Strangely enough, there aren’t a lot of uses for dimmers in our home, which is usually taken care of with smart bulbs that also offer colour, but the one place where it’s specifically required is the bathroom. More on that later, but today we’re looking at the Wemo Dimmer to see why I consider it a great option, despite one seemingly large downside. Read on…

PACKAGING

Wemo has gotten their look down when it comes to presentation, with the signature luminous green ever-present, although more subtly featured on the inside of the box in this case. The front of the box features the switch, along with the ‘Built on Thread’ and ‘Works with Apple HomeKit’ badges. The top corner states this will only work with Apple HomeKit, so no Amazon or Google option here, which is in line with their other Thread-enabled devices – the Wemo Smart Plug (review HERE), and Wemo Stage Scene Controller (video HERE, review HERE). The rear of the box highlights the features of the dimmer, whilst one side goes into a little more detail, with the other side giving you the basics – it works with or without a neutral, but is not 3-way compatible. You don’t get a lot in the box, just a fold-out manual in English and French, the switch itself including a faceplate, and a jumper wire for those using neutral, that comes with a wire nut.

THE SWITCH

The Wemo Dimmer comes with a faceplate as standard, although like was the case with the Stage Scene controller, they don’t quite match visually, with the switch utilising matte white plastic, and the plate glossy plastic. It’s not the end of the world, however, as the size of the switch will fit any standard decora plate. Removing the plate is easy enough, which reveals the two standard screws for securing it to your switch box, as well as a HomeKit code.

For the particular location this switch was destined, I found that the screws were a little on the short side, although that may not be the case for you. I simply used my existing screws, so it wasn’t an issue.

I already have some Aqara wall switches in the home, which have actually been great (video HERE, review HERE). The only issue with them – which to be fair is a problem for many other switches as well – is that they come with their own wires connected to the switch, that then have to be connected to the wires in the switch box with the use of wire nuts or similar. With space in the switch boxes already at a premium, along with smart switches being deeper than a standard switch, these wire nuts take up valuable room. Not so with the Wemo, as you can fix the wires in the switch box directly to the switch. Not only that, but you have two ways in which to connect the wires – either via the screws on the sides, by winding the ends of your wires around them, or via the holes in the back of the switch, that are secured with the aforementioned screws as well. These options (I went with the latter) make fitting the switch a lot less finicky, so I’m really happy they offered both solutions here.

The Main part of the switch has two dimpled buttons that turn the light on or off with a simple short press. A long press dims or brightness the lights depending on which button you press. A double press on either button sets the lights to custom brightness levels, which I’ll go into in a bit.

There are two buttons underneath the main switch, although only one of them is an actual button. The one directly above the HomeKit code is actually a tab that can be pulled out. This is for times when you want to disconnect power going to the bulb sockets when swapping bulbs out. The switch itself stays connected, however, but is non-functional until you reseat the tab.

Even though you can adjust the brightness of the lights by long pressing on either button, you can actually set a custom brightness level for both minimum and maximum brightness. This might sound like an odd feature, but for bulbs that might be brighter than needed at their highest level, or even too dim at their lowest, you can set your own limits, which can still be overridden by long-pressing anyway.

To do this you utilise the small left-hand side button below the main switch in combination with the up or down switches to set the relevant levels. Once these levels are set, you can then activate them by double pressing on the top (on) button to get to the custom maximum level or the bottom (off) button for the custom minimum level.

This brings me to the reason for specifically wanting the dimmer in the bathroom; At night if either my wife or I need to take a ‘trip’ to the bathroom, I prefer to have some light, but low, whereas my wife prefers no light on at all. Because the motion sensor can’t possibly detect who’s who when one of us enter the bathroom, the light has to be manually operated, so if I’m there I can double tap on the ‘off button’ to get to the dim level I’m happy with, whilst my wife doesn’t need to do anything at all. If for any reason she needs to turn the light on, when she presses ‘on’, it’ll still be at a low level due to a previously set up automation. This essentially allows us to have individual brightness levels at night – my preferred brightness when double pressing the ‘off’ button, and a low (but different) brightness level when my wife presses the ‘on’ switch.

These custom presets can only be set up on the device itself, as the switch isn’t compatible with any Wemo apps, and as it only works with Apple HomeKit, the framework to set this kind of thing up via software isn’t available in HomeKit.

Installing the switch does require a basic understanding of electricity and switch wiring, so I’m not going to cover this, as it would be better to consult a professional if you’re not sure, but in Taiwan, switches don’t come with either a neutral wire or even earth, so for me, it was very straightforward to fit, with just two wires to contend with.

IN THE HOME APP

Adding the Dimmer to HomeKit is easy, as expected, so I won’t be going into the details here, but as the switch uses Thread, you don’t need to be on a specific WiFi band in order to add it, seeing as it doesn’t use WiFi. When adding, you can tap in the HomeKit code although you can’t scan it, as the order of the numbers isn’t laid out in the standard two rows of four digits, and there’s no QR code, but it also has NFC pairing, which works great if your phone supports it.

The Wemo dimmer, as already mentioned, is exclusive to HomeKit, so there’s no third-party app to concern yourself with, or set up an account for. This means any future firmware updates will appear directly in the Apple Home app. This has already been the case when Wemo issued an update for the Stage Scene Controller that added Thread support.

As of iOS16, you no longer have to long-press the tile to access the dimmer slider. To turn the light on or off, you tap the icon within the tile itself, whilst tapping the tile anywhere else opens up the slider control, and by extension, the automations section and any settings.

SUITABLE BULBS

The Wemo dimmer needs dimmable ‘dumb’ bulbs in order to work effectively. You can’t use smart dimmable bulbs, and standard non-dimmable bulbs won’t work either. It’s also important to note that whilst it can work with dimmable bulbs, they’re not all the same. dimmable bulbs aren’t impossible to find here, but they’re not that common either. Luckily (or so I thought at the time…) Ikea sells dimmable bulbs made by Osram. However, soon after these were fitted it became clear they weren’t suitable. The brightness, at 1100lm, was great, but the difference between the lowest level they could reach and the brightest level was not impressive at all. I would say at the lowest level available, it looked like the lights were at 70% brightness, which is garbage, to put it mildly. On top of that, for whatever reason, the lights (there are two in the bathroom), would occasionally strobe really wildly until I turned the switch off and on again. It was clear there was a problem which I hoped was the fault of the bulbs – which turned out to be exactly the case, I’m glad to say.

After watching Shane Whatley’s review of this switch, I could see he was able to get much lower brightness levels, and after speaking to him, I decided on the same GE bulbs he tested, which have been a LOT better (I would say, the difference was ‘night and day’, but that would be corny, right…?). Needless to say, it’s best to shop around or better still stick with the brands and models recommended by Wemo themselves, based on their tests.

THREAD…NO MATTER

We’ve not gotten into Thread yet, but this does indeed use the ‘new protocol on the block’ and works really well. To check that the switch is using Thread (as opposed to Bluetooth, which is the fallback connection method), you can use the Eve for HomeKit app. In the Settings, there’s a section specifically for your Thread network. As you can see in the second screenshot, my Dimmer is listed (‘Dimmer W’), and in the settings for the switch, you can see that it’s using Thread as its method of transport. It’s also interesting to note that it can act as a Thread Router, which allows it to both spread the reach of your Thread network, as well as act as a relay for Thread devices that aren’t near enough to a Thread border router. For a switch without neutral to be able to perform such a function was a pleasant surprise, as Zigbee switches without neutral, like those by Aqara, can’t be used as Zigbee repeaters.

I mentioned at the start of the review that there’s a “seemingly large downside” to the switch. This is the fact that whilst it uses Thread, Wemo has stated from the outset, that this switch will not be able to work with Matter, and any firmware updates won’t include such support. I for one am not phased by this; even though Matter is on the cusp of finally becoming a reality, I am pretty certain that we won’t see anything even remotely close to a changed landscape, where everything – or even a fraction of current devices – magically become Matter compliant. Notable exceptions might be products by Eve, who’ve made sure they’re ready for Matter’s arrival. The reason I’m not phased is that from my perspective, Matter is largely going to do for Amazon and Google users, what HomeKit already does to a large extent – local control. On top of that, even though I do have a couple of Google smart assistant devices around the house, and can make use of Alexa built into my Ecobee SmartCamera, I’m pretty much firmly in the HomeKit camp, and as such this switch not having Matter isn’t going to make any real difference to me and my setup.

Of course, there may be a time when Matter becomes more of a requirement, but then I’ll wait for that day to come, and take the appropriate action. On the flip side, if you want to be ‘futureproof’ to some extent, which I can understand, then Wemo has also stated that a Matter version will come, although when it will arrive and whether it’ll cost more, we simply don’t know.

PERFORMANCE

Simply put – once I was able to fit decent dimmable bulbs, the switch has been excellent. Prior to fitting the switch, I was using two Hue bulbs in combination with a Runlesswire wireless dimmer switch (Friends of Hue and HomeKit compatible) and a Hue motion sensor, along with a standard Hue Dimmer switch on the outside of the bathroom. You wouldn’t be surprised to figure out that with all of these working in Hue, and motion sensor automations all programmed in the Hue app, things would be snappy. They were, and I’ve no complaints there, but I was surprised to find how fast the Wemo dimmer worked in combination with the Hue motion sensor, and the Hue dimmer switch – they were extremely fast and responsive! The reaction times for the Hue wireless dimmer turning on the Wemo dimmer switch in particular were excellent. I didn’t expect them to be as fast as an ‘all Hue’ setup, but they seem easily as fast to me, so I really have no complaints. Is this due to iOS 16, Thread, or a combination of the two? I don’t know, but I’m more than happy with the snappy response times.

as it’s sort of a toggle switch, it’s not the same as an Aqara switch, where you press it wherever and it’ll turn on and off, so in the case of the Wemo dimmer, you do have to press the right ‘dimpled’ button to turn it on or off, but given that I’m using a motion sensor to do this anyway, it’s actually a non-issue for the most part.

Do I like the design? Yes, it’s certainly uncluttered, and I was a fan of the aesthetics of the Stage Scene Controller, so as this follows the same design language, I’m quite happy with it. The only thing I would question is why they went with glossy plastic for the face plate when the switch is matte plastic.

Although I’m probably going to stick with just the one dimmer for now, as we have a second bathroom, I am tempted to get another one, and I’m not concerned about the lack of Matter support either. Instabuy!

The post Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING/CONTENTS

With Wemo’s new line of devices, including the Video Doorbell and the Wemo Stage Scene Controller (review here, video here), the company go to some length to ensure customers know that these devices are exclusive to HomeKit, at least until Matter establishes itself perhaps. Not only that, these devices will not work in any Wemo app, and are therefore tied to the Home app, and third-party HomeKit apps. This is stated on the box quite clearly, with even the ‘Works with Apple HomeKit’ (soon to be ‘Works with Apple Home’) badge in both English and French. Alongside this, there’s the ever more common ‘Built on Thread’ badge.

The rear of the box just goes through an overview of what it does and its features, including the size of the plug allowing it to be stacked with another plug, and not blocking both outlets. This is something that was the case with both WiFi models and is usually the case with a lot more smart plugs now that components allow for a smaller overall size.

There’s very little in the box, and why would there be, with only the smart plug, a concise user manual, and document outlining all manner of legal jargon etc. The manual comes with a HomeKit QR code, although you’ll also find one on the plug itself.

THE SMART PLUG

I’ve had a few smart plugs in my time, with some ridiculously large (Opro9 Smart plug), and others very compact (Vocolinc Smartbar), but this has to be the smallest North American Smart plug (for HomeKit) to date at only 53.7mm / 2.11in wide, and 30mm / 1.18in high.

As previously mentioned, the plug comes with a HomeKit code, although it’s not a QR code, only containing the 8-digit code. The reason for this is that, like the Stage Scene controller, and the video doorbell, this comes with NFC Pairing, hence the NFC icon in place of a QR code. More on that later. The opposite side is home to a large power button and a small status LED that simply lights up in white in normal operation when the plug is on. Aside from that, there’s nothing else to see in all honesty. It’s just a smart plug. Of course, the Thread support is what sets it apart from almost all other smart plugs. Here are some specs;

• Supported by Thread
• Bluetooth compatible (used if Thread isn’t available)
• Native HomeKit integration (this plug is not supported in the Wemo app)
• NFC touchless pairing
• On/Off switching up to 15A/1800W

SETUP IN HOMEKIT

As the new Wemo devices are exclusive to HomeKit and also don’t work with any Wemo app, you can add them directly to the Home app, or any third-party HomeKit app. Even though the plug has NFC built-in, when adding it, I simply couldn’t get NFC to show up, so I eventually added it by scanning the code. I’ve actually heard others with the same issue, notably Eric Welander. Still, with the code, it was easy enough to add. My WiFi network is split into 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, and I usually have my iPhone connected to the 5GHz network for speed. One of the benefits of adding a Thread device, at least in my case, is that if it’s a 2,4GHz WiFi device I’m adding, I have to connect to the 2.4GHz network in order to pass those 2.4GHz WiFi details over to the device in question. As Thread devices don’t directly connect to a WiFi network, it doesn’t matter which network my iPhone is connected to.

Whilst NFC pairing didn’t work at the time it was needed, once the device was added, I did try to see if the NFC chip was subsequently picked up by my phone within the Home app, and oddly enough it worked, although as you can see in the fourth screenshot, by that time it was already added, and as such the app told me the same.

If you’re not too familiar with or are new to HomeKit, then once the device is added, you do need to assign it to a room and name the device. In addition, because smart plugs are almost always used to control other devices, you get (admittedly somewhat limited) options as to what kind of device they appear as in HomeKit; a power point (which is what it is), a light, if for example, you have a lamp plugged into it, or fan, for the same reason.

Most smart plugs are fairly bare bones these days, and in the case of the Wemo, there are no extras at all. Eve Energy has power monitoring, although this is only available directly within the Eve app, as standard, and as the Wemo doesn’t have an app, there’s nothing to show. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing unless you want to keep an eye on energy usage, as for the most part, it’s just for turning a dumb device on and off, using a smart plug.

WEMO AND THREAD

Even though the Wemo plug uses Thread, unless you have an app capable of giving you a bit more information on that aspect, it’s not easy to tell if it’s using Thread or Bluetooth. Luckily, the Eve app has a dedicated section that shows all your Thread-enabled devices, along with a few extra details. There’s one caveat, however, as in order to see this extra level of detail, you do need at least one Eve Thread device. As I’ve already gotten an Eve Energy smart plug, I’m covered. You can see my Thread network in the app, with the Wemo Smart Plug part of it. As it’s a permanently powered device (i.e. it’s plugged into a power outlet and not battery powered), it also acts as a Thread Router, which allows it to act as a Thread signal repeater, essentially. Battery-powered Thread devices can only act as endpoints, and can’t help spread the Thread network’s signal.

Thread Routers should not be confused with Thread Border Routers, which in HomeKit are currently restricted to an Apple TV (2021 model) or a HomePod Mini. Thread Border Routers act as de facto hubs for Thread devices. The difference between a Thread Border router and, say, a Zigbee hub, is that Zigbee child devices have to be bound to a specific hub. if that hub fails, all connected devices go offline. With Thread, assuming you have more than one Thread Border Router (I currently have four, all HomePods Mini) if one of them fails, your Thread devices simply connect to the next available Thread Border Router. That’s the theory at least, and as none of my Minis has failed at this point, I can’t say for sure if this actually happens or if the process is seamless. Let’s hope it is.

SIZE COMPARISON WITH EVE ENERGY

As previously stated, this is the smallest HomeKit plug for the North American market that I’m aware of, and as you can see in the images above, it’s smaller than the Eve Energy in all dimensions. That’s not to say it’s better than Eve Energy, and in at least one way, the Eve is better due to its energy monitoring functionality, but purely on size, the Wemo has it. Not only that, but if we’re talking price, then once again the Wemo Smart Plug is more budget-friendly, with the price at the time of writing this review listed as US$24.99 on Amazon.com, compared to the Eve Energy on the same site, priced at US$39.95. Eve does offer a 2-pack at US$69.95, bringing the price per plug down to US$34.98, but that’s still almost $10 more per plug. If you don’t need energy monitoring, the Wemo wins on both price and size, but does it work as well?

THE WEMO SMART PLUG IN USE

I’ve been using the Wemo Smart Plug on Thread for a few months now, and I’ll cut to the chase here – it hasn’t let me down once. Yes, it might be hard to believe for some people, who have justifiably stated that they wouldn’t go near a Wemo device again, based on past experiences, but these seem to all have been based on Wemo devices that use WiFi, not Thread. What could be at issue is the WiFi chip inside these older devices, so taking that out of the equation, and replacing it with a Thread chip, the issue shouldn’t exist. So far, it seems to have been the case for me, as the plug just works time and again, with no lost connections in HomeKit, and no reset required. To back up the theory that having Thread has fixed a commonly reported issue with Wemo devices, I’ve found the same with my Eve Energy smart plug; no disconnections, and no reset required to date, and I’ve actually had the Eve Energy even longer. This points to Thread being essentially more reliable than WiFi inside of a device, although I could just be lucky of course. I think not though.

Aside from that, as it’s just something that turns on and off, there’s not a lot to report on like would be the case with a colour bulb, for example, so all I can tell you is that I’ve been very happy with the performance so far. The small size is great for my particular needs, and is at a price point I’m willing to pay, even when there are much cheaper smart plugs out there, like the recently released Switchbot smart plug, that is selling for just US$14.99. At this point, if I can find a device that uses Thread (or Zigbee) as opposed to WiFi, I’ll take it every time, as my goal is to strip back on smart devices that simply don’t need a WiFi connection for the small packets of data they typically send and receive. WiFi is overkill in these cases. WiFi is perfect for smart cameras and the like, but smart plugs, not really.

The post Wemo Smart Plug With Thread (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

At the time of writing, Matter, the forthcoming smart home platform/standard/protocol, has yet to make its debut, and as such, the Wemo Stage is only HomeKit compatible. As Thread is a central pillar in the development of Matter, it should become compatible with other platforms when Matter arrives.

As the box states, this is only HomeKit compatible, which was due to it only using Bluetooth at the time it was launched. The packaging is pretty stylish, and reeks of good design, which is due just as much to the switch itself, which I think is well thought out. The rear gives you some suggestions as to what you could control with the Wemo Stage, whilst the sides really just make marketing statements and basic stats for the product itself.

The product, which comes in at around US$50, comes held in place with cellophane, so it’s not likely to move around. Included is a CR2032 coin battery.

The Wemo Stage comes in three parts, all of which sit together in normal use. This consists of the switch itself, which is removable, a backplate, and an inner plate to hold the switch in place using a magnet. This magnet is also just about strong enough to also stick the whole ensemble to a metal surface, although the grip isn’t as strong as I’d like.

The aforementioned plate that holds the switch is the part that contains the magnet but also comes with some 3M strips for sticking to non-magnetic surfaces. The dimensions of this plate and screw holes are a perfect fit for other standard Decora type plates, and so if you want to place one of these next to a wired switch, it’s entirely possible.

As this isn’t a wired switch, it’s rather slim, and although the combined backplate and switch protrude more than a regular switch, there’s not a lot in it, and of course, you can take the switch with you, which you can’t do with a regular wired switch – smart or otherwise.

The switch itself features three buttons, each slightly concave, with a single, double or triple raised dot – one for each switch. Whether this is designed for you to know which button to press in the dark, or it’s a nod to people with visual impairments, I’m not sure, but it’s another small but nice touch.

The switch has a battery cover at the back, which once removed, reveals the battery compartment, a restore/reset button, and a HomeKit code, although, in actual fact, the switch also has an NFC chip inside, which allows you to add the device to HomeKit without scanning a code with the camera. You simply place the switch near the top of your iPhone (assuming it has an NFC reader built-in), and HomeKit will immediately recognise the device and begin to add it. As the switch doesn’t use WiFi, your phone doesn’t need to be specifically connected to your 2.4GHz network to add it in the way you might add most WiFi devices, that tend to use the 2.4GHz band. This was true of the device when it only had Bluetooth as an option, and is true now that it uses Thread.

Aside from the switch and the included battery, are a couple of documents, one of which, the setup guide, also contains an instance of the HomeKit code.

IN THE HOME APP

In HomeKit and the Home app, there’s not a lot to report, being that this isn’t a device you can control. This is more about it being used to control other devices, so automations aren’t the norm with this type of device. With a smart switch, it’s all down to using them to trigger a device with a single, double, or long-press, which brings us to a separate feature that came along with the Thread update; Prior to the Thread firmware, the Wemo Stage was only capable of a single press or a long press, this changed with the new firmware, which now gives you the standard three options as previously mentioned. This was a pleasant surprise that also brings the Wemo in line with most other switches (Hue Dimmers being a notable exception).

PERFORMANCE

With the initial release of the Wemo Stage, reports of really bad performance soon cropped up, and it wasn’t too long before I found this out myself. I’ve experienced poor reaction times from Bluetooth devices in the past, but this was way worse than I’d previously found, with multiple presses simply not registering, and if they did, were incredibly slow at completing the task they were programmed with. I’ve heard this with other Thread devices too, like the Nanoleaf Essentials bulbs when they fall back to Bluetooth if Thread fails for whatever reason. In the case of the Wemo Stage, the defacto state was Bluetooth, so in many ways, it was worse.

Late last year there was another update, and although it wasn’t the Thread one everyone was waiting for, I did find it did improve the switches performance markedly, albeit within the constraints of Bluetooth. However, due to it using Bluetooth, I simply didn’t use it very much.

Now that Thread has arrived, I was able to test it before and after the update, for comparison, and although it is definitely more responsive, comparing Thread to Bluetooth is like comparing a battery hen to a pitbull – there really is no comparison any more than there is between WiFi or Zigbee vs. Bluetooth. Bluetooth is simply not good enough for the smart home where speed is an important factor, which is really a defining factor for switches or bulbs.

I performed a series of tests which you can see in my separate video, and Thread really does seem to be fast. It’s all relative in many ways, as is there a lot of difference between 0.5 seconds and 0.75 seconds? Probably not once you’re used to it, but if nothing else, taking Bluetooth out of the equation also gets rid of the biggest issue with Bluetooth in that after a period of inactivity, the device (or rather the Bluetooth chip inside) will go into a state of sleep, with waking it up to perform, being a slow process. Not ideal in any way at all.

So is Thread in this device great? Yes, it is, and whilst I’ve harboured reservations with Thread due to its recent appearance, I’ve been surprised how well it held its own compared to Zigbee, which for me is still very much my ‘go to’ protocol of choice, at least for a while yet.

So would I recommend this switch, given its new lease on life provided by Thread, but also given the US$50 price? Well yes, if you need smart switches and really want Thread. For me, I’m already deep into the Zigbee side of things (mostly via Aqara), so switching over to Thread at this time isn’t something I need to do. If, on the other hand, I was starting out, I may well consider a few, although at US$50 a pop, it can become expensive very quickly, especially when you take into account the price of Aqara’s offerings.

I doubt it’ll be too long before we start to see other Thread enabled smart buttons, so Wemo may well have to make sure its design remains more unique (3 buttons, decora compatible), or alternatively look at lowering the price, as sooner or later, they won’t be the new kid on the (Thread) block. If you already have a HomePod Mini or the 2021 Apple TV, I’d suggest getting one just to get a taste of a fast wireless button, that doesn’t require a hub for once, and see how you like it!

The post Wemo Stage Smart Scene Controller (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

 

Manage Your Whole Home
Control smart lights, shades, thermostats, door locks and other Apple HomeKit products with the remote control or within the Home app.

• Store up to 6 scenes with short press and long press in the Apple Home app
• Get all your smart devices working together for your morning routine, entertainment, bedtime, and away mode
• Control smart lights, shades, thermostats, door locks and other Apple HomeKit products with the remote control or within the Home app
• Mounts easily on the wall, no hardwired installation required
• Can be stored in faceplate or removed to use as a handheld remote

Specs

Faceplate

• 84 mm (w)
• 6.4 mm (d)
• 128 mm (h)

Switch

• 66.4 mm (h)
• 32.8 mm (w)
• 9 mm (d)

Weight: 0.17 lb

System Requirements

• Designed to work exclusively with Apple HomeKit – this controller is not supported in the Wemo app
• To control this HomeKit-enabled accessory, the latest version of iOS or iPadOS is recommended.
• Controlling this HomeKit-enabled accessory automatically and away from home requires a HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad set up as a home hub. It is recommended that you update to the latest software and operating system.

General Specifications 

• Bluetooth low energy
• Thread ready
• Battery powered (CR2032)

The post Wemo Stage Scene Controller appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

• Control single-pole and 3-way lights from the wall, the App or your Voice*.
• Works with Apple HomeKit, the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for hands-free control.
• Easily set automatic schedules and timers in the app.
• Randomize lights to make it look like you’re home even when you’re not and group and control multiple Wemo devices with a single 2-second press
• Only requires one Smart Light Switch per 3-way circuit

The post Wemo 3-Way Light Switch appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll be aware that I put a lot of stock into presentation (the packaging basically), and on this count I would say that WeMo have delivered admirably. As with many of the current manufacturers of smart devices, the container that the smart plug came in was super sturdy, being made of a thick recycled (?) cardboard, enclosed in a green and white outer sleeve. Green seems to be the colour of choice these days, with iHome and Vocolinc both also opting for this colour scheme. Whether this is an effort to imbue their products with some form of ‘eco-friendliness’ I’m not sure, but it certainly works on an aesthetic level.

Once you’ve taken off the outer sleeve, you can really see that WeMo have gone the extra mile, with a lovely design on the inside of the carton – something you’d only see once you had already purchased the product, so this isn’t just to entice you, it’s to encourage and excite you into taking WeMo seriously, in that they think about the smaller details.

After you’ve open the box fully to reveal the smart plug itself, you can see that it’s housed nicely within the centre of the box, giving it little chance to move around and potentially get damaged. There’s an included manual to help with quick setup along with any problems you might have with the plug, in the form of a list of troubleshooting tips.

Ok, that’s enough about the ‘Hipster’ packaging. Onto the device itself.

At the end of the day, of all the categories of smart devices, smart plugs offer the most choice, and while some can do small things that others can’t do (like monitor electricity usage for example), they all basically do the same job of turning a ‘dumb’ device on or off, giving said device some level of automation. This device is no different to any of those in that basic respect. It’s fairly slim, or wide, depending on how you look at it, but being this slim it does offer the advantage of not taking up more than one wall socket, which in turn means that it can be stacked with another WeMo smart plug quite comfortably.

The design of the plug itself is quite unassuming, which would lend itself to blending into a typical, mainly white kitchen. Simple branding aside, the only other thing on the front is a rather convenient on/off switch, with a small LED that lights up in white, when there’s power going to the plug. Going back briefly to its dimensions, while it’s not quite as slim as the iHome iSPX6, it comes close, although it is slightly taller. it does beat out the iDevices Switch in the ‘skinny’ department, but once again it is wider/taller, so it really is down to the individual as to what works for them.

Onto the setup: As this device isn’t a ‘straight-out-the-box’ HomeKit product, with no HomeKit code provided – or even needed – the procedure was a little bit more involved; not necessarily complicated, but a little long-winded nonetheless. First off, you need to download the WeMo app to get things started. Once the app is downloaded and running, you simply plug the device into an outlet and let the app guide you through the process of initially setting it up to work with the WeMo app. Interestingly, even though the setup process for getting it to integrate with HomeKit comes later, the first thing you’re asked on opening the WeMo app is access to your ‘Home Data’, meaning your current Apple Home data. Once you’ve okayed this, you choose which device you want to set up, you’re then presented with a few tips as to setup process itself. This involves connecting your iPhone or iPad to the wi-fi signal of the plug itself in order to exchange you home wi-fi network settings. Once all that’s ‘in the bag’, the app will attempt to connect to the device itself, which in my case took a little bit of time.

It eventually spots the plug and asks you to name the device (if you so wish – I stuck with ‘Wemo Mini’). You’ll then be prompted to provide an email address to complete the process before it proceeds to finally connect directly to your home network. After that is complete, you then get to choose whether you’d like it to send you notifications.

As I already mentioned, this was a lengthy, if straightforward process, but once you’re at this point, you’ll see the smart plug show up as a device that can now be programmed or controlled within the WeMo app. Chances are that there will be at least one, if not two firmware updates awaiting you. One of these will be for the plug itself, which is reassuring to know that kinks are spotted and ironed out by way of these updates. The other is to enable the plug to work with HomeKit, which is the whole reason this is being reviewed of course! Once you’ve updated the firmware, you’ll finally get to the section that allows for HomeKit connectivity. You’re given options for connecting the plug to IFTTT, Nest, Alexa and finally, the Apple Home App. Google isn’t on this list for some reason, but you can connect to Google assistant via the Google Home app.

We’re on the home straight now, so it’s just connecting the plug to the Home app, which in most respects appears in the same way it would if you were adding a standard HomeKit compatible device, minus the part where you have to scan a code.

From here on in, like with a standard install, it’s simply a case of choosing which room the plug resides in, whether it appears as a Light, Powerpoint or Fan, and whether you wish to add it to your favourites. It will then appear in your standard Home app, along with any 3rd party apps you may use.

I’ve only been using it for about 24 hours, and so far I’ve found it to be as responsive as all my other plugs, with no real sign of extra lag from touching the tile in the app, to the corresponding on or off. The device itself emits a small ‘click’ when it’s turned on or off (which may be good for some and terrible for others), and the LED above the physical switch turns white or turns off respectively.

As previously stated, it does work with other platforms, and while it isn’t compatible with Wink, unlike the aforementioned iHome smart plug, it does have IFTTT, which may actually be of more use.

After setting the device up, I unplugged it from mains power briefly, to see if it would reconnect without any issues, and it did reconnect after about a minute or so. However, I did a second test, where I left it disconnected overnight, and on this occasion it took a full uninstall and reinstallation to get it back to where I had it, which in fact took two attempts, with the first take managing to somehow render the physical button unresponsive. A second full reset solved the issue and once I’d gone through the lengthy installation process again, it was all good.

In my final assessment, it’s great to see how devices are going to work with the new Software Authentication process, and I’m hoping that when other manufacturers do get on board, the set up isn’t as long as this one was, even though I can see that most steps seemed to be necessary. However, there are a ton of choices for smart plugs out there, and while this device is a little cheaper than many of them, you do find some good deals occasionally, which essentially boils this down to just another smart plug.

Pros

• slim, so easy to stack with another of these if needed
• relatively cheap
• good support from a reputable company

Cons

• long-winded set up process
• not great at remembering settings if left unplugged

Still, I’d recommend it for those on a budget who also don’t want to obscure two wall outlets with one plug.

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* Wemo Bridge required for HomeKit functionality

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