Digital Electric Timer Plug Socket - 12/24hr Smart Socket Timer UK Plug – Latest Anti-Theft Function - Easy Set-up - 16 Interval Settings - On-Off Programs - Energy Saving Timer Plug Socket | iN TECH

Product Information

We tested the Meross plug by hooking it up to a television and connecting it to all three voice assistants. We were able to turn the TV on and off with voice using Alexa, Google or Siri, which is very useful in our test household, where we’re eternally confused as to who controls what. The perils of life as a smart home tech reviewer. Unfortunately, they are designed to pair only with the Alexa app. However there are various ways in which they can be made to work with some select third-party apps such as Google Home. It also allows you to set up schedules for turning power on and off. These can also be countdown timers and – most usefully for lights – schedules based on sunset and sunrise which you can customise to your heart’s content.

Enter the time of day you would like your smart plug to perform the specific action. Note: You can set it up to perform this action as repeatedly as you want. It connects to an existing power outlet and can be used with any appliance that has a standard plug on it - the possibilities are endless. Smart plugs can also be useful for monitoring how much energy an appliance is using. The figure, which is usually in Kwh can be viewed in the companion app. However, some smart plugs also allow you to add the energy cost and work out a monetary value for this energy usage too. Do smart plugs help you save energy? The plug is really designed as an accessory to add lamps to your Wiz smart lighting setup – and the app has a circadian rhythm feature where you can set all your Wiz lights to help you relax or wakeup. But you can put anything you want into this compact smart plug and turn it on or off, set a schedule for it or create a scene. There’s also a vacation mode that will simulate presence for you. With smart plugs, it's also important to consider the number of outlets a smart plug offers. The majority will have one, but if you have several devices close together than you want to control from your smartphone, a power strip, which can have up to four smart outlets in one device, will be a more cost effective solution. You can turn the switch on and off via the Apple Home app in iOS 10, or using the Eve app. There’s a button on top for manual control as well.Tap “Rules” then “Create Rule” and enter name(optional), start time, and end time(optional). You can also choose to make the smart plug repeat the specific timer action by tapping on the S( Sunday), M( Monday), T( Tuesday), W( Wednesday), T( Thursday), F( Friday), and S( Saturday) buttons below. Otherwise, tap on the plus icon next to “Add Action” and enter the action you would like your smart plug to perform, for example, “ Turn Off The Lights.”

This very simple routine will now automatically turn on your bedroom light when you say “Alexa, good morning”, and then one hour later the lights will automatically turn off. You can easily add other devices and actions to this routine, like getting a weather report or turning on your coffee machine. You can even chain a few wait commands in there to have an ongoing routine that turns things on and off according to the timers that you’ve set up.Based in China, Meross began life in 2016, set up by former Microsoft and TP-Link peeps, and they’ve been quietly churning out quality smart home products that work with Alexa, Google, SmartThings, and IFTTT, as well as Apple’s HomeKit for a few quid more, ever since. The Hive Active Plug is also relatively small, making it one of the most discreet (if not stylish) options available. However, we did run into some initial hiccups during set up[, so you may need to persevere.