Haven’t bought one in years, and lost track of what’s no longer supported and what’s good. Just need a couple small ones.
Thanks in advance!
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I have plugs from Meross and Aqara and both work well.
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TP-Link Tapo Apple HomeKit Smart Plug Mini is super easy to set up and inexpensive. You can get a pack of 2 plugs for $19 on Amazon.
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I liked them so much I ordered another 2 pack.
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I started with Belkin/WEMO, iDevices and iHome products. Support has gone from iffy to non-existent on them. RING for outdoor outlets has been fairly solid.
When things have stopped working, I moved to Meross products and have been very satisfied. My latest Meross product is a Power Strip that has 4 outlets and 4 USB-A outlets. I can control and schedule each outlet individually. I can only control all 4 USB-A plugs as a group.
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Great info, thanks to each of you!
Both of these are garbage, especially Aqara.
Do yourself a favor and get the Matter TP-Link energy monitoring plugs. You can’t use Energy monitoring when using them in homekit mode but at least you have the option.
I’m looking for plugs also. I have 3 plugs one amazon, and 2 Wemo. I would like them to work with Alexa and home kit. Issue that I’m having now is the two Wemo ones are a pain and the one that’s working I can’t set a schedule up for the lights. So looking to replace the wemos. Also I thought there was a new standard apple, Amazon were doing so maybe I can get something like that.
I think you sold me on them. Just looked at the reviews, they look good
Avoid Wemo. I had a couple plugs and they would not stay connected to the network. And support will be ending in the not to distant future. I have disposed of mine properly.
The new standard you are thinking of is Matter. The Aqara plugs I use are Matter Zigbee (another wireless protocol) and as I noted above work quite well. Note that Matter works over Wi-Fi and Thread, and for Thread you will need a Thread router, such as a HomePod mini or late model Apple TV. So be sure to read the fine print on any plug you are considering.
As both Alexa and HomeKit are controllers, you may not be able to use both at the same time unless you use something like Home Assistant. But I may be wrong about that, so be sure to investigate further. (I do not use Alexa.)
As for TP-Link gear, well …
FYI, Wemo has withdrawn from the smart home market entirely. No products currently offered and no support for existing products.
Probably want to decide basic smartplug or smartplug with energy monitoring, and then for maximum compatibility, should support Matter.
Physical interface is a harder choice. If only a few plugs, and you don’t have much else, than Wi-Fi by default.
If you can, choose ANYTHING other than Wi-Fi for better reliability. Thread is still up and coming, but has settled down to work fairly well.
Zigbee is still strong, but losing mindshare to Thread in the long run.
Z-Wave is popular, but not for HomeKit and more of a niche hobbyist tech.
I continue to have great success with Ikea’s line of connected plugs, bulbs and other devices. Requires their hub for Apple Home connectivity, but has been rock solid for years.
I know Wemo is stopping support. But I have had set up problems from when I purchased them. But once they were set up they were good. When I got an Amazon plug I was shocked how fast and easy the set up was.
I tried their original smartplugs a few years ago and ditched them fast. Maybe they finally improved them, but the size was weird, made it hard to use other outlets in the same wall socket or power strip, and they didn’t even have a physical on/off button on the smartplug itself.
Ikea is a big brand, but they are value-engineered for low-cost. Not suprising from a company that makes most furniture out of cheap MDF and not real wood.
To be honest, I find that is the case for basically any consumer brand these days—with Apple being an exception on hardware.
There are degrees, like most things. Ikea is more on the bottom of the quality/value spectrum, IMHO, when it comes to smart home gear.
What are the use cases for a HomeKit plug?
Sorry I not know anything about Smart Home.
Please more info
We usually put them on light sources around the house, so a single click of a light switch button will trigger all the individual lights to turn on or off. We also keep some on a timer while others are following sunset to sunrise hours.
HomeKit connectivity adds functionality to also control these via Control Center and to include the devices in scenes combining multiple HomeKit devices.
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Use case is really the same as just about any smart home device and falls into three categories:
First - Interfaces:
Provide an alternative interactive user interface for operating something that complements, rather than replaces, a physical control.
Interactive control via software (smartphone, computer, tablet, smart watch) or via physical interface (button, knob, dial, keypad, other physical tactile device).
(Note: physical controls are additional physical interfaces that typically do not require a wired connection back to the device being controlled. Simplest example is a wireless light switch that is battery operated and allows placing a switch in physical locations where desired without re-wiring, such as adding a switch to a different entrance/exit to a room where none exists.)
Second - Remote control:
Allow remote control of devices from anywhere in the world using secure, remote access from anywhere you can establish an Internet connection. Completely optional and requires smart devices with secure “cloud connections” or systems that facilitate that (Apple Home, etc.)
Third - Automation:
Allow one or more devices to be completely automatically controlled using computerized methods from simple time-of-day routines to complex combinations of conditions (triggers) and actions (scenes, macros, groups of commands).
Classic examples of beginner smart home automations include having indoor and/or outdoor lights turn on at sundown and off at sunrise. Unlike a basic timer, this automation adjusts for changing time zones and changing sunrise/sunset times automatically. (Rules can be more complex such as turn on 15 minutes before sunset and only run if no one is at home, etc.)
This time of year, classic use for smartplugs is to automated turning on and off holiday decorative lights including providing a single button (physical or virtual in an app) to turn off all decorative lights before going to bed every night instead of running around flipping many different switches in multiple rooms of the home, for example.
Side note: The “problems” one initially solve by implementation smart home device and automations often turn out to be the least interesting or useful. It is all the things you didn’t realize you want to automate or control, but become indispensible, is what keeps most people interested and gets them hooked.
Smart plugs and smart lights or smart light bulbs are sort of the first step and easy to understand. So they are considered the “gateway drug” to more extensive home automation.
P.S. because of the sad state of Siri right now, I didn’t even mention this: For Apple homes, voice control was one of the original use cases - Being able to control lights and other devices with simply a voice command.
Fun fact - the very first version of Apple Home only had voice control. Apple didn’t even have an app to control anything by any other method.
And I should add that home automation has some very valuable benefits for anyone with disabilities and fits well with Apple’s strong support for using technology to improve the quality of life for those with physical or other challenges.
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