz frequency, the most straightforward (although admittedly low-tech) is simply to power down any extra eeros and physically move further away from the primary unit – this will help your phone connect on 2.4GHz so that you can proceed with iDevice setup.

I rarely loose my phone. I have bought many remote controlled light switches but they invariably break or get lost. Plus the only have the option of on and off. These Bluetooth sockets are capable of so much more. Will buy again.

I initially gave a 1-star review because it wouldnt work on a 5-GHZ network. Later research told me that almost none of them will, and even those that will dont work on the incredibly common Xfinity 802.11ac router/hub. I happened to encounter an Xfinity repairman working outside a neighbors house, and asked what to do. You can go into the Xfinity app and split your network to have a 2.4 GHZ component also. Its tricky to find, but it worked easily once I found it. Then, I moved all my Amazon Alexa devices to that 2.4 GHZ network. That was pretty easy too, once I did a bit of Google research. The last step was to temporarily put my phone on that new network also, and to install the Smart Life app that controls the switches. It was easy to detect and configure the switches, and also to link the account to my Alexa app so that it was seamless. It all works fine. Well see if I have the problems with random disconnects that others are reporting. So, now I have my PCs, tablets, printer and phones on the 5 GHZ network, and the Alexa and IOT (Internet of Things) on 2.4 GHZ. If this review was gibberish to you, then youll have to pay someone to set it up.

It works very well but I did find it a little bit hard to get it all up and running. I have to install manually. I have all the lights turning on together. I am still trying to see how I can run seperate routines and am confused as to whether this is a learning curve with Alexa or with Aoycocr Mini Bluetooth WIFI Smart Socket Switch. I stumbled into them working together but after Christmas I will need to find out how to break the lights up into separate uses. They do make life so much easier and work great taking up much less space than the old-fashioned timers.

Cons: It uses its own app. So you have to have the app for this device as well as your Google home or Alexa app. It doesnt just connect through the Alexa app like smart lightbulbs do. Once you connect it to its app you can add it as a device to Google home. Also, you cant set up the timer within Google home. You have to do it on the app this product comes with. Of course you can create a workaround routine to do it within Google home but its kind of convoluted to create a time on time off routine that way. I didnt have any issues with the smart home app it came with, but it looked cheap so I was really worried itd have issues. The shape could be improved upon. If it is plugged into a 6-plug outlet converter, it will make the inputs to both sides of it unusable. Im sure there is some way to shape this so that there isnt that problem. Pros: Clicking sound! gosh I love it! When it turns on, you hear a loud click. First it kind of scared me, because the sound is a little reminiscent of an electrical problem in the outlet, but its just to let you know the outlet has gone on or off. That is my favorite thing about this. I use it to control my space heater, so I feel safe when I tell Google to turn it off and I hear the click sound. This was also the cheapest smart outlet I could find on amazon. It stays connected and synced to Google Home 100% of the time as far as I can tell, which is impressive to me- even the most expensive Smart Bulbs will sometimes lose connection.