Wemo Insight WiFi Enabled Smart Plug, with Energy Monitoring, Works with Alexa (Discontinued by Manufacturer - Newer Version Available)

I purchased one of these on a price dip, thinking it was time to give this technology a try. Its a rather clever device, providing integration of home automation controls and energy monitoring, with capable notifications, actionable rules and remote management. However, execution does have a few flaws. The limitations become more apparent in a more complex scenarios: no support for hidden wireless networks, inability of software to deal with multiple access points, or recognize home and remote wireless networks if they share the same network name. This device would likely perform much better in a country home with just one wireless access point and little interference, but in a dense urban environment, where 2.4GHz wireless spectrum is heavily congested (with up to 4 wireless stations visible on every Wi-Fi channel), the device seems to have connectivity issues. To provide adequate signal coverage, I already had a couple of access points on dynamically selected channels - but after installing this WeMo Switch, I had to add another one just 4 fee away from it, otherwise it would drop off the network every couple of hours. Even with an access point so close, I still end up having to pull it out and reconnect every couple of days, as it still drops the wireless connection. The vendor specifically states that multiple access points could cause a smartphone application not to find the device - that is definitely the case, as on many occasions I could not see the device while on Wi-Fi, but by shutting off Wi-Fi on my smartphone, I could manage it as if I were remote. The vendor should definitely invest additional effort into application (to remove constraints related to access point / Wi-Fi network name and visibility), as well as explore other connectivity options for urban dwellers, either by supporting 5GHz network band or by integrating PowerLine support.

There are some things that are excellent about this product -- once the setup is complete -- its really easy to hookup numerous iphones/ipads/itouches to register the wemo app (allowing you to control the outlet). The cons include not receiving notifications that the outlet is on/off, unless you separately set the usage/watts on EACH itouch/iphone/ipad product. Im pretty sure that this is only due to the fact that I have an extremely low-power consuming miniature toy pump that Im using on this outlet. Initial setting is somewhere around 8 (?) watts or something. I received zero notification that the pump was on/off. Once I adjusted the watts? to below 2, it started notifying me that the outlet was being used. I do believe that theres an automatic watt/power detection during the setup process -- but since the device wanted to update the firmware ? while I was initially setting this up -- I did not want to bother myself doing the automatic power detection setup step. Now, the good news is that notwithstanding all of this -- its always, without failed, allowed me to turn the device on/off. OH! And even if your main cable is down (no internet, no cable, no TV), as long as the router is physically working, it seems like the Wemo device works. I read somewhere that it creates is own wifi network (or something) so maybe our cable companys wifi system doesnt even have to be on -- not sure -- but at least it works even if the cable/internet/wifi is down.

To give you an idea of my technical expertise... I was a young Network Admin during the dark ages of Novell 3.11. For those of you confused this would be around 1994 - 1999 give or take a year or two... If you could configure Novell you could configure the Space Shuttle... and I could. Fast forward 20 years, I have a home-based Internet company - I personally built 10 gaming computers not for gaming but for business... I do things like port forward into my home network to view my security cameras and connect to an internal web-server... In other words, I know what Im doing... Now about this Belkin WeMo INSIGHT SWITCH... When I plugged it in the first thing IT DID was lock down my router without me touching ANY thing! - I was more than offended when all my PCs were instantly kicked off the web... all I could think about was losing my Router configuration, because I havent backed up the Router config file in a long time .. After rebooting everything, I resigned myself to give this setup 30 minutes of my time, because I really didnt feel like returning and reordering something else... 1hour and 30 minutes later of trouble shooting, which included multiple reboots of my router to get my PCs back online (yes you read that correctly) Android was still searching for this device... For the record my router has been rock solid for 3 years under my command... Note: no direct PC config allowed - must be done on your phone - extremely lame - but not before holding my entire network hostage yet again... the thought of throwing this thing as far back to China as possible seems tempting and worth losing the $99 refund value/hassle... Ive always had a professional hatred for all things Belkin - the company slogan should be were the Jacks of all things- and the master of NOTHING... (I think they make bicycle helmets too) but this last experience has made my love personal... In addition they expect you to connect this device that sits 2 feet away through a third party, third world web server a million cable wires miles away. Oh and the WeMo App couldnt blow worse chunks either - what I saw of it - I really didnt get that far into the configuration I do not think this plastic paper weight shipped to me broken - I think it is working exactly the way Belkin designed it to... the only thing wrong with it is the logo on the side that reads B e l k i n P.S. - Ah yes – my window to return this plastic headache ended yesterday… I guess thats part of the Belkin business strategy... If I could throw it, or launch it back to China now I would...

Ive had the original switches for about a year and now the insights. The app software is getting better and that is the real issue. When they connect I have no problems using them. The smaller size and usage info of the insight is a real plus. As the software improves, I expect connectivity to the app to get better. I can see all of my wemo (5) on my network all the time, its just whether the app will. Sometimes my phone sees them all, sometimes my tablet, its still a guessing game. Belkin is making the app better, so Ill keep using them. I only wish there was a way to control through my PC. My using Wi-Fi, they are easy to setup and configure.

I bought this switch because the Wemo line was discounted for a day on Amazon. It works fairly well - sometimes the action is delayed. Setting it up was easy enough and pairing it with IFTTT has added some neat features. But the energy features of this switch (which make it cost $10 more than the regular switch) are worthless eye candy. Save yourself some money and by the Wemo Switch. Better still, buy the SmartThings Know & Control Your Home kit - better, quicker, more reliable. *** Also... *** This switch often doesnt have the same third party capabilities as the regular Wemo Switch. For example, if you use SmartThings, they support every product EXCEPT the Wemo Insight Switch with their app development environment (SmartThings Labs). Additionally, the recipes at IFTTT for the regular switch far outnumber the recipes for the Wemo Insight Switch.

I bought two of these to solve a problem I was having where I needed to turn one item off when another stopped pulling as much current though it would keep pulling some. I hooked one to each item and set up some skills in IFTTT to control them. When switch A goes into on mode, so does switch B. The problem arises when trying to turn them off. For some reason IFTTT doesnt let you turn off switch B when switch A goes into standby mode. I emailed customer support and was basically given the runaround. To get around this I set up a Twitter account and had IFTTT tweet something with a certain hashtag when switch A goes into standby and then set up another skill to turn off switch B if a new tweet comes through with that hashtag. It works, though there is a bit of a delay. If either WeMos built in actions were a little more advanced or IFTTT could handle turning off one switch when another goes into standby, Id give this 5 stars. If you just want to control something with your phone, IFTTT, or something like Alexa, this product works great.

When the WeMo Insight is working, it works great and is incredibly convenient. On the other hand, its flakey, a pain to setup, and hard to troubleshoot when something (frequently) goes wrong. Most recently, after about four months of working flawlessly, a power outage today somehow put the device into factory reset mode. After setting it back up again, now its being flakey about connecting to my network. <sigh> Pros: Very convenient to be able to turn things on from anywhere, even when not home or laying in bed. Scheduling feature is great and lets things just magically be ready for you when you want them. Cons: WiFi connectivity is horrible. There are spots in my house where my phone gets wifi just fine but this Insight switch cant connect. LED indicator lights arent terribly helpful when trying to debug all but the simplest of problems. Very touchy when it comes to two phones separately controlling it. Gets very confused if you turn it on with one phone but family member tries to turn it off later with another. Boot up time is slow, adding frustration when trying to troubleshoot problems. If Belkin would work out the kinks in this device, itd be awesome. Until then, I cant recommend it.

DO NOT BUY THIS - There are better products available. Do not get sucked in to the Wemo ecosystem like I did - there are better, more reliable and - most importantly - flexible systems out there. Belkins support for this product is near zilch. The iPhone app crashes constantly at startup - very frustrating when I just want to turn on my bedroom lights in the morning. IFTTT support is now completely gone - whenever I try I receive This is not a valid IFTT code or similar. 10% of the time Wemo works, 90% of the time Wemo crashes (the app). More times than not, the app launches, crashes, and after many many times of relaunching/manually quitting on the iPhone, it finally connects to all devices. (Let me be clear here - the app CRASHES A LOT. A LOT. Ive given up on the damn app and just go to the switch and manually turn it on) Point is - way, way more frustrating than simply turning on a light. If the Insight feature is what youre after, save yourself from this junk and just get http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418942439&sr=8-3&keywords=power+wattage+meter for $15 to measure your usage in spots. Instead, heres what you should look into - Ive had GREAT success with GEs Wink platform, mostly because its open to other Z-Wave (aka generalized/standard home automation protocol) products which makes it easy to add other random devices without worrying about the Belkin ecosystem. Luton, GE, etc products are all supported with this purchase. Dont buy in to Belkins home automation products. Theyre horribly buggy, completely unreliable and the lack of media/app updates makes me think Belkin is slowly backing off this entire thing. Home automation has been around for a while now and perfected by companies like Lutron, Z-Wave products, etc. Look to those first and take the time to research what you really want. The open protocol devices are far more future proof than Belkins very weak attempt in this market.

Bought this to use for my space heater in my apartment with my Amazon Echo. it works flawlessly. The wemo app is a little clunky but thats expected with Belkin. I give this four stars because there is no way to show your usage as a trend chart. It only shows your daily usage and monthly est. cost. Wish it had more features. Update (12/04/15) There is a setting inside the wemo app which allows you to have wemo email you daily weekly or monthly with a .csv file (Exel document) showing you all of your usage details (up to the last 30 days). Still leaving it at four stars since it will not show trends on the app, even though i can find the trends myself i shouldnt have to build it into the app).

It works good, just a couple things I dont like. 1) Setup was easy, I had the switch working in about two minutes with iPhone. 2) Does not give feedback. In other words, if iPhone A turns on the switch, no indication is shown on iPhone B. The same is true if the switch is manually operated. ( Feedback is given on another iPhone IF you tap on a circular arrow, then it will update the status. However, the status is not pushed to you as it is with SmartThings. ) 3) No instructions provided if you want to control your switches with more than one iPhone. Digging through the Internet, I found the simple answer. After installing the WeMo app on the second iPhone, simply put that iPhone on the same HOME network that you used when you originally set up WeMo with the first iPhone. Following the installation instructions that you did originally doesnt work. The second iPhone will not find the WeMo WiFi. Had they included this bit of information with their instructions it would have saved me about an hour of online digging. Their competitors, TP-LINK, has you create an account. By utilizing an account system it is not necessary to bring each iPhone onto the same home network for set up purposes. You simply download the app, enter your login credentials, and youre done. This could be a distinct advantage if you are 1000 miles away from home and find that you have to buy a new iPhone. ( Overall, I like the WeMo better than TP-LINK. ) Normally, when I set up home control systems I prefer to use SmartThings for controlling purposes, utilizing Z-Wave switches. Because Z-Wave uses an entirely different frequency, this can avoid interference, and, clogging up Wi-Fi networks. Another advantage of Z-Wave is that each device acts as a repeater, so if you have several Z-Wave devices, they can be located far from the hub. If your needs are simple, WeMo is a good choice.