KMC Smart Plug

Devices & Integrations
1

i saw on amazon these plugs going for 15 bucks and it says that it works with alexa! so i purchased one and now i am trying to see if there is a way to get them to work with smartthings. i googled but i wasnt able to find anything. is there a way to use these KMC plugs with ST?

https://www.amazon.com/KMC-Timing-Monitoring-Network-125V-240V/dp/B06XRX2GTQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

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This is among a series of inexpensive wifi smart plugs and switches that are controlled only through a cloud server (this time, KMCs). They then provide a device handler to Amazon (google, etc) that allows those devices to control through a user-binded cloud account. Unlikely that direct support exists at this time since a developer would need API data to be able to access.

However, there may be a way with IFTTT or with AskAlexa (both of which I am not familiar with).

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I just bought 3 of these and figured out how to make them work with SmartThings using IFTTT. The general process is as follows:

  1. Download the Smart Life app on your phone.
  2. Add your KMC plug to the Smart Life app.
    a. Just follow the instructions that came with the KMC plug. They are almost identical to what you’ll do in the Smart Life app.
  3. Link your Smart Life account to IFTTT.
  4. Create a virtual (simulated) switch in SmartThings.
    a. Instructions
  5. Link your SmartThings account to IFTTT.
    a. Make sure to allow IFTTT to control the new virtual switch from step 4.
    b. If you’ve already linked SmartThings with IFTTT, you’ll need to allow IFTTT to control the new virtual switch through the IFTTT website or the SmartThings App.
  6. In IFTTT, go to My Applets > New Applet
  7. In the +this portion of IFTTT:
    a. Search for SmartThings
    b. Select Switched On
    c. Select your virtual switch.
  8. In the +that portion of IFTTT:
    a. Search for Smart Life
    b. Select Turn On
    c. Select your KMC plug.
  9. Click Finish
  10. Repeat steps 6-9, but with Switched Off instead of Switched On and Turn Off instead of Turn On.

Now you should be able to control your KMC plug from SmartThings by toggling the virtual switch you created in SmartThings! There’s about a 2-3 second delay, but I don’t find that to be an inconvenience.

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4

Thanks for this! So, I went through the whole thing and get stuck at Step 8C. Even though I add the KMC plug to Smart Life and even create a group for it as well as able to link it to IFFT it cant find the device in IFFT on the 8C step. Just to confirm IFFT does see and link with Smart Life. I am talking about the screen that says Turn On in 8C of your steps in IFFT. It asks me Which Device/group and a drop down menu to choose but the menu only says No options found.

I know I followed your instructions so what do you think it could be? Could Smart Life changed their IFFT applet?

Thanks for the help!

5

I am actually currently looking at the “guts” of one of those devices. They are based on the ESP8266 chip like most other devices. But instead of using a GPIO from the chip, the seem to require some special sequence on the serial port in order to switch the relay on. I have contacted the manufacturer - let’s see what they say.

Other devices in the same price range (like the “BeautyFlower” or “NiceToMiTu”) look almost identical, but are much more easy to tame. As long as you need thrid party software, you don’t really own the device. However - those devices mentioned above can easily be flashed with your very own Arduino compatible operating system and will permanently sever the link to their masters. The will however integrate into your WiFi network and can be switched on or off either by directly connecting with a browser (on your computer or mobile) . For the time being we have them integrated with a home brew Alexa skill.

More about that on my blog. Happy hacking.

http://blog.michaelamerz.com/wordpress/hardware-hack-liberating-a-chinese-power-plug/

Michaela

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Sorry SupacatSF, I’m not sure what issue you’re experiencing. I was always able to see my plug listed in the drop down. My plugs still work, so I don’t think they’ve changed anything between IFTTT and Smart Life. I wish I could be of more help!

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Thanks for the help. Turns out I had a different KMC plug that wouldn’t work. As soon as I bought a different one all is happy and working. Thank for the help and Happy Holidays!

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Thanks for this… I got a Smart Life smart plug for Christmas from one of my kids and I was determined to use it with ST. Ideally I would have preferred a Z-Wave switch of course but hey it was a present so I am grateful. Your simple recipe allowed me to link this into my existing ecosystem easily. And to my surprise the response time for the IFTTT recipe was only a fraction of a second - much less than I remember it being the last time I tried using IFTTT. I had been using Stringify instead which is very flexible, but they currently don’t support Smart Life. Thanks again… really useful.

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No problem! I’m glad it helped!

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IFTTT is an odd duck. I’ve never had it delay more than a second or so in certain functions - but in other functions, that delay can be measured in minutes.

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I am having the same issue. I have three of the ones linked in the original thread - they worked great with the IFTTT and smart life app. I bought a 4 pack of the smaller round ones and I can’t get them to show up in IFTTT at step 8c. Should I return them and buy more of the ones I already have that work or has anyone figured out a workaround? I like the size of the round ones.

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Use the app gosund and it should connect you.
Mine wasn’t working and I happened to have the other brand. I was just going to use the other brand but noticed the apps looked identical. Being a developer that tells me it’s the same company. I tried it and it connected to my echo device and everything