Paul Crownover—February 15, 2022
I put smart plugs on pretty much anything I can. The first thing I like about this set of plugs was the price. The price alone for 4 is very good, there was a 10% off coupon on the product page and using my Prime Visa I received an additional 5% cash back. Also, living in the area I do, I was able to get them the same day. The have been the easiest ones I have bought to setup. They are 2.4 Ghz network compatible only, which has been the case with all the other smart plugs I've purchased. However, when I set these up, unlike the others I have, I don't have to log into my internet modem and turn off the 5 Ghz network, setup the plug, then go back into the modem and turn the 5 Ghz back on (most modems today are dual band with 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz which run simultaneously). So, all I had to do was plug in the plug, hold the button for about 10 seconds to put it into setup mode, go into the Smart Home app on my phone, assign it a name and boom the plug is ready. Repeat for each of the plugs as I used them. One issue I didn't like with previous plugs is that the name had to be one word. With these, you can assign multiple word names. For example, instead of using the name Lamp, you can name it Bedroom Lamp, or Table Lamp, basically much better descriptions for what they are. Once setup they are fully integrated with Alexa so you can include them in groups, change names or any other setting right from the Alexa app. So, you can operate these smart plugs from any Alexa enabled device (Echo devices, Fire TV remotes, etc.). Whatever is easiest where you are. Finally, they give off a little "click" when you turn them on and off. I like this because if whatever I tell Alexa to turn on doesn't turn on, I know if I heard the "click" it wasn't because I pronounced the name wrong or Alexa couldn't understand because of loud background noise, and that there may be an issue with whatever I was trying to turn on (like I out of lifetime habit, manually turn the device off by its own on/off switch. The only thing I would change is I wish they were a bit smaller. They work perfectly on wall outlets. You can use one and still plug something else in the other outlet or use two in the same outlet. However, I use a lot of power strips with multiple outlets on the and USB ports and the width of these smart plugs ends up covering the outlet next to it so I can't plug as many things into the strip. But I use the power strips more so that I have USB ports available around my home, so it isn't that big of a deal most of the time. Overall, I highly recommend these smart plugs. Read more
S. S.—December 9, 2019
I ordered the pack of three WiFi timers, they arrived when Amazon said they would and I promptly started setting them up. The first two set up without incident but the third was DOA! I mean it was completely dead right out of the box. The box showed no signs of damage, all three timers looked brand new. I immediately sent Century Products Inc a msg explaining just what I did here. They responded the next day and said they would promptly send me a replacement, which they did and I just now received. The replacement set right up without issue and I received a notification via the Smart Life app that there was a firmware update for it, I clicked it, it updated and I then set up the on/off schedule and tested it, worked great. So lets hope these all work for a loooong time. In terms of setting up the on/off schedule, they work like all the others I've tried and its a very manual process, it would be helpful if once you set a schedule, it gave you a way to copy that schedule to another day or even be able to transfer it to another smart timer. As it is now, each one has to be set up manually for each schedule, its time consuming and error inducing. The other feature that would be nice to have, and you will see this on other plugs, is a rotating plug. Since the plug on this time is offset to one end of the timer, it may or may not fit into the wall outlet you want to use, depending on the location and type of that outlet. For example, if you have a quadplex, which is four outlets in the same outlet box on the wall, you will have other things plugged in and this WiFi timer may not physically fit because it will hit one of the existing plugs. However, if the plug in it could rotate, you would simply rotate it so the long end faces away from the existing plug. Edit: (Dec 11, 2019) After setting up the replacement timer Century Products Inc sent me, I happened to pick up both the replacement and one of the original ones from my initial Amazon order and noticed that the replacement timer did not have the ETL stamp on it like my original batch did. This may also explain why only the replacement timer had offered me a firmware update. I contacted Century Products Inc again, sent them a picture showing the original timer received from Amazon and the replacement they sent me, you could clearly see that the original timer has the ETL stamp and the replacement did not. They assured me that even though it did not have the ETL stamp, it was in fact ETL certified however they said if I wanted to exchange it for one that had the stamp, they would. I asked for the exchange and they promptly shipped it. I will return the one without the stamp in a prepaid shipping box they said they would send me. If you stop and think about the great customer service experience I just had, twice, it far exceeds any level of customer service I have ever seen from any car dealer I have dealt with and just look at the difference in cost between a WiFi timer and a car. At some point, you will experience a product failure and it is then and only then you begin to understand who you bought from. Century Products Inc - thanks you for great customer service! Read more
