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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2016
UPDATE 3: It's now been long enough for me to believe that TP-Link has successfully corrected the problem I referenced in UPDATE 1 below. My units have continued to work successfully for well over a month now, including self recovering once power was restored from a power outage. All have continued to work flawlessly with all of my my Echo (Alexa) devices and I've been able to verify I can use the Kasa app to turn lights on and off from anywhere I have internet access on my cell phone.
While I'm at it I should note that one limitation for these is that they are strictly single pole (SPST) switches, which means they can't be installed in place of a 3-way (SPDT) switch . It would be nice if TP-Link offered a 3-way version of the product for those of us who might want to use one with a multi-switch installation.
UPDATE 2 (upgrade 1 star): I'm raising my previous 2 star downgrade to a 1 star downgrade since TP-Link finally recognized they had a serious disconnect between their Kasa app and Amazon's Alexa app (it sure took them long enough). It appears (for now) that they have corrected whatever caused the problem, but I won't trust their Smart Home devices to retain their settings until my devices behave as advertised for at least a month. After the fix, for a plug I originally named "Back Porch" in the Kasa app and which I subsequently renamed "Porch", the Alexa app, even after rediscovery, insisted on looking for "Back Porch" from the Kasa app instead of "Porch" until I deleted it from the Alexa app and rediscovered it; i.e., there are still bugs. Otherwise, it's been so far so good, but I'm not convinced it won't revert again to the erratic behavior I experience over a period of about 3 weeks, long enough that I was tempted to scrub the whole kit and kaboodle. If TP-Link keeps their Smart Home devices squeaky clean for about the next 6 months, my confidence in them will be sufficiently restored to revert to my original 5-star assessment.
UPDATE:1 (downgrade 2 stars): I'm lowering my review from 5 stars to 3 because these simply do not consistently behave. I have become expert at factory reset to get them operating again, but the key point is that I can't trust them to remain operational for more than a few hours before I get messages from Alexa that a device is not responding, or from the Kasa app that it can't find the device, sometimes after having set it up just a few hours earlier, and that's for a plug within a few feet of the my wi-fi range extender. It would appear TP-Link needs a firmware upgrade. I suppose I could replace my wi-fi router and range extender with one from TP-Link, but that seems stupid since my wi-fi works just fine with lap top, cell phone, TV, etc. Make no mistake, these represent a very cool idea, but as currently being sold they are way too finicky.
Original review:
I have 3 versions of the TP-Link Smart Home technology distributed within my house. Being able to control outlets and switches using them is perhaps the major reason I have that many. This is just one of a number of Smart Home products an Echo can handle. It differs from the plug ins in that you install it permanently in place of an existing manual wall switch. Installation is no different than installing any other wall switch, except this one is smart, at least in the sense that it can be operated by wifi as well as manually. The form factor is actually smaller than that of most dimmer modules, so it should fit in most switch boxes. After installation, you set it up for wifi via the (free) Kasa app (a very intuitive exercise) and from there tie it to your Echo system as a Smart Home product. In the Kasa app you can change the name to whatever you want and then have the (free) Echo app "discover" the new name. Operation is flawless and is entertaining (e.g., "Alexa, turn on the patio light", where "patio light" is the name you selected for the smart switch). You can operate it manually via the Kasa app, or via Alexa as you wish! You can also program it for automatic operation. Any one of my Echo's can operate it. It does require reasonable access to your home wifi network to work as advertised. I now have a number of Smart Home products installed, and the software does not seem to have any issues keeping them sorted out (far more reliably than the obsolete X-10 system I used to rely on).
Here's my take on the steps for installation of the switch:
1) first turn off the circuit breaker that controls the existing switch (easy to test, since if the switch doesn't work, the power to it is off);
2) your existing switch should be across the "hot" line that supplies power to the load (a lamp or whatever), one black (hot) line for power coming in, and one black line for power passed on from the switch to the load. You simply remove the existing switch, disconnect its two black wires, and use wire nuts to hook them to the black wires for this switch (order doesn't matter).
3) the "return" that completes the circuit is through the "neutral" white line (always present unless you have some really squirrely wiring). You hook the white wire to the neutral line using a wire nut, cutting/stripping the neutral wire as necessary (usually not necessary since most installations will already have a wire nut connection for the neutral line).
4) if there is a ground line (a bare wire in the switch box) connect the green line to it using a wire nut (if not, don't bother, but insulate it using one of the wire nuts or electrical tape).
5) turn the circuit breaker back on and verify the smart switch works as a manual switch, then go through the set up procedure.
NOTE: 4 wire nuts are included in the package in case your current installation is one with the black wires attached directly to the old switch. A switch plate is included that you have to snap off for installation. The switch has the Decora form factor, so if your existing switch is not Decora style, you will need to use the included plate or pick up one from some place like Home Depot to match your needs.
While I'm at it I should note that one limitation for these is that they are strictly single pole (SPST) switches, which means they can't be installed in place of a 3-way (SPDT) switch . It would be nice if TP-Link offered a 3-way version of the product for those of us who might want to use one with a multi-switch installation.
UPDATE 2 (upgrade 1 star): I'm raising my previous 2 star downgrade to a 1 star downgrade since TP-Link finally recognized they had a serious disconnect between their Kasa app and Amazon's Alexa app (it sure took them long enough). It appears (for now) that they have corrected whatever caused the problem, but I won't trust their Smart Home devices to retain their settings until my devices behave as advertised for at least a month. After the fix, for a plug I originally named "Back Porch" in the Kasa app and which I subsequently renamed "Porch", the Alexa app, even after rediscovery, insisted on looking for "Back Porch" from the Kasa app instead of "Porch" until I deleted it from the Alexa app and rediscovered it; i.e., there are still bugs. Otherwise, it's been so far so good, but I'm not convinced it won't revert again to the erratic behavior I experience over a period of about 3 weeks, long enough that I was tempted to scrub the whole kit and kaboodle. If TP-Link keeps their Smart Home devices squeaky clean for about the next 6 months, my confidence in them will be sufficiently restored to revert to my original 5-star assessment.
UPDATE:1 (downgrade 2 stars): I'm lowering my review from 5 stars to 3 because these simply do not consistently behave. I have become expert at factory reset to get them operating again, but the key point is that I can't trust them to remain operational for more than a few hours before I get messages from Alexa that a device is not responding, or from the Kasa app that it can't find the device, sometimes after having set it up just a few hours earlier, and that's for a plug within a few feet of the my wi-fi range extender. It would appear TP-Link needs a firmware upgrade. I suppose I could replace my wi-fi router and range extender with one from TP-Link, but that seems stupid since my wi-fi works just fine with lap top, cell phone, TV, etc. Make no mistake, these represent a very cool idea, but as currently being sold they are way too finicky.
Original review:
I have 3 versions of the TP-Link Smart Home technology distributed within my house. Being able to control outlets and switches using them is perhaps the major reason I have that many. This is just one of a number of Smart Home products an Echo can handle. It differs from the plug ins in that you install it permanently in place of an existing manual wall switch. Installation is no different than installing any other wall switch, except this one is smart, at least in the sense that it can be operated by wifi as well as manually. The form factor is actually smaller than that of most dimmer modules, so it should fit in most switch boxes. After installation, you set it up for wifi via the (free) Kasa app (a very intuitive exercise) and from there tie it to your Echo system as a Smart Home product. In the Kasa app you can change the name to whatever you want and then have the (free) Echo app "discover" the new name. Operation is flawless and is entertaining (e.g., "Alexa, turn on the patio light", where "patio light" is the name you selected for the smart switch). You can operate it manually via the Kasa app, or via Alexa as you wish! You can also program it for automatic operation. Any one of my Echo's can operate it. It does require reasonable access to your home wifi network to work as advertised. I now have a number of Smart Home products installed, and the software does not seem to have any issues keeping them sorted out (far more reliably than the obsolete X-10 system I used to rely on).
Here's my take on the steps for installation of the switch:
1) first turn off the circuit breaker that controls the existing switch (easy to test, since if the switch doesn't work, the power to it is off);
2) your existing switch should be across the "hot" line that supplies power to the load (a lamp or whatever), one black (hot) line for power coming in, and one black line for power passed on from the switch to the load. You simply remove the existing switch, disconnect its two black wires, and use wire nuts to hook them to the black wires for this switch (order doesn't matter).
3) the "return" that completes the circuit is through the "neutral" white line (always present unless you have some really squirrely wiring). You hook the white wire to the neutral line using a wire nut, cutting/stripping the neutral wire as necessary (usually not necessary since most installations will already have a wire nut connection for the neutral line).
4) if there is a ground line (a bare wire in the switch box) connect the green line to it using a wire nut (if not, don't bother, but insulate it using one of the wire nuts or electrical tape).
5) turn the circuit breaker back on and verify the smart switch works as a manual switch, then go through the set up procedure.
NOTE: 4 wire nuts are included in the package in case your current installation is one with the black wires attached directly to the old switch. A switch plate is included that you have to snap off for installation. The switch has the Decora form factor, so if your existing switch is not Decora style, you will need to use the included plate or pick up one from some place like Home Depot to match your needs.
