I’m looking for recommendations for a good line of smart outlets that work with SmartThings. It also needs to function with Alexa, if this helps.
I have one of the iHome outlets now and it’s a piece of garbage. Took about 4 hours initially to get it working and yesterday I changed my WiFi device. Every other device and app I have synced back without issue, but not the iHome. The app would not find the outlet. Resetting the outlet a dozen times did not help. I finally had to delete it and unplug it for 8 hours and plugged it back in, still nothing. I reset it again and it was finally found in the app but would not connect to WiFi. I tried five or six times and it would either time out or give an error saying it was not paired and would have to go through the entire procedure again. I’m fed up and will be returning it.
What outlets have you used with SmartThings without issues? I have a TP-Link and it has always worked great but isn’t SmartThings compatible, but since it works with Alexa, I can still use it.
Any pocket socket or in wall receptacle that works with SmartThings can then work with Alexa because of the SmartThings/Alexa integration.
The following discusses the different features that different pocket sockets have, so it might be of interest.
I bought two different iHome devices and returned both of them. They just kept disconnecting and judging from the Amazon reviews that was true for a lot of people. But I’ve heard that the new ISP eight is better than the ISP six which I had. I haven’t tried one of those though.
As far as specific brands, the Aeon smart switch pocket socket has given a lot of people a lot of headaches. It’s fiddly to pair and there seems to be a runaway race condition if you have two of them close together and they are both reporting energy which can flood your network. And some of the very cheap zigbee pocket sockets, including orvibo, seem to have a problem staying connected for some people.
But other than that, I think most of the Z wave pocket sockets, the Z wave in wall outlets, and the better quality zigbee pocket sockets all seem to be good.
The Lowe’s iris smart switch pocket socket is very popular as a zigbee device because it’s inexpensive. It’s supposed to also act as a Z wave repeater, but a number for community members have reported that that functionality seems to be inconsistent. Still, looked just at as a zigbee pocket socket, it’s a popular choice.
The TP-Link socket doesn’t work with SmartThings but does with Alexa. Unless you know a trick that I don’t, it isn’t found by ST app and can’t be added manually. I can control it only through the Kasa app or Alexa. I can’t set schedules or events in ST for it, so I don’t think it’s ST compatible.
The one I have is the iSP8, so I can tell you it isn’t better.
Right, it’s the other way around: A switch that can be controlled by SmartThings can then also be controlled by Alexa. But some of the switches that can be controlled by Alexa cannot be controlled by SmartThings. There are rumors that there will be a TP Link integration later this year, but nothing confirmed.
There are some community members who have set up their own server that they then use as a middleman so they can use their TP link Wi-Fi pocket sockets with SmartThings. That’s more than most people will do, but it does tell you that a lot of people really like those devices.
But I’ve heard that the new ISP eight is better than the ISP six which I had. I haven’t tried one of those though.