Any Recommendations on Smart Plugs?

[Coffee50]

I currently have hue lights that work with homekit & I'm interested in possibly getting some smart plugs.

There seems to be a decent amount of smart plugs that work with homekit & was hoping to get some feedback from those who currently use them. What company / products would you recommend?
Elgato? Idevice? Ihome?

Thanks

 

[Debauch]

I have three iHome iSP 5 plugs and wouldn't recommend them. They haven't been reliable for me at all. They used to disconnect from my network about once every two or so weeks. In Dec of 2016 iHome put out firmware update 0.8.84 which made them worse. All three plugs now connect for about 10 minutes then disconnect.

I also have an iDevice outdoor plug. That has been solid.

 

[jljue]

I have both an iDevices and a Koogeek smartplug, and they seem to work reliably in my house. The iDevices one also has a light built in, which is also serving as my son's night light that has scheduled on and off times for the light and his room heater. The Koogeek has been solid for controlling my office lamp.

 

[Coffee50]

I have both an iDevices and a Koogeek smartplug, and they seem to work reliably in my house. The iDevices one also has a light built in, which is also serving as my son's night light that has scheduled on and off times for the light and his room heater. The Koogeek has been solid for controlling my office lamp.

You would say one brand is better than the other? Or are they equal in terms of reliability in regards to homekit. Thanks

 

[jljue]

So far, they are equal. However, both are somewhat close to access points--one on each side of the house. However, the iDevices was in the master bedroom away from both access points, and it was still reliable. I never got a chance to try the Koogeek in the master bedroom, but I am tempted to buy more.

 

[steve knight]

My I device switches work fine though till updated they only worked with Siri. Now they work with smartthings and alexa. I have had several switches that worked with smartthings the have been in reliable. It seemed if they did not get used often they stopped working. Wemo has been pretty reliable though it does not work with Siri.

 

[jljue]

I get around making things that aren't HK compatible by running Homebridge on my Raspberry Pi (recently ran on my iMac). If there is a plugin for your device, after a little config magic in a text editor, it magically appears and works as a HK device.

 

[skyrider112]

jljue is correct about his statement, but take note that not all are compatible to each.

 

[skyrider112]

Forgot to mention that I was able to buy a smart plug from 4WheelOnline when I ordered a set of moto metal wheels last year. The shape and looks is very similar to Idevice.

 

[PinballMagician]

I've got 4 Koogeek plugs and they work fine. My friends and I got together and bought 6 on Amazon for $24 each with a coupon code. We have 10 between the 3 of us.

Coupon is now back on Dealnews.com

TomTop offers the Koogeek Wi-Fi Smart Plug for Apple HomeKit in White, model no. BE-P1CA, for $34.99. Coupon code "TTLTP2 " cuts that to $23.99. With free shipping

 

[rillrill]

Oh man. I just got that koogeek plug and it keeps disconnecting. Is this a problem for anyone or did I get a bad one? I have an extended network that my Apple TV is on and that I put the HomeKit stuff on, that should not be a problem though right?

 

[jljue]

I haven't had an issue with my Koogeek dropping off my network yet. However, my Apple AirPort Extreme is in the laundry room, and the Koogeek is in my office in the next room. Some of these small devices (such as Roost) have weaker wifi antenna, so even if your phone works fine in a room, other small automation devices might bot

 

[rillrill]

I haven't had an issue with my Koogeek dropping off my network yet. However, my Apple AirPort Extreme is in the laundry room, and the Koogeek is in my office in the next room. Some of these small devices (such as Roost) have weaker wifi antenna, so even if your phone works fine in a room, other small automation devices might bot

Thanks. Good to know. It's definitely not that close to the wifi. Unfortunately i don't see a way I can get another extended network to the upstairs without serious investment into some mesh network. The hue lights work fine but maybe it's cause of that bridge.

 

[FrancoisC]

Oh man. I just got that koogeek plug and it keeps disconnecting. Is this a problem for anyone or did I get a bad one? I have an extended network that my Apple TV is on and that I put the HomeKit stuff on, that should not be a problem though right?

Make sure to update it! In the koogeek app you have to long press or 3d touch the plug itself and clic "detail" (or the option at the bottom of the screen depending on language) and then you'll be offered a firmware update for it.

From what I figured, it's the only way to update it and it's not super easy to find

For my hue bridge and light the update was offered automaticaly, but it seem to be manual only for koogeek.

1.1.3 seem to be the latest version for now.

 

[gabidebaas]

I've got 4 Koogeek plugs and they work fine. My friends and I got together and bought 6 on Amazon for $24 each with a coupon code. We have 10 between the 3 of us.

Coupon is now back on Dealnews.com

TomTop offers the Koogeek Wi-Fi Smart Plug for Apple HomeKit in White, model no. BE-P1CA, for $34.99. Coupon code "TTLTP2 " cuts that to $23.99. With free shipping

have indeed good expiernce with them

 

[rillrill]

I just want to update ya'll on that koogeek plug - I turned off the extended router and reset the plug on the main router. That seems to have done the trick. I think the koogeek plug was getting tripped up when my device was switching to the extended network. I'd recommend the plug now.

 

[PinballMagician]

I just bought a Koogeek single gang light switch that was on sale. I haven't installed it yet. I'll report back after I use it for a while.

 

[appledumpling]

We have a 2nd gen Eve Energy smartplug and an iDevices smartplug. Both work well.

We have a couple of Belkin Wemo smartplugs as well. They work pretty well, but they seem to be somewhat inaccurate when measuring power consumption. And of course they aren't compatible with HomeKit, at least not until later this year when Belkin releases their HomeKit-compatible hub.

 

[australien]

Hey all. I just bought a Koogeek and I didn't managed to make it work on my homekit installation.
I've already have a Philips Hue starter kit (3 smart light bulbs) which is working.

My installation is composed of on iPhone 6S Plus, an Apple TV and an Apple Airport Extreme (wifi routeur).
I've followed all the instructions :

• deactivating 5 GHz on my Airport Extreme (to make it work only on 2,4 GHz) ;
• deactivating whitelist filter regulation on Airport Extreme (to allow any accessory to connect) ;
• tried to add the Koogeek from Home iPhone app...
• tried to add the Koogeek from Koogeek iPhone app...
• for each try, I've done reset of the Koogeek (to make it flash on green light).

None of the above worked. I'm still stuck with a red flashing light at each try.
I can't update the firmware of my bulb because first I can't add it to my Home app.

Anyone has an idea about what I can do to make it work?

 

[PinballMagician]

That's a drag. What version of iOS are you running? What security are you running on the Airport Extreme (WPA2?)? Do you have multiple networks around you that it could be connecting to?

I've installed 8 of these and the only issue I had was on iOS 9 on an old iPad.

Maybe you have a bad one? You might want to reach out to them and see if they can help you.

 

[australien]

Thank you for your answer.

My Airport Extreme is set in WPA2, yes. Is it ok?
I've only have 1 wifi routeur which can generate 2 network, one over 5 GHz, and another one over 2,4 GHz. I've deactivated 5 GHz for the installation to be sure it would be connected on the 2.4 GHz band.

My version of iOS is the latest, 10.3.2.

I've sent them an email and I'm waiting for their answer.

 

[Vasilioskn]

My brother has an IDevices plug and it works flawlessly so far

 

[PinballMagician]

Thank you for your answer.

My Airport Extreme is set in WPA2, yes. Is it ok?
I've only have 1 wifi routeur which can generate 2 network, one over 5 GHz, and another one over 2,4 GHz. I've deactivated 5 GHz for the installation to be sure it would be connected on the 2.4 GHz band.

My version of iOS is the latest, 10.3.2.

I've sent them an email and I'm waiting for their answer.

Looks correct.
Which product do you have?
Does it show up in either app?
How far are you from your Airport? Have you try restarting it?

 

[australien]

I've got an EU Koogeek smart plug.
I can see it in my Home app when I try to search new home kit accessories to add. But when I clic on it and then enter the homekit id, then it's waiting about 2 minutes without managing to add it on my Home and then I get an error "can't add that accessory" and the Koogeek flashes in red...

I've restarted my Airport maybe 10 times (after each try).