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

Was looking for Echo Smart Home compatible smart plugs that didnt need some centralized management unit. The reviews on the HS100s by TP-Link mostly sounded favorable so I bought a couple to try out. The Echo integration works in two steps. First step is to configure the plugs with the TP-Link KASA app which requites setting up a free account and configuring each plug one at a time, naming the plug and joining it to your network. Once thats done, you can control them with your KASA app off your smart phone. The first one configured up fine but my second one had issues which were resolved by doing a rest on it twice and it finally assimilated. In the KASA app you can also setup schedules and calendars for your individual sockets as well, its actually a decent app. The next step is the Echo integration. This involves opening the Echo app and going to Smart Home and learning the KASA TP-Link skills. You will link Echo to your newly created KASA account and then discover devices. The devices will show up as whatever name you gave them in the KASA app. This is also the name you will use when you say Alexa turn <name> on (or off). So setup is fairly easy as long as your follow the correct order of operations and your plugs cooperate. So far Ive had them installed for a couple days and they have not dropped off the network yet. Theyre on my 2.5ghz wifi guest network. The plugs and the rest of your wifi devices dont necessarily need to be on the same wifi network. If youre into security and your router is capable, you could setup a new wifi network just for things and connect your HS100s to that new network. This would get around some of the issues people have with spaces not being support in wifi network names/passwords. As long as everything has open access to the Internet, Echo can control the HS100s just fine on the same network or a different network. From what I can tell, Echo does not directly talk to your plugs. Echo talks to KASA cloud services and KASA in turns talks to your HS100 smart plugs. So far very happy with the HS100s. Will update if anything significant happens positive or negative with them in the future. But I plan on buying more (when theyre on sale again). Update 9/8/16 : These HAD been working flawlessly but for some reason 24 hours ago, they suddenly stopped working. I dont believe that its Alexa, both my plugs still appear in the Alexa app as learned. However when I open the KASA app, it no longer shows the devices so pretty weird how all of a sudden theyve disappeared from the KASA app. I suppose to fix it ill need to start the configuration from scratch again . -1 star for sudden problems with no explanation. Update 12/15/17 : Ive added two more of these to my home thanks to holiday sale promotions with alexa devices. Im using two of them for christmas lights/decorations and have them grouped to come on or off when i ask for Christmas Lights to go on or off. Works great, took like 10 minutes or less to get setup and working, granted Im now pretty experienced with these as all my smart home devices are TP-Link with Alexa. I know what to do when to do it and how to configure it, and it all works great. Will prob be looking at adding some other TP-Link devices in the new year like their cameras. Been very happy with these products. TO follow up on my previous review, once in a while the Kasa servers have a hiccup and voice commands wont operate and the app goes wonkey. When this happens dont do anything just wait it out, use the manual on/off options included. The plugs have on/off buttons for manual override and the light bulbs will go on/off with a light switch. Just flip the light switch off, then on again and the light will come on. When kasa recovers just turn your light on again and wait 30 seconds or so for it to connect and then voice command it to go off.

This plug is great. The app is very fast to open and locate the device. Easy to setup and use remotely. I bought this for my mothers house because she uses lights on mechanical timers and is always calling me to complain that the lights are coming on too early, too late or turning off at the wrong time. I have a wifi bulb at home from a different manufacturer, which I set to turn on automatically every night at a specified time but the app is slow to locate it when I want to adjust the time. This TP-Link is very fast with the Kasa app. I was driving home after installing it and she called to tell me the light was still on, so I pulled up the app and I was able turn it off from 10 miles away and adjusted the turn off time from the road. I didnt need to change the IP account to static or anything. It just works. I will be buying a few more for my own use and a few light switches as well. You have to setup and an account to use it remotely, but thats just an email address, which you verify by clicking on the tab when you receive the confirmation, and a password. Ill be buying a few smart switches from TP-Link soon to change in her house too. Two more things to note. This has a USB port on the side I believe to charge things with. It was not used in the setup at all. Also, you can see remotely which devices are on or off. Great product TP-Link!!

Original review (at 1 star) follows below, which I gave for this plug not being able to power my 12.5A/1500W heater without overheating in a few minutes and shutting off, making it useless (it would only work if my heater was set to low, 750W, which is not enough to heat the room). Ongoing communication with TP Link did not resolve anything, other than them finally blaming my heater (although I applaud their responsiveness to my concerns -- they just didnt offer much help). It turns out it was not my heater, but possibly my power source. I am in an older building, and I think the wiring is a bit temperamental. So, on my own, I had the bright idea to put a stable bridge between this smart plug, and my wall outlet, and so I ordered the ZOOMACH Surge Protector Power Strip with USB Charging Ports and 5 Ft Extension Cord, Multi Outlet Power Strip with 2100 Joule, 1875W/15A(4-Outlet) reasoning that, if my wall power is a bit wonky, maybe a good quality power bar might help stabilize the current, for the TP Link unit. It did! Solved the problem entirely, in fact. I plugged this TP Link into the power strip, instead of the wall outlet, and, presto, I can operate my heater at full power, and the TP link plug no longer overheats or shuts off. So, combined with super easy set up (far easier than Wemo) and flawless connectivity, this turned out to be a winner. I am still deducting one star for the fact that TP Link Customer service, while very responsive, was not helpful in troubleshooting my issue. My solution was a wild guess, really, but based on a logical premise, and Im surprised no one at TP Link could have thought to suggest it. So, if youre having issues with this, powering an appliance, feel free to try my solution. I now have a smart plug that works, with no overheating issues. Very happy, and glad I did not return it. Original review follows: This didnt work, Im going to return it, and heres the story.... So, years ago, I bought a Wemo smart plug (not the Mini version) to remotely operate a couple of space heaters (they are identical, each one is 12.5A, 1500W on highest setting), one at my office, and one at home. They worked great, accept one finally quit working, this year. I bought a Wemo Mini, to replace it, but it just overheats and shuts off. I thought maybe it was because it was smaller and, since it was also frustrating to set up, I tried this one from Kasa TP-Link, the HS100, rated for 15A and 1800W. I will say the Kasa was far easier to set up than Wemo. Other than the hassle of creating an account, in order to operate it remotely, set up was a breeze and connectivity was awesome. BUT, same problem -- it overheats, and shuts off. This one WILL work, if I put my heater on the low setting, but, unfortunately, that doesnt heat the area very effectively, making this switch useless for its need. What is frustrating is that they advertise it, to use for a space heater! In fact, one of the icons you choose, to identify your appliance, is that of a space heater. I even wrote in to TP-Link, to ask why it wont work, and they say it is rated to 15A and 1800W so it wont work for my heater.....which is only 12.5A and 1500W.....what?! They further said another product I asked about, their smart power cord, rated at 15A and 1875W, also will NOT work my heater..... I think that winds up being a case of false advertising then, yes? Ive researched this now, and apparently it is not a strange idea to put a 1500W heater on a smart switch, and, in fact, it seems some folks use this one, and similar models, without issue, but this one does not work for me, and its a let down when their customer service tells me that it wont work, despite their own statement that it should. I think they need to be more honest in their description of what their product can handle, if the expectation, from them, is that this wont work with an appliance rated less of a power draw than the specs of the plug. So, my search for a robust smart switch continues. Pros: Easy set up Cons: Does not work as advertised. Overheats, shuts off. Useless.

Initially I left a horrible review. Im not ashamed to retract and admit it was my User error. I mixed and matched with Wemo light switch and didnt realize I choose a less expensive TP Link outlet plug. I tried connecting it via Wemo app periodically for 2 days with no sucess. I decided to write a bad review and return it. I began looking for a different brand when I realized the price difference between Wemo and this tp link. It hit me I did pay the lesser of the two, I mixed the two product brands! Duh!!! Immediately I went on YouTube , viewed the directions and set this up in 5 minutes. I linked it to my network and my Alexa. The easiest thing Ive ever done. I purchased this for my young son who was scared to go to the bathroom at night because of the dark. He would wake my wife and I up at night to escort him to the restroom. That started getting old quick. Now he tells Alexa to turn on the lights; no longer afraid and goes on his own. This is an awesome product and made me feel like a great Dad. As a young child I too was afraid of the dark, sometimes still am, lol. My father use to scold me, be a man, there are no monsters. I didnt want to take any chances, so like many kids, I suffered some nights holding it in. As parents, I feel we must be more understanding and not unintentionally traumatize our children by becoming an unsympathetic monster. I am so great full we have this technology. I hope to make my entire house Smart. This is the way of the future, embrace it! I highly recommend this product.

So far being we have only owned these less than a week and the wife and I are liking using these Wi-Fi Plugs. We have one in the master bedroom at the end of the hall and I have a floor lamp in the corner that we are using one plug there. And wow how nice it is to be able to talk to “Alexa” and say Alexa turn on master bedroom lamp from in the living room. And WOW you hear her say Ok, yeah lets you know she’s working for you. It’s sort of dark as we get to the end of the hall and with the floor lamp on it shines just right out into the hall to see good enough in the end of the hall and lights up the bedroom door way for you so you won‘t trip over something by chance. Never though being 61 years old I’d be one to have Alexa and smart Wi-Fi Plugs and Switches which their next on the list of Alexa’s things for an old dog. But I have ordered some more plugs already after less than a week of owning these which aren’t hard to program to Alexa and make your life some what easier, yeah never thought I’d have Alexa but here I am with the wife (60) and we think some thing like this for older people (older than us) can be helpful. There’s not a whole lot more to write about the plugs accept they work with Alexa and are working as they should and we’ll be buying more of these to use though out the house for sure. We see places in the living room, kitchen, laundry room, garage, and like I said I’m looking into switches to install in the house, even my outdoor shed my Wi-Fi reaches far out of the house to my one work shed. So if your on the fence of what are the best Plugs to buy so far I think these are very worthy to look into, priced in line with others and got them with the black Friday deal when buying Alexa thanks to my wife wanting Alexa and the plugs were like a deal with Alexa. Thanks for reading and hope I helped someone tonight. Good Evening !

I have been using this product after experiencing a lot of difficulty with a competitors product. I started with one basic, over sized switch and was impressed with its ease of setup and use as well as the features for the price. I then added a wall switch (great price for a similarity easy to use and function product), and then a mini switch. The mini was where I had issues, but I think they are easily resolved. More on that in a moment. I also tried the over sized energy monitoring switch and it worked great as well. Easy setup and easy to use, with a basic set of features I would expect for the price. So for the minis. I tried one and had the same 24 hour reset issue several people are noting. I thought maybe it was a bad switch, so I tried two more since I have been automating my home anyway. Same issue. I contacted customer support and they provided me a quick tool to upgrade the firmware. After completing that step (and upgrading my router, which was a separate issue that most will not experience if you only have a couple devices on your network), the issue appears to be resolved. I would recommend that if you have an issue with the switch dropping off the network, get the tool to upgrade the firmware to at least 1.0.0 or higher (all my switches that were working originally were 1.0.0 or higher, all the minis were less than 1.0.0). Now I have no issues. I think if you have more than say 15-20 devices on your network and your relying on the standard cable company modem/router, you may need to look into upgrading. I started having a lot of issues with devices on my network with my cable company provided equipment past about 20 devices (cable company said really 16 is the max), but now that I have upgraded (in addition to the firmware fix), everything is running very smoothly. Four stars because I think this switch should have some sort of energy monitoring for the price, but the ease of use and functionality still makes it worth purchasing. I have purchases several more.

The TP LINK HS100 is an excellent choice for a WiFi smart plug. Set up is easy with the KASA app and once you establish an account for remote control, adding additional plugs is a fast and simple. I especially like the icon selections avaliable to assign to the plugs along with unique names. The app works on both cellphones and tablets. Your phone/tablet and the smart plug must be configured with both on the same 2.4Ghz network, but once completed, the phone/tablet can be switched to an 11a or 11n network. This only works with remote control access or you are confined to local access under 11g only network. I recommend setting up multiple plugs on the same phone or tablet first, discovery and connection is quick and easy on the second device. I deducted a star for the bulkiness of the plug. I also have installed several units of the Power X WiFi Remote Smart Plug by Raynic Electronics, they are not as bulky and have a slimmer profile. You can control local or remote access with the TP LINK HS100, the Power X once configured is remote by default. When on remote you are server dependent and I have experienced server connection issues with both and had to manually control the on/off function of the plug. I recommend the TP LINK HS100 WiFi Remote Smart Plug as a starting point to creating a smart home, with or without the Amazon Echo and Alexa.

This has been working well so far, and since its able to interface it with both Alexa and IFTTT, its extremely flexible to automate! I do wish it came with an Ethernet port to set it up though, because for me, the wireless setup was very frustrating! In order to supply your routers credentials to this outlet, setup requires you to connect a wireless device to a temporary Wi-Fi network with the plug. Doesnt sound too difficult, but it took me several dozen attempts to successfully connect to the outlet! After a failed connection, youre given the option to set up manually, which consists of manually switching your network to the one supplied by the outlet. However, my connection kept telling me that I was in fact connected to the device, with no internet connectivity. Great, I wouldnt expect internet, but if Im connected, why does the setup keep telling me that Im not connected. The setup also helpfully states that maybe you should try again while being closer to the outlet. I literally had my phone resting on the device! So, I tried various outlets throughout my home in case I just happened to be trying to set it up in a wireless black hole, but to no avail. The only other wireless device that I have that I could use to set it up is a Kindle Fire tablet. Unfortunately, for some reason, the TP-Link Kasa app, that is used to setup and control the device, doesnt exist on the Amazon marketplace... Just when I reached my limit after dozens of setup attempts and was going to box the outlet back up and return it, it finally allowed me to input my routers credentials and connect it to my home network! Since attaching to my network, Ive had no issues whatsoever with the outlet! So while I like the device itself, and it works great, Im subtracting a star because the setup was beyond frustrating... If this device worked well, I was planning on purchasing some more. At this point, I dont know if Ill do that because while Im satisfied by the way the outlet is working, Im literally dreading trying to set another one up.

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.

These things are awesome! I tend to not review as much anymore because...well...it is a time suck and priorities have doing other things. But in this case I feel compelled as I noticed the most helpful critical reviews had scared off a few would be purchases in describing issues when using high wattage. In my home I generally have lamp lighting and these things allow me to will lights on with must my voice (Echo Required) or the Kasa app manually or via the schedule. I also have gone a little overboard with Echos and Dots that allow me to speak just about anywhere and turn up the heat or have lights on and off. I am in the tech business, so this is the kind of thing that happens... But I just want to let people know that I have had no issues at all with these things...well...occasionally Alexa needs to be told twice to turn something on or off...but that is very much the exception. And my experience is with over 17 of these units...I did take advantage of the holiday pricing to ramp up...lol. With regard to wireless connectivity...I use this with my drive lights where the outlet is some 50 ft or so from the access point with no issues I had to purchase oversized outlet covers for the drive lights and the xmas lights I installed...but it is totally cool to have them all come on at the same moment via different outlets.. Their form factor could use some improvement, as you have to have a fairly small plug to use on the other outlet...as larger ones will not fit...about the only bone I have to pick. And what is great about these vs. wireless switches is they are mobile and my investment goes with me if I have to move. Cheers.