@Tin_Foil I don’t know. At least it isn’t February 2nd.

@boygenius1991 I got the same question here

@boygenius1991 Essentially they make it so that whatever you have plugged into it, you can turn on and off from an app on your phone. Also has a feature called smart scene on the app where you can make it do things like, at sunset (figured out by your zipcode), the switch turns on. Also, you can hook it up to alexa or google home and say things like “Alexa, turn off living room” and it turns the switch off. Does that help?

@boygenius1991 best guess think the clapper but via wifi instead of clapping

you use it to unplug appliances (like the power sucking cable box) when you’re not using it reducing the amount of phantom power they draw

@communistjack by substituting a new power draw in the form of a WiFi transmitter/receiver?

@boygenius1991 It lets you turn things off and on from another area of the house.

I have a decorative lamp that takes weird bulbs. I’d love it to use something like the Hue bulbs that connect to a hub, but nope. Weird bulbs. With this, I can turn that lamp off the same way I control the hue bulbs.

Or I can connect my Christmas tree which I invariably cant remember if I unplugged it and have to get out of my warm bed at 3am and check or I’m 100% sure my house will catch on fire caused by LEDs and tinsel.

It’d also be perfect for a heater or fan, again because I dislike getting out of my bed.

Basically, you can cut things off by yelling at an AI. And this is why Skynet got angry.

@mandirose An old fashioned timer can be set to turn the lights on at sunset… and off when you normally go to bed. Just sayin’

@Kidsandliz but the time I come home varies and so does sunset and I don’t go to bed so much as pass out and also a timer can’t help me when I decide I need the other kitchen light on, you know the one over the sink and not the one in the breakfast nook or over the island, and my hands are covered in a slurry of chicken blood and E. coli I’d rather not smear on my switches.

@Kidsandliz Once you get these types of things (I own TP-Link brand) setup, which is relatively easy, you will LOVE being able to substitute them for traditional timers. Being able to adjust the time schedule without unplugging the darn thing (or lying on your belly with it plugged in), being able to turn devices on and off from wherever you are, knowing the power in your home is working, etc. are all really great benefits - particularly when you have to leave the house unattended while on trips, etc. - is wonderful. Plus, the programming is stored in the cloud, so you can leave these in a drawer for a year and get them back out as needed, plug them in and be all setup in a minute. I’m setting my watch for 8am hoping to grab a set.

@Kidsandliz And blinkers can be set by pushing on stalks!

@Kidsandliz Not by just saying: Alexa turn on the lamp!! just sayin’

@tartanknickers Never heard of Ohmconnect before, cool idea. I bet it will face a lot of resistance, though.

@Stallion “Mercury” but with more trademark lawyers

@awk

I skipped directly to the fifth paragraph - does that count?

@Brasssong Has anyone created a clapper skill for Amazon Echo yet?

@medz I don’t know. but that’s a great idea

@cengland0 I’m guessing because only some of the switches have energy tracking so they don’t want to show a feature that is not available for all their products, when you add the switch in the app it has that feature available specifically for that switch.

@mandirose Ok, I’ll trust you and buy but it better do that. I don’t care about it turning on and off, just energy tracking.

@mandirose What @cengland0 said.

@psantora Shouldn’t be a pipe dream now HomeKit doesn’t require the dedicated chip (as of last month) but the cheap stuff doesn’t usually get the support. Womp.

@armchair I know I saw some articles about the change to HomeKit at the time, but I can’t seem to find relevant documentation about it now… any chance you have a link handy?

@psantora https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/8/15761800/apple-homekit-updates-ios-11-easier-build-requirements-wwdc-2017

@craigthom It does have a feature in the app called “Smart Scenes” that is similar to IFTTT. If you have a specific function you’re looking for I can try to figure out if it’s available in the app.

@craigthom will this work with a plug-in AC unit?

@psantora Sure will, in fact you can create a smart scene that says “If the temperature outside gets to X temp, turn switch to ON”

@mandirose wouldn’t an AC unit draw more than 10 amps?

@psantora Good catch, sorry about that, don’t have as much knowledge on how many amps yours/anyones AC unit would draw.

@psantora Small ones might be less than 10A… but I’d also be worried about surges from an inductive load frying the plug. I usually avoid plugging motors and stuff like that into electronic switches (unless I know they have a soft start).

@psantora You could probably find a lower BTU rated unit under 10A. But then there’s the dreaded compressor start surge. I wonder if these can handle brief surges over 10A.
Edit: sorry @awk, I post-posted after you posted.

@mandirose 10 amps sounds absurdly low, but I don’t really know enough about power draw to be sure. How many amps does something like a 29 watt USB - C iPhone or MacBook charger take? What about a cheap Ikea lamp?

@psantora 10A @ 120V is around a kilowatt depending on the load

@psantora about 1/4 amp for the charger. Give it 1/3 to account for inefficiency. Miniscule if the Ikea lamp is LED. About 1/3 amp if it’s 40w incandescent.

@psantora your average household circuit is usually rated for 15A and that’s usually shared throughout a room. Air conditioners are particularly amperage intensive devices. Quick research seems to indicate the 29W Apple charger draws 2A. The lamp if it’s running an LED bulb should be nearly negligible.

@jbartus 2A seems wrong… You should be able to find the amperage printed on the adapter somewhere

@jbartus 2A on the 5V side is a lot less on the 110V side.

@mandirose What IFTTT provides is a way to have different services trigger other services, which the app isn’t going to do. For example, “turn on the outlet if it’s raining”. It’s the ability to combine things that makes it useful.

It can also be expensive to have skills available for your product, which is why a lot of products don’t have them. That’s how IFTTT makes money.

@craigthom I just checked the geeni app and in the “smart scene” area you can choose the condition “rain” under the weather condition to turn on or off the switch.

@craigthom

@mandirose OK, blink the light when your pizza is ready to be picked up.

@craigthom yeah hence my follow up post I knew it sounded wrong

Wow.

…

@phatmass Is that an alien about to burst out?

@phatmass “Maybe this is the way out… Nope, nope- lemme try something else.”

@ruouttaurmind The Spaceballs spoofed version:

@djslack My new favorite order number/phrase.

@ruouttaurmind see my above reply to @craigthom about that. Let me know if you have specific question and I’ll try my best to answer

@mandirose I have some D-Link motion sensors and was hoping this would work with IFTTT to turn on lights when the motion sensors detected activity.

@ruouttaurmind you win that would not be an applicable smart scene

@mandirose OR… I lose because that would not be an applicable smart scene? Unless ya consider saving $20 a win?

@Pantheist I would imagine very little because it’s receiving a Wifi signal – not transmitting. It’s only transmitting when polling for a status update, otherwise it’s probably sleeping. Your smartphone has Wifi in it and can last a couple days on a single charge of a battery and has many other functions that are running all the time.

@cengland0 Bad example in my case- unless I turn off wifi the battery only lasts about 6 hours on my phone. I think that has more to do with the age of the battery and apps updating though.

@Pantheist I use an iPhone with just Wifi and it will last nearly a week on one charge. I do not have any carrier service on it but use it for google voice and making daily reservations through the LA fitness app. You might have a bad device or battery if it is only lasting 6 hours with Wifi on.

My primary phone is a Samsung s7 edge and it can last an entire day with all the stuff I put it through which I think is impressive.

@cengland0 It’s a 5 year old phone and battery, so probably.

@LankHairdoo Totally forgot about X-10, that was the stuff I thought was neat but I couldn’t afford as a kid… probably why I got into DIY home automation.

@LankHairdoo I started with X10 and later upgraded my entire house to use Insteon. Been satisfied with that conversion. Seems more reliable than X10 since each device acts as a repeater so I rarely have a device that doesn’t respond to commands.

@lsamber Don’t give up yet! I answered your message.

@mike808 I could see a use for this as a way to activate your lights, etc. while you’re away from home.

@mike808

@Thumperchick So you save energy by turning on lights when you’re not even there? Sign me up for your newsletter.

It is cheaper than having kids so they can house sit, though.

@mike808 I was thinking more like potential burglar deterrent…

@mike808 I know it’s a difficult concept, but the lives of others may not be like yours, and the ways they use things may be ways you haven’t considered.

@mike808 You think it’s more economical to pay $20 to use a kill-a-watt meter than $10 for this wifi unit because it consumes power? I have several kill-a-watt meters and they also consumer power. At 11 cents per kwh (electricity is cheap where I am due to provider being a co-op non profit entity), it would have to consume 90,909 watt hours to get my $10 back.

@cengland0 Yes, for three main reasons.

1. This dongle can’t measure usage for my fridge or media computer.
2. I dont want to turn either of those off remotely, and I certainly don’t want someone else to. Because for $10, I guarantee your security wasn’t a priority for this non-top brand known for IoT expertise.
3. Not UL certified. Why risk a fire started by this $10 item while you’re away.

I know this might be hard for you, but other people don’t live the way you do or have cheap electrical power.

Still not buying, but y’all go right ahead and buy this junk.

@mike808

This dongle can’t measure usage for my fridge or media computer.

Huh, What?!?! Why can’t you measure usage for your fridge or media computer? That’s exactly what I have planned for these. I bought six (3 pairs).

1. Fridge
2. Freezer
3. Entertainment Center
4. Wiring Closet
5. Entertainment Center amplifier (separate monitoring)
6. Spare

Please tell me why you believe I cannot use it with any of those items. I’m planning on using them for monitoring only with the exception of turning on and off the amplifier because that consumes a lot of power in the off state (I can tell because it gets very warm even when I’m not using it).

Not UL certified. Why risk a fire started by this $10 item while you’re away.

It’s not UL certified but it is ETL certified. Same certification, different company.

I dont want to turn either of those off remotely, and I certainly don’t want someone else to. Because for $10, I guarantee your security wasn’t a priority for this non-top brand known for IoT expertise.

I am only buying these (except for one) to monitor usage and not going to turn things on and off with them. What’s wrong with that? You may have your wifi open to all your neighbors but I have my locked down hard.

I know this might be hard for you, but other people don’t live the way you do or have cheap electrical power.

That’s fine to think that way but you’re making assumptions these take a lot of power and I’m making the opposite assumption. Do you know how many watts they consume?

@cengland0 ETL is not the same as UL. ETL is cheaper and doesn’t certify the exact item you have. ETL certifies a prototype, not the actual product and has a huge YMMV caveat. That’s why the insurance is less or non-existent with ETL. It’s a marketing certification, not a quality tested certification.

I’m not buying because they use too much power. I’m not buying because they won’t save me more than they cost, and they won’t give me information worth more than they cost. That’s why I’m not buying them.

@cengland0 I think there’s a decent chance these outlets will need to communicate with a remote server to be function. I don’t know how this one works, but most communicate with an MQTT broker (or something similar) on the Internet, as does the app.

There may be direct communication between the app and the outlets, but I’m not going to assume that.

@mike808 UL may not test the exact item you have either.
You are allowed to make changes to a tested/passed UL product and keep UL certification. You just need to update them on the change and support there is no significant change which would require UL re-testing.

@mike808 ETL certifies to the exact same UL standards. There is no difference in the procedures.

Leviton products are ETL certified just the same. You’ve heard of them, right? They make many of the wall switches and receptacles used in residential and commercial already.

ftp://ftp.leviton.com/LevitonFTP-Public/LES/Library/TechnicalArticles/Technical Article - UL_vs_ETL.pdf

BTW, all products submitted for testing are prototypes. No company in the right mind would do a production run prior to testing.

http://news.ewmfg.com/blog/5-things-to-know-before-submitting-a-product-for-a-certification-mark

@RogerWilco Roger that, Roger.

@Jonas4321 Roger, Roger. What’s our vector, Victor?

@2many2no Those look the same. They use a different app (one that works with several other brands of cheap Chinese wifi devices, like some $20 RGBW bulbs).

I don’t know if this one will work with the same app or of the firmware is different.

@2many2no @craigthom Well, those are still ten bucks a piece, and they are Prime eligible, so I can return them for free if they’re total crap or arrive in broken or inop condition, and those aren’t “Paused until 8am so the morning crowd can blah blah blah”.

Imma give ‘em a shot on Amazon.

@fastharry Thanks for catching that. I’m out too.

@gominosensei I did some research…the amazon ones have ETL…which is Edison Testing labs (alternative to UL)…so I am hoping these do as well (same company)…I took a shot, LOL…

@fastharry Just checked the box on these and it does say ETL certified

@mandirose thank you!

@rms5846 I doubt it, since Hook is for 433 MHz RF outlets and these are wifi.

@hchavers I can’t find a manual online, but I don’t think any of the wifi chips people are using for these things don’t support security. I think it’s reasonable to assume they do, especially since it doesn’t cost extra.

Came back at 4:00 and bought another pack

@kabijj It worked! Your order number is: benign-spiffy-fighter

/image benign spiffy fighter

@HELLOALICE disappointingly neither unpleasant nor tragic

/image unpleasant-tragic-birthday

@steelopus We’re sold out except for a small amount we set aside for existing VMP members to be released at 4pm ET.

@mediocrebot Oh come on. YOU SOLD OUT WHILE I WAS TYPING THAT.

/meh

See you at 4pm, suckers.

@cengland0 They still haven’t recovered from the total eclipse.

Liking the write-up, btw.

@tomvarela You did that today, or…you do that always? Do you do that with everything you read?

Are you doing that with this comment?

@baqui63 Yeah, that was brutal.

I guess I’ll give my money to Amazon instead, and try this 3-pack of another random brand that appears to be an identical re-branded product, still priced at $10 each.

https://smile.amazon.com/KMC-Outlet-Monitoring-Required-Control/dp/B07313TH7B/ref=pd_sim_60_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SX4Z2SK6ZKSSVJ1G0BWB

@baqui63 @steelopus they are on morningsave now.

@mfladd I ordered the others from Amazon before I made my comment. We’ll all compare notes when mine arrive tomorrow, a few weeks before everyone else gets theirs.

@steelopus Thanks.

I’m about to head out for a week’s vacation (going up to the Rochester NY area… several country inns and B&B’s, Fall colors, relaxing, whatever), so I don’t need them in a rush.

Amazon charges NY State and NY City sales tax while MorningSave doesn’t (thanks to @thumperchick being a “consultant” instead of an employee), so I decided to give @snapster and crew the extra $2.45 and got them on MorningSave.

@baqui63 That’s creepy, because I LIVE in Rochester. Enjoy your visit! My hometown is severely underrated.

@steelopus Yeah, I drove past your house today but no one was home.

I’m heading back to NYC tomorrow afternoon, though we’re going back up to the rmsc in the AM for a few hours because we spent more time at the zoo than we planned on. Really nice zoo, btw. I especially like the lions… it was v interesting to be that close to a full grown male lion (less than a foot) and I got great ass pix of one of the female lions from about 18" away. Would have been totally cool if she was laying on the bus hood the other way, or even if she’d turned her had to look at me (would have been about four feet away).

@kevo152 That’s what she said.

@sammydog01 I bit, with 10% off for VMP.

@steelopus I also ordered the KMC branded ones but haven’t messed with them yet. Good to know they function as intended.

@steelopus I ordered the Merkury brand ones and now want more. will the KMC’s work on the Geeni App?

@stevcruise I didn’t try using the Geeni app, but I bet they will work.

@fastharry This was buried in an Amazon comment for an identical rebranded outlet. Give this a try… clearly written by someone for whom english isn’t the primary language, but it’s not too hard to follow.

Notes From Seller - Many of these you may have already done and can skip):

Download “smart life” APP and connect KMC smart plug
Registered smart life account

1. Make sure your Google Home is powered on.
2. Connect your mobile phone to a WiFi network that can access Google services, which is Google Home
   Connected to the network.
3. Open the Google Home app on your phone.
4. Select the Acceptance of the lower right corner to agree to Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
5. Select Allow to agree that the app uses the targeting feature so that the app can discover and set the surrounding Google devices
6. On the new page page, click SIGN IN to select the Google account you have logged in on your mobile phone or add a new Google account based on the prompt
7. When you sign in to your Google Account, Google Home app scans Google that is powered on and is in the status you want to set up
   Home equipment. If the app does not find Google Home, turn on Google Home and bring your phone closer to Google
   Home try again.
8. Click on CONTINUE to find the device. If you find multiple Google devices to add, find your Google Home in the list of columns and click SET
   UP
9. At this point, the phone will try to connect to Google Home. If the connection fails, move your phone near Google Home and try again
10. When connecting Google Home successfully, click PLAY TEST SOUND and it will make sure you connect by using a prompt sound
    To the right device. After you hear the sound, click I HEARD IT to enter the next step.
11. Select the room where the Google Home is located to distinguish it from other Google devices. Then point
    Hit CONTINUE
12. Choose the WiFi where you want Google Home to connect (usually the WiFi where your phone is now), and click OK to allow
    Google Home automatically gets your WiFi password, then click CONTINUE. You can also manually enter your WiFi
    code.
13. Google Home will try to connect to the WiFi network, the connection is successful, click CONTINUE.
14. In order for Google Assistant to respond to your request, you’ll need to sign in again to your Google Account. Click SIGN UP,
    Select the Google account you’d like to use and click CONTINUE AS XXX
15. If you want Google Home to get information such as your date calendar, travel trip, etc. to provide personalized customization,
    Click ALLOW, otherwise click SKIP.
16. Set the geographic location where Google Home is located and click SET LOCATION.

Say “Ok Google, talk to Smart Life” to Google Home, hear Google Home’s response on the phone
See the binding account request on Google Home app and click LINK to enter the entry page. And then in the new window opening
Fill in your smart life app account password (including country), click Link Now to complete the binding.

1. On the Google Home app, click the sidebar menu in the top left corner and select More Settings.
2. Select Services and enter Smart Life in the list of columns.
3. Click LINK ACCOUNT to enter the entry page, and then fill in the new window in your pop-up your smart account.
   Code (including country), click Link Now to complete the binding.

Now you can use Google Home to control your smart devices. By saying “Ok Google” to Google Home,
Talk to Smart Life "to wake up Smart Life, and then you can control your bedroom light (Google
Home only currently supports only English support):
Turn on / off bedroom light.
Set bedroom light to 50 percent. (Set the lamp to any brightness)
Set bedroom light to red. (Set the color of the lamp, only the light support)
Set bedroom light to party mode. (Set the lamp mode, need product support)

@steelopus thank you…got it set up, works flawlessly,…using google home was a snap also…Thanks Brother!

@docenrique I don’t see any of that terminology in the Privacy Policy of the Geeni app, version 1.4.2, on iOS.

Where did you get your info?