HomeKit Homekit outlet suggestions

[icanhazmac]

I am looking for suggestions to replace my Wemo outlets as they are proving to be unreliable and are experiencing the following issues: the one closest to my router loses its internet connection almost weekly, I notice because the light it is controlling stops responding to automations. Secondly, in trying to troubleshoot these issues I find that the app randomly claims outlets are not detected though upon visual inspection the outlet seems to be working on with a solid white light.

I am interested to hear if anyone else has issues with Wemo outlets or what outlet you like/dislike. Many thanks!

 

[waw74]

I've had decent luck with the ones from eve. you do need thread though (not sure which aTV you have)

 

[icanhazmac]

I've had decent luck with the ones from eve. you do need thread though (not sure which aTV you have)

I have the latest 4k ATV.

On the Eve outlets, do you use the ones that measure energy consumption? Do you use the app or just Home(kit)?

 

[icanhazmac]

I am leaning towards the Eve plugs, Swiss company, privacy focused, a bit pricey but I guess you get what you pay for.

I was also looking at Meross and Kasa, was hoping for some more feedback.

 

[erihp]

I am leaning towards the Eve plugs, Swiss company, privacy focused, a bit pricey but I guess you get what you pay for.

I was also looking at Meross and Kasa, was hoping for some more feedback.

You are probably going to react negatively.... but the best budget/friendly move that will get you the most bang for the buck is a cheap Hubitat C-7, and any number of cheap zwave or zigbee devices. It is a wired, headless device that is very low power.

Hubitat is offline-first, requires no accounts, is super reliable and natively integrates with Homekit. Having the flexibility of Zigbee and Zwave in homekit is huge. It gets your devices off of wifi, not directly connected to the internet, and zwave even runs on a completely different spectrum that 2.4/5ghz

 

[icanhazmac]

You are probably going to react negatively.... but the best budget/friendly move that will get you the most bang for the buck is a cheap Hubitat C-7, and any number of cheap zwave or zigbee devices. It is a wired, headless device that is very low power.

Hubitat is offline-first, requires no accounts, is super reliable and natively integrates with Homekit. Having the flexibility of Zigbee and Zwave in homekit is huge. It gets your devices off of wifi, not directly connected to the internet, and zwave even runs on a completely different spectrum that 2.4/5ghz

I'm not sure why you think I would react negatively... thank you for the suggestion. I have heard of the standards and the devices you mention, I am just not familiar with them and any privacy concerns. Usually cheap devices are selling the user, etc. I will look into this further.

 

[iStorm]

I have a Wemo smart plug (WSP100) and it has been working great (with a HomePod mini as a hub). It uses Thread instead of Wi-Fi.

You mentioned the one closest to your router has issues. Have you tried the plug in a different location? Maybe it's just in a dead zone and not the plug itself? If that's the case, then a Wi-Fi plug from another manufacturer would probably have the same issues.

Personally, I like to avoid putting smart things on my Wi-Fi network and use Thread or Bluetooth instead. Thread is designed for things like this. If you want to start using Thread, you would need a new Apple TV (or HomePod) as the 4th gen Apple TV does not support Thread.

 

[icanhazmac]

I have a Wemo smart plug (WSP100) and it has been working great

Interesting, they are getting shredded on Amazon's reviews, not that they are always on point. Is it just me or do the outlets/plugs not show on the Belkin web site?

 

[erihp]

I'm not sure why you think I would react negatively... thank you for the suggestion. I have heard of the standards and the devices you mention, I am just not familiar with them and any privacy concerns. Usually cheap devices are selling the user, etc. I will look into this further.

Yep, understood. and that is one of the biggest benefits of non-wifi devices. It's smart to be cautious of the manufacturer/vendor 'solutions' because even if the devices are offline, the 'hub' can still call home.

Hubitat can work without an internet connection. setting up 'cloud' functionality is an optional step, and it can link up all these (typically lower cost) zigbee and zwave devices that say 'requires our hub'. The aqara, ikea, and hue devices come to mind. They 'require' the hub to distinguish from wifi devices that dont.

The price of these seems to have increased a bit. i got some c-7s earlier this year on ebay for $20 from a seller who had a ton of them. but even at $75 its a deal.

 

[iStorm]

Interesting, they are getting shredded on Amazon's reviews, not that they are always on point. Is it just me or do the outlets/plugs not show on the Belkin web site?

Yeah, I just saw that. I always take reviews with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to technical stuff. One person was upset because it doesn't work with Alexa (duh, it's a HomeKit plug). Some other people gave it poor reviews because they couldn't get it to work with the Wemo app. The listing and Belkin's site specifically state it's not compatible with the app, so they should have known that.

I was actually thinking of getting another one for a while now, but thought $30 was a bit much for an older plug. I believe Belkin discontinued them as well. Eve has been my next choice, so will probably keep an eye out for Black Friday deals on those.

 

[icanhazmac]

I believe Belkin discontinued them as well.

While an official announcement is eluding my web searches it does indeed appear that Wemo's are discontinued.

As stated above I am watching the Eve products as well but @erihp has me looking at zigbee/zwave too.

 

[Just_Kevin]

I have numerous Eve devices, including the power strip version. They appear directly in Apple Home, or I can get more information in the Eve app.

 

[erihp]

While an official announcement is eluding my web searches it does indeed appear that Wemo's are discontinued.

As stated above I am watching the Eve products as well but @erihp has me looking at zigbee/zwave too.

For what its worth, I have used wifi plugs from various manufacturers, including the low end. And put plainly, on a solid wireless network, they work fine. I would still suggest you go zigbee/zwave though. Opens up so many options, even beyond outlets.

And beyond the daily use case too!

Imagine the nightmare of 'everything wi-fi' smarthome where you have 50 (or even 10) wifi devices.

New House?
New Router?
New ISP?
VLANs?
AP choking up?
Want to change your wireless network PSK???
SSIDs?
2.4ghz vs 5ghz?

HAVE FUN!

With zigbee/zwave you pair all devices to the controller (Hubitat) over a low power radio, and the Hubitat acts as a bridge in Homekit and pushes/exposes all the available devices.

It cares nothing of the above changes on the network, as long as the hubitat can communicate with the hub on the same LAN segment. Devices cant call home.

Hubitat is not the only way to bring offline zigbee and zwave onto your Homekit setup, but its one of the easiest, and has proven to be extremely reliable and has a decent community as well.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

TP-Link Tapo Matter Supported Smart Plug Mini, Compact Design, 15A/1800W Max, Super Easy Setup, Works with Apple Home, Alexa & Google Home, UL Certified, 2.4G Wi-Fi Only, White, Tapo P125M(3-Pack)

Benefits of Matter smart devices: 1. Interoperability: Matter devices will be able to communicate with each other regardless of the brand or manufacturer, making it easier for consumers to build and expand their smart home ecosystems. 2. Enhanced functionality: Matter devices will offer advanced ...

a.co

I have 4 of these in my apartment and they work great. Matter supported so they play nice with HomeKit and the the Tapo link app isn't terrible either.

 

[erihp]

TP-Link Tapo Matter Supported Smart Plug Mini, Compact Design, 15A/1800W Max, Super Easy Setup, Works with Apple Home, Alexa & Google Home, UL Certified, 2.4G Wi-Fi Only, White, Tapo P125M(3-Pack)

Benefits of Matter smart devices: 1. Interoperability: Matter devices will be able to communicate with each other regardless of the brand or manufacturer, making it easier for consumers to build and expand their smart home ecosystems. 2. Enhanced functionality: Matter devices will offer advanced ...

a.co

I have 4 of these in my apartment and they work great. Matter supported so they play nice with HomeKit and the the Tapo link app isn't terrible either.

at 6 bucks each its hard to argue. but i dont trust these things to not be calling home sending god knows what back to TP link.
id ditch that app. not needed for homekit.

not for me!

 

[jedimasterkyle]

at 6 bucks each its hard to argue. but i dont trust these things to not be calling home sending god knows what back to TP link.
id ditch that app. not needed for homekit.

not for me!

Well you dont need the app to use them and as far as what information they are transmitting...isnt that kind of irrelevant to worry about anymore since all of us have electronics connected to the internet that all have "Made in China" printed on them?

Between domestic companies having numerous data leaks, breaches and hacks and intentionally having cameras in our homes for safety and monitoring, data privacy is almost non-existent in the realm of smart homes. The only way to prevent that is by having multiple layers of VPNs enabled between your router and modem and having NSA and CIA level encryption on each layer.

At that point, your smart home becomes unusable because it cannot talk to anything or anyone.

 

[erihp]

Well you dont need the app to use them and as far as what information they are transmitting...isnt that kind of irrelevant to worry about anymore since all of us have electronics connected to the internet that all have "Made in China" printed on them?

Between domestic companies having numerous data leaks, breaches and hacks and intentionally having cameras in our homes for safety and monitoring, data privacy is almost non-existent in the realm of smart homes. The only way to prevent that is by having multiple layers of VPNs enabled between your router and modem and having NSA and CIA level encryption on each layer.

At that point, your smart home becomes unusable because it cannot talk to anything or anyone.

or you use a better suited, low power, long range, non-internet connected, non-2.4ghz wireless comms, as i suggested, via zwave (900mhz) / zigbee (does run on 2.4, but not IP based)

these types of devices are unable to directly connect to the internet, so you dont have your worry about the conspiracy theories. it is impossible for them to call home, scan your wifi networks, geolocate you, track usage, or be directly remotely controlled via the internet. and because they are locally controlled without the IP/wifi overhead, and are faster to control as well.

this is a huge benefit.

you dont have to throw the baby out with the bathwater to be security conscious.