Smart Home WiFi Plug (socket)
In this video I set-up a voice controlled smart plug...and while this is something that has been possible for a while now, I wanted to show that it's become simple enough for anyone to do it.
Home automation has been around for decades with the X10 systems first appearing in the late 1970s, but it’s really only been in the last year or so that I've become interested because of the ability to control devices with voice commands through an Amazon Echo. I’ve no desire to use a smartphone app to turn on a light…I’d rather get up and press a light switch, but voice control gives me that feeling of living in a 1980s science fiction movie.
The thing that attracts me to the TP Link plug I feature in this video is that it’s a sensible price and doesn’t require the additional expense of a ‘smart hub’. It’s the kind of thing you can buy on its own without committing to a specific ‘smart home ecosystem’ and if it does turn out to be useful, it's easy to expand the system at a later date as funds allow.
I hope you like this rather simple video and as always thanks for your continued support.
End Credits & Name Shuffling
I'd better mention that if your name appears in the end credits and someone next to you decides to drop out, your name might be centred on the line for a couple of videos and then move further down when another gap opens up nearby. I really never expected more than perhaps a dozen people to opt for this option, so I need to to keep it as concise as possible to fit over the outro video , I trust you understand.
UPDATE: The previously uploaded version of this video generated a lot of animosity on youtube regarding the use of an Amazon Echo so I took it down, did a minor edit and re-uploaded it. I left this one unlisted so as not to agitate the subscribers who had already received a notification for the earlier upload. It's now only visible here on Patreon & Techmoan.com
UPDATE 2: I can't really afford to lose a full week's work, so I've made a more comprehensive edit by adding a disclaimer at the beginning and I'm going to give it one more shot as a public video. Apologies if it turns up in your feeds again, youtube won't let me set a video as public without simultaneously announcing it to the world. This should happen later today (Friday 16th June).
I'll have a brand new video for you in a few days. It's another forgotten format.
Comments (23)
Great video - enjoyed the Muppets at the end of the revised version (and the incidental music over the Amazon warning). Don't understand the anti-Amazon brigade.
I apologise if this video turns up in your youtube feeds again - there's no way to turn off all the subscriber notifications entirely. After a re-edit I'm trying once more to release this one as a public video. I've added a section at the beginning to warn the people who have an aversion to the Amazon Echo to stop playing the video before it starts. I really hope that this time any anti-Echo sentiment doesn't overshadow what was supposed to be a simple video about how a voice-control smart plug has proved useful to me in accessing hard to reach plug sockets.
Great video, it was a pleasure to watch it. The muppet scene was funny :D
Thanks for this video. I've just been to Costco to buy a pair. Not needing additional devices to control it is a big attraction. It seems to work just as well with Google Home as with the Amazon Echo.
I'm glad it's worked out for you. It's more than likely you'll pick up another couple next time you visit.
RE: Missing video on YouTube. Hater gonna hate. DO MORE SMART HOME TECH VIDEOS.
I was disappointed with the WeMo. It frequently had trouble connecting to wifi even though the router was in the same room. Also it does not work with apple HomeKit. I currently have the Elgato Eve Energy which has worked well since I got it last year. It integrates with HomeKit and provide lots of stats and graphs that show things like energy consumption. On the down side it is quite a bit more expensive than the tp link. I see that there is an energy version of the tp link, I'll bear that in mind for the future.
Ah that explains why it disappeared after my battery went flat halfway through watching it. I thought it was good. As well as being cheaper, I've found the TP Link units more reliable than my WeMo. The WeMo likes to randomly reset and I've found updating and re-pairing them a lot more cumbersome than the TP Link.
I'm in the process of re-uploading it as a Patreon (& website embedded) only video. It will reappear above asap.
In case my first comment above seemed out of context, I am providing this comment, and I edited my original comment. 1] I enjoyed the device review. I enjoy all the reviews on this channel. 2] I got the humor about the device being part of the ‘spy portal’ system, my comment was not based on irritation. 3] I provided articles from NPR and Wired as backup, so it was not my opinion, and was not from ‘Conspiracy Theory Monthly’. Devices are listening, and corporate and government parties may/could/do want that information, and could in practice extract it, the only issue is whether the device owner is concerned about the issue. 4] Whether a person is worried about the privacy issues surrounding an ‘always on listening device’, this is a personal choice. My business partner of 10 years says privacy is a thing of the past, but I note he does not have a live stream of his wife's activities, and especially not of what is happening in their bedroom or shower, so there is clearly a limit even he is comfortable with. I used to be a private investigator in graduate school, and I know a thing or two about such devices, and I happen to choose not to have such devices around, though I have been places they are, and I have used them and I also thought they were great fun. The choice is personal, and can be based on preferences, or facts, or the lack of facts. 5] There are at least a dozen good articles which outline concerns, but I did not want to come out 'guns blazing' and overdose the issue, I don't feel that strongly about it, I just wanted to make a short comment about something I happened to have some knowledge of. Security researchers (hackers) also wrote an excellent book on this topic, called When Gadgets Betray Us <a href="https://www.amazon.com/When-Gadgets-Betray-Infatuation-Technologies/dp/0465031382" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/When-Gadgets-Betray-Infatuation-Technologies/dp/0465031382</a> which would probably give one the heebie-jeebies if one were to read it. It was a good read, and spooked me a bit (readily available current technology that can read the unencrypted contents of the chip on your credit card at 30 feet), and I thought I already had a great feel for issues involved.
Since you have an iPhone. You should mention if it works with Apple HomeKit.
I really don't know anything about HomeKit...beyond hearing the name mentioned I haven't got a clue about what it does.
Wow, I actually had something before you reviewed it instead of after ;-)... Love these things and bought them when Amazon had a special on them. Echo is a nosy little thing and comes on a very odd times thinking I'm talking to it. It is useful. I wish it had the brains of Siri because Amazon's natural language query is pretty bad. I did the same thing as you and bought a couple and liked them so much, I bought 3 more. I use mine for timed lights, other lights in our living room, a computer monitor and a fan. Echo is also great for controlling my thermostat (Nest)
I might not wear a tinfoil hat but I have read 1984 ;-). Top muppets.
If a person does or does not want a 'smart' home device which listens and talks to you, that is fine. We all have our thoughts on privacy. As far as whether Amazon is listening or the government wants what is being listened to, this would not be a not a tinfoil hat issue. I have attached articles from NPR and Wired, not known to be conspiracy based sources <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/28/507230487/as-we-leave-more-digital-tracks-amazon-echo-factors-in-murder-investigation" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/28/507230487/as-we-leave-more-digital-tracks-amazon-echo-factors-in-murder-investigation</a> <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/02/murder-case-tests-alexas-devotion-privacy/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.wired.com/2017/02/murder-case-tests-alexas-devotion-privacy/</a>
If the government wants to listen in to someone, I would expect them to target the victim's phone. There are legit apps that can turn an old phone into a baby monitor, so in theory they could have Google/Apple remotely deliver a similar microphone transmitting app that is either hidden or impersonates a system process name/icon.
bought a couple of these a few weeks ago, had vouchers for maplin then got some Lightwave RF stuff too - been playing with the lot saving up for dimmable LED bulbs
ROFL @ the muppets. Very good one this time!
Stop saying Alexa! lol
Neat, was thinking about getting something like this recently, but price and laziness doesn't always go together after all..
Best muppet skit so far! ^_^ Highly amusing episode as always!
Before this go public, you may want to remove your private email, as visible at around 8:00
Oooh thanks - didn't spot that.