Easy, fast setup. Works well.
Pros: Super easy and fast to set up Works well Works with Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT Cons: No Apple Homekit A bit more difficult to set up Google Home than other devices This Kasa smart switch by TP-Link was a pleasure to set up. I had it set up literally in less than 5 minutes, and about as long to link to Alexa and Google Home. The set up instructions are really nothing more than a card telling you to download the Kasa app on your smartphone and adding the switch to the app. The set up is easy. As with most WiFi controlled devices, the device goes into AP mode for configuration and then into device mode for operation. Unlike other devices, and seemingly any that support HomeKit, it simply has you connect to that access point on the phone, then go back to the app. The app connects to the device and scans WiFi. You select the WiFi SSID (network name) you want, enter the password, and done. At this point the switch can be controlled from the app. To add Alexa you select the Works with Kasa option in the app, select Alexa. Then enable in Alexa, and done. Google home is a bit less direct, and a bit more clumsy than other devices, but still pretty easy. You need to go into the Google home app, add a device, search for Kasa, then log into Kasa, then configure. A few more steps, but overall not that bad. It also supports IFTTT, and Samsung Smart home that I didn't set up. It does not support Apple HomeKit. That is probably why it was easy to set up. I really would like to be able to use HomeKit, but almost nothing works well with HomeKit. The whole set up with the code mostly doesn't work, and if it does it then gets disconnected. This brings me to why I bought the Kasa in the first place. I had a WeMo (Belkin) smart switch, the equivalent product to this. I couldn't get it to connect after multiple attempts. I called WeMo support (surprisingly a human on a phone). After well over an hour I was finally able to get the WeMo to connect, then get it to connect to HomeKit, Alexa, and Google home. Great. I had the switch in an easy to access socket to set up. I unplugged it to move to where it needed to be and the WeMo stopped connecting to WiFi. After factory resetting the WeMo I was able to get it to connect back to WiFi, but as soon as it was unplugged and plugged back in, it wouldn't connect again. At this point I just gave up and ordered the Kasa based on other reviews. It was night and day to set up. Similar to the WeMo, I used an easy to access socket to set up, then unplugged it and moved it to the location where the light to be controlled is. With the Kasa, no problem. This is the same location, and the same WiFi network. The Kasa works. The WeMo doesn't. Part of the problem is HomeKit. HomeKit compatible devices use the HomeKit set up on iOS devices. Some devices sort of let you bypass this, with the WeMo being one of those devices. This is how I initially got it to connect with customer service, by connecting directly to the switch. If it fails though HomeKit recognizes the WiFi AP as a connected device for at least 15 minutes. You need to wait 15 minutes to try again. The whole thing is a mess. I really like Apple devices, but HomeKit is just way more trouble than its worth. Ironically, the only device that I've found that works with HomeKit is a Sony Android TV! That TV now controls the light plugged into the Kasa switch with Google Home. Again, the setup on the Kasa was really easy, the way it should be. The competing WeMo was hours of frustration with no results. This was the second WeMo (it was part of a 2-pack like the Kasa), and the first one was also difficult and unreliable. Unless you absolutely can't live without HomeKit, buy this Kasa. The Kasa just works. Read more
