Today, I decided to get a Wemo WiFi smart plug. I installed a TP link smart switch a couple of weeks ago and it is working pretty good that I’m wanting a smart plug now for my desk lamp mostly because we will be going on a vacation and I want the front part of the house where my office room is… be randomly lit up at night so to give an appearance that somebody is home when we are away.
The backyard is already covered by the TP link switch which lights up the living room. If you want to check out the review for that, I’ll include the link on the description down below.
So, with this Wemo mini plug, you will be able to control lights, gadgets or appliances that are plugged in..from anywhere.
You can schedule the on/off times
and it has an “away” mode where you just put in the times you want it to be active and the lights you plug into it will turn on and off randomly so as to let everybody thinks that you are inside the house.
Plus it has a space saving design so that you can stack it and you will be able to use the other socket.
So, let’s open it up..
On the right side here we have paperwork. We have the quick start guide, numbered, pictured and pretty simple to follow instructions.
Then we have the FCC statement and that’s it for the paperwork.
We have the mini-plug itself which looks like one of those 3 outlet plugs. The design is smaller from top to bottom so that you will be able to stack and use 2 of these in a standard outlet.
It has instructions right here on the back if you want to reset and restore to factory settings.
Basically on the front is the socket itself and an on/off switch on the right side.
So, i just need to peel off all these plastic coverings and this plug is ready to be plugged in and setup.
This Wemo plug will be used to turn on and off my lamp in my office that is overlooking the street and will be used mostly for security and to make my home appear to be occupied when we are out.
I have to plug it in on a power strip under my desk, so let’s see how it works out.
I need to unplug my desk lamp and plug in the wemo plug and wait until the LED light flashes white and amber. I don’t know if you will be able to see it on the camera but it is the light on top of the on/off switch.
Then we need to download the wemo app to our smart phones. Before setting up, we need to exit the app and go to our phones wifi settings.
Click on the Wemo SSID network and then we can go back to the app…then the app will automatically know what device you have. Here, we can change the name…for me I’ll just change it to Wemo…click next..enter my email..
and choose the Wifi that I’m going to use..it only uses the 2.4 GHz wifi.
Enter the password and the plug will continue to set up…allow for the app to send you notifications and we are done with the setup….
So, let’s test it out.
Let’s plug in the light…
Now, we will turn on the light through the app..and it turns on..
then turn off..then turn on again and off…
Let’s check out the settings..on the main screen at the bottom left is the devices tab…which will show all your wemo devices that you have…I only have 1 at this time..
then we have the rules tab which where you can schedule, use the auto timer and the away mode. All the other options are greyed out because it requires other devices to be able to use.
So, on schedule you can pick which times you want the plug to turn on and off. Then you will pick which days the schedule will run. Selecting the days will turn green if you want it to run and greyed out if not. I’ll schedule mine to run on , Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sunday. Click done when you are done.
You can also change the rule name so that you will be able to know which schedule is running. Click save to save the schedule.
On the bottom right is the more tab in which there is remote access, settings and connect to IFTTT and connect to Nest. I’ll be integrating this plug to IFTTT and amazon alexa…so, I’ll be checking these settings out.
On the Away mode, you just need to put in the time you want the program to start and also an end time. The plug will then automatically turn on and off in random intervals and with a minimum of 30 mins On time.
You can easily add Wemo to alexa so as to use the voice command. Just search for the skill and enable it…click ready to verify and you need to turn on and off the wemo plug within 2 minutes time allotment…then click on discover devices and you will see that the Wemo Plug will be detected.
Now, let’s try it out.
I don’t have an echo in my office so I’m going to use my Amazon app..not the Alexa app…just an FYI for those that have Alexa on their phones..The alexa voice is in the amazon app…You can see the little microphone on the upper right corner on the right side of the search box…just click on it.
Turned on pretty good…now, let’s try to turn it off..
Great…not it works with Amazon Alexa…so, now I have voice control on it also.