# Alexa enabled smart switch article **URL:** \ **Category:** Devices & Integrations\ **Tags:** alexa\ **Created:** [September 16, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953 "2017-09-16T12:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tpip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tpip](https://community.smartthings.com/u/tpip)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/1 "2017-09-16T12:50:19Z")
> **[Best Smart Switches for Amazon Alexa](https://www.androidcentral.com/best-smart-switches-amazon-alexa)** > > Because turning on things with your fingers is so 20th century ... ---
**Author:** ![JDRoberts](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/jdroberts/32/56577_2.png) [@JDRoberts](https://community.smartthings.com/u/JDRoberts)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/2 "2017-09-16T13:06:41Z")
Strange article. One Phillips hue switch which actually doesn’t work with Alexa, although the lights that it controls do. One $50 WeMo Wi-Fi switch. And one mention of Lutron Caseta switches but without a mention of the SmartBridge you need to make those work with Alexa. For an android readership, I’m surprised they didn’t mention the TP Link switches which tend to be less expensive and are very popular for people who don’t want to buy a hub: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EZV35QU/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EZV35QU/) And the Leviton WiFi dimmer is both $30 cheaper and better engineered than the WeMo one the article mentions [https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-DW15S-1BZ-Universal-Incandescent-Required/dp/B01NASBN1V/](https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-DW15S-1BZ-Universal-Incandescent-Required/dp/B01NASBN1V/) To be clear, only the Lutron would also work with SmartThings, although you could get the Z Wave version of the Leviton and get Alexa control through SmartThings that way. But just considered as a standalone article, even though it’s using Amazon affiliate links, it looks like the selection you would find at your local Home Depot. So if anyone is researching this issue, I suggest they look a little deeper. 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![marktheknife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@marktheknife](https://community.smartthings.com/u/marktheknife)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/3 "2017-09-16T13:21:55Z")
Seems like a common tactic among many of these tech “journalists,” i.e. throw together a crap article with a bunch of essentially random devices in the hopes of getting people to click on affiliate links. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![JDRoberts](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/jdroberts/32/56577_2.png) [@JDRoberts](https://community.smartthings.com/u/JDRoberts)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/4 "2017-09-16T13:26:57Z")
> [@marktheknife](#): > > Seems like a common tactic among many of these tech “journalists,” i.e. throw together a crap article with a bunch of essentially random devices in the hopes of getting people to click on affiliate links. 🙄 I agree that’s a common tactic, but in this case, I think the writer is a little more sincere: they seem to be describing the solutions they picked for their own home. Which can make for a good article as long as they describe it that way. And of course often the article writer doesn’t write the actual headline. I did get the sense that this writer had tried the actual devices they were writing about, which is good. So I guess my own feeling thinking it over is if this is just been a “adding switches to my Alexa set up” article, I would’ve been fine with it. It’s when it looks like it’s going to be a consumer reports type structure but it isn’t that it seems strange to me. Writing about what you yourself did is very different than offering options for a General audience. So I think the headline, “best Alexa switches” doesn’t fit the article. But as a personal experience article, it’s not bad. 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![tpip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tpip](https://community.smartthings.com/u/tpip)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/5 "2017-09-16T14:23:58Z")
Click bait journalism is the new modern journalist methodology. I only linked the article for some that might need ideas for switches. I don’t have or currently plan to use smart switches. ---
**Author:** ![JDRoberts](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/jdroberts/32/56577_2.png) [@JDRoberts](https://community.smartthings.com/u/JDRoberts)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/alexa-enabled-smart-switch-article/98953/6 "2017-09-16T14:32:45Z")
Since you aren’t using smart switches yourself, you may not be aware that there are now quite a few light switches which will work with Alexa but which do not work with SmartThings. This is true of most of the Wi-Fi switches. People may still be OK with that depending on the specific use case, but it’s just something to be aware of. For example, Leviton makes switches that look identical but use different communication protocols. They have one dimmer switch model which comes in Bluetooth, HomeKit, Wi-Fi, Zwave, and Zigbee. The Bluetooth model only works with their own app. The Homekit model only works with HomeKit. The Wi-Fi model works with Alexa and with their own app, but not with SmartThings. The Z wave and zigbee models don’t work with the Leviton app, do work with SmartThings, and can work with Alexa via SmartThings. So it can get very confusing!