How To Use Amazon Smart Plug To Make Your Appliances Smart

| Published: Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 17:18 [IST]

Smart home appliances have become increasingly popular in India. The fancy IoT-enabled home setup that responds to your voice commands and switches on/off daily use appliances adds a great deal of convenience to the daily routine. However, not everyone can afford the diverse set of household consumer products that add AI intelligence to your non-smart home. Thankfully, the market offers some clever solutions to help you create a similar 'Smart Home' setup at a fraction of the cost of investing in IoT-enabled appliances.

We are talking about 'Smart Plugs'. The tiny and affordable smart devices can transform your ordinary home into a smart home with little investment. Today we will be focusing on Amazon Smart Plug. Priced slightly on the expensive side (Rs. 1,999) the Amazon Smart Plug is a single 3-socket 3 Wi-Fi plug that can help you control regular fans, lights, kettle, TV, etc. with just voice commands, provided that you have an Amazon Alexa-powered smart speaker and a working Wi-Fi connection.

Let's find out more about the Amazon Smart Plug and how to use it to transform your house into a 'Smart Home'.

Amazon Smart Plug Specifications

Electrical Ratings- Input: 220-240 V~, 50/60 Hz, max. 6A, Output: 220-240 V~, 50/60 Hz, max. 6A
Network Connectivity- 2.4 GHz, 802.11 b/g/n, Does not support 5 GHz networks
Voice Assistant Support- Amazon Alexa, Does not support Google Home
Warranty- Limited Warranty for one year

Must-Know Technical Details About Amazon Smart Plug

You must know some important technical details about the Amazon smart plug before setting it up. The smart plug supports a maximum load of 6A and it should not be used to control heavy appliances such as AC, geyser. or a water heater. Amazon mentions that using its smart plug with such heavy devices might result in the appliance and plug failure.

Further, the Amazon Smart Plug must be connected to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. Last but not the least, the smart plug works exclusively with Alexa voice assistant, and Google Home isn't supported.

How To Setup Amazon Smart Plug

Plug in the smart plug into the socket that you want to make smart.
Open the Alexa app and click the ‘+' icon to add the plug into your devices' list.
Select ‘Plug' from the list and click on Next.
Scan the QR code on the bundled quick start guide to add the device or press and hold the power button on the plug until the LED starts flashing blue and red.
Press Next to continue setup.
Give Wi-Fi access to the smart plug.

Amazon Smart Plug Performance

Post setting up the plug, you can use your smartphone or can just give voice commands to your Alexa-powered smart speaker to switch on/off the home appliances connected to the socket. You can use the plug to switch on/off a fan, table lamp, mobile charger, kettle, etc. I have set up the Amazon smart plug to control my TV and audio system and it comes in quite handy.

The Alexa app also allows you to set up routines for the smart plug to automate the process. If you have plugged in the smart plug to control a table lamp on a bedside table, all you need to do is give a voice command to the Alexa-enabled smart speaker to run the routine. For example, you can simply say- Alexa, good evening to switch on the living room light or Alexa, good night to turn off the bedroom light or a TV connected to the plug.

Amazon should also add schedules or timer functionality that should automate the process of switching on/off appliances without giving any voice commands to an Alexa-powered speaker.

Moving on, the Amazon smart plug also supports ‘Power State' retention that ensures the appliance goes back to its last state (on/off) if you experience any power outage. The feature works without any glitches and adds convenience to your daily routine with electrical appliances at home.

Should You Buy Amazon Smart Plug?

Amazon Smart Plug is a neat solution to give your home a smart makeover. It is priced slightly higher than most smart plugs selling in the market; however, the seamless functionality and the convenience it brings is unmatchable if you have already invested in Amazon Alexa-powered products. The smart plug can be purchased from Amazon.in at Rs. 1,999.