If you know about Wi-Fi connections & networking, then you’ve probably heard about TP-Link before. The Kasa Smart plug is one of their latest additions, and it promises to be a cost effective alternative especially if you’re not up for spending too much money to turn your house into a smart home. The smart Wi-Fi plug can work with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for voice commands, and has support for IFTTT so that you can schedule your lights or appliances to switch on or off according to different occasions. If all this sounds interesting, then go on with this review to find out if this could be the best smart outlet for your needs.
Why We Like It – Kasa Smart WiFi Plug
Remote control of your lights and appliances through your phone or your voice get’s way easier once you have them plugged in to the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi plug. If you want WiFi outside too, take a look at our iClever outdoor smart plug review. The smart plug works with most virtual assistants, and also helps you check on your power usage through its energy monitoring feature.
- Very compact
- Easy to set up
- Away mode for home security
- No Apple Homekit support
Performance
Support for both Google Home and Amazon Alexa voice control has now become a staple among most smart plugs, and the Kasa Smart plug is no exception. Provided you get things properly set up through the Alexa App and Google Assistant, (Apple Homekit users though might have to turn to the Wemo Mini Smart Plug due to lack of support) there should be no problem. When using your phone, the app you’ll probably be using to control this Wi-Fi smart plug is the Kasa app. It’s free, has an intuitive user interface, and also works with all TP-Link devices you might have in your home. Another nifty feature that it comes built-in is the away mode, where you get to switch your lights on remotely to give the impression that you’re home even when you’re not. Another great smart plug you could use is described in our Kasa smart outdoor plug kp400 review.
Design
The design of this TP-Link smart plug is very similar to what other brands have in the market, but we’re really not complaining because what we’re most concerned about is size. The Wi-Fi smart plug measures 1.5 by 2.6 by 1.6 inches, and this lets it plug into your socket without taking up all the available space. The smart plug also has a visible power button on its side, but no LED indicator unlike the Amazon Smart Plug. This means you’ll need to depend on the Kasa app on your phone to know if the device has been set up correctly.
Value
Like most smart devices, this TP-Link Kasa Smart plug mini offers the convenience of controlling your lights in the living room or your appliances in the kitchen without you necessarily even having to be inside the house. If your lights are built-in to your houses’ wiring, then smart bulbs could still give you remote control provided you use the Kasa app to set things up correctly. In case you have a long list of devices that you’d like to also manage through the smart plug, you could connect it to a power strip just as you would the Gosund Smart Plug so that 1 plug gets to control more than one device or appliance. To adjust the brightness levels of your room, check out a dimmer that is featured in our Lutron caseta dimmer review.
Kasa Smart WiFi Plug Wrap Up
The TP-Link Kass Smart Wi-Fi plug is a good place to start if you have no previous experience with home automation. It’ll let you monitor power usage in your home, schedule when your lights and appliances should work, and have Alexa turn on/off your devices if you’re too occupied to do it yourself.
