Amazon Smart Plug: review and what you can do

Got older appliances like lamps, a coffee maker, or a heater or fan that you wish had smart connectivity of voice control? There’s a way you can make older or dumb appliances smart; that’s by using a smart wall plug. A smart plug lets you plug in almost any appliance and gain remote app control or voice control over whatever’s plugged into it. Amazon Smart Plug could be a solution for Alexa smart homes.

Why choose Amazon Smart Plug?

While there are a lot of smart plugs on the market, many of them sold by companies you’ve never heard of, and it’s tricky to know which plugs will be a good value and which will fit into your home automation system without issues. One problem people experience when trying to make third-party plugs work with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa is that you need to connect to the plug via the third-party app and then connect that to your chosen service. Every new app and new account could increase your risk of identity theft or hacking. Once you get the account set up, you need to pair the plug through the third-party app, and that can sometimes be frustrating, as often the instructions are poorly written or downright inaccurate. Once that’s done, there’s a risk of Alexa or Assistant not recognizing the plug through the app. It can be a real headache to get connected, not to mention going through it all again if the power goes out. Amazon has decided to enter the plug market themselves, which could be a real relief for many. Their Smart Plug is compact, built to fit in a standard wall plug while leaving room to make the other outlet usable. It measures 80mm by 57mm by 38mm and is rated to 120VAC at 15 Amps.

On-device control or use the Alexa app.. or voice control

There’s a button on the side of the plug used to turn the plug on or off and connect to the Alexa app. You won’t need a hub of any kind, and with both products being from Amazon, there’s no extra step or app in the middle to confuse things. Take care of set up, and suddenly you’re connected to Alexa.

How to set up an Amazon Smart Plug

Simply plug the Amazon Smart Plug into an AC outlet, and open your Alexa App. The app should recognize the plug right away and add it to your device list. If not, you can add it the usual way by tapping the devices icon at the lower right of the screen and tapping the + icon to start the connection. After that, you can immediately say, “Alexa, turn on First Plug,” as that will be the default name given to the first plug you set up. The Amazon Smart Plug connects to a 2.4 GHz network but doesn’t support 5G or peer-to-peer networks. Also: It’s made for indoor use only.

What can a smart plug do?

Once Alexa recognizes the device, you can add it routines or create new ones specifically for the plug. You’ll also be able to use voice commands via an Amazon ECHO device or the Alexa app on your phone to turn the plug on or off. Combining the plug with other smart home devices could be a bright idea, allowing you to activate a home security routine while offsite or having a motion or light sensing device activate a command that turns the plug on to activate a light. Alexa will also allow you to create time-based routines so that the plug could turn on at 8:00 am to activate your coffee maker or turn on a light source to help wake the kids up. As the plug is a simple on/off the device, you’ll need to ensure that whichever appliance you connect will work without any other input or switches. You could use it to turn on holiday lights, a lamp by the front door at dusk, or a light in the garage or basement when you walk down there. You might also connect the plug to a fan or heater and have Alexa turn the switch on when a certain temperature is reached. There’s lots of possibilities. Managing the plug is easy inside the Alexa app. You can use the app as a remote control or talk to your Echo device. Overall this is a convenient solution for adding smart control to non-smart appliances and devices. The plug is small, only take up one outlet and it’s easy to set up and use. And at $35 CAD or about $25 USD it’s probably a lot cheaper than buying smart light bulbs, or replacing your existing lamps and appliances. *A note about Affiliate Links: Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using this link.