iHome Control Smart Plug, Works with Alexa

Now that I have spent some time with some of the smart plug devices in my house, I thought I would share some feedback.My original intent was to load up on smart plugs which worked with the Apple HomeKit setup, since it was an easy fit for my iPhone. I know from research that the products which are compatible with the HomeKit are more secure in the setup, which should make them more resistant to the hacker attacks we hear about in the news lately—home devices which connect with home wifi need to be secured or a hacker can take control of them and use them to bring down other computer servers.Anyway, the first smart plugs I bought were from iHome, both the ISP5 and ISP6 models. I first used the iHome app for iOS to get them set up, and the process couldn’t have been easier. Each device has a unique identifier code, and can be added to one’s home system by simply using the phone’s camera to scan the ID code in the owner’s manual or on the side of the device. The latter concept is clearly Plan B, since it is much easier to add a plug to the system once it is in place in the wall socket.The difference between the two models seems to be there is an optional wireless remote available for the ISP6 model, and the configuration of the reset button and operational lights is slightly different. Otherwise, they work the same and whichever you can find at the better price would be the better choice.I have a total of four within my house and all have been rock-solid from the time they were set up and added to my iHome app.The iHome plugs, though, have a straight-through design which makes the device’s plug (for the lamp, coffee maker, etc) extend that much further from the wall. In many cases, this might not be an issue, but in a few installs for me, it did matter.For that reason, I tried the iDevices switch, which accepts the device’s plug on the side, instead of straight-through. This means I could hook up a table lamp which was on a piece of furniture which backed up to the wall outlet I needed to use. The iHome smart plug didn’t allow the cabinet to sit closely to the wall, after allowing for the space requirements for the iHome switch and the lamp cord plugged directly into it.The iDevices switch was a little more trouble in allowing itself to be recognized by the iDevices iOS app. It does have an integrated LED bar on the front of the device, which is adjustable in the iDevices app for both color and brightness. There are some valid applications possible to use the plug as a nightlight in a room, providing just the right amount of color and intensity for the specific application you require.Unfortunately, the iDevices smart plug plays hard to get and disappears from its own iOS app. When I folded both systems into the Home app on the iPhone, the iDevices plug often becomes invisible to the Home app, just as it does to its own app. The only remedy I have found is waiting, as it sometimes becomes linked again with the app in a matter of a minute or less, or closing an reopening the Home app.I know this is not a unique problem to the iDevices smart plug I bought because I later bought the iDevices socket, which fits between your light bulb and the lamp socket it would screw into, which allows the iDevice socket to adjust the brightness of your bulb (assuming it is dimmable to begin with), and the color and intensity of a ring of LEDs around the base where the light bulb screws in. This opens the possibility of easy, adjust able mood lighting from the color LEDs, which can work independently of the light bulb one has already screwed in.The problems with the execution of this concept are two-fold: The size of the device, when placed between the bulb and lamp socket, makes the total height of the bulb such that the lampshade most likely will no longer fit; and the socket plays hard to get with the iDevices app and iOS Home app, in the same way the iDevices smart plug does. This would appear to be an engineering problem for iDevices, though possibly one which might be fixed with a firmware update in the future.So I was the badass of the house, setting up the timing schedules of the lamps, and turning them on through Siri voice control or simply tapping the button on the Home app. But my wife was frustrated because she couldn’t access the lamps on demand as I could.Enter Alexa. I bought a Dot at Best Buy (they had a ton, while Amazon is on back order), and brought it home. Now my wife can voice-command the iHome lamps on and off (along with Amazon music—she’s having more fun than I expected).Just as with the Home app, the iHome smart plugs work flawlessly, but the iDevices plug and lamp socket don’t work at all. Alexa apologizes and says she can’t see them, even though I have added the Skill to Alexa’s setup. Since the lamps I have using the iDevices plug and lamp socket are not mission-critical to the home’s roster of lamps, and does work most of the time with my iPhone’s Home app, I am not worrying about this for now. Again, it is my hope that iDevices gets a firmware update to address the wonkiness of their devices’ connectivity. If you read the reviews—both of the iDevice products on Amazon, and the Alexa boards with people unable to get Alexa to see their iDevice plugs, either, it indicates my situation is neither unique nor isolated.If you’re intending to go this route, consider this a very strong recommendation for the iHome smart plugs, and a guarded recommendation for the iDevices products, which have very strong feature sets, but fail at their basic mission too easily.And a big shout out to Alexa. Surprisingly good execution for $40.

UPDATE 4 (01/21/16): I have been trying to get a replacement for this product, just in case the unit I received through Amazon is actually defective. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. In my back-and-forth with iHome Support, I have realized how poorly this company's "support" team really is. On the bottom of the box, it says it comes with a 1 year warranty. However, the "resolution" I received was to go through Amazon and they could get me a replacement. Umm, no, that's not how this works. Amazon only allows replacements and refunds for a set amount of time, of which I'm well beyond. Despite only purchasing this product in the fall, it's as if support is extremely hesitant to honor their warranty.UPDATE 3 (01/14/16): My review goes back to 1 star...again. If I could give this 0 stars, I would. In December, I contacted iHome support about the intermittent connectivity. However, new firmware and iOS software was released a few weeks after that was designed to address connectivity issues. The plug was working for a bit with minimal disconnects. Fast forward to this week when the plug has disconnected every day from my router. I again e-mail iHome Support, this time asking for a replacement unit. Instead, I get the run around along the lines of "well, have you troubleshooted your router". I go into great detail about how much I know about networking before finally receiving another response that a new firmware is in the works to address my issue. Newsflash: wasn't that what they have been saying for the past few firmware updates? I mean, c'mon...how can they not get this right? Clearly, rushing a product to the market just to be the first HomeKit-compatible smart plug has backfired for iHome.UPDATE 2: The app and firmware updates have helped stabilize the connection. I've moved my rating back to 3 stars. Why just 3 stars? Let's say you have a smart router like I do that's dynamic enough to change broadcast channels daily based on what's least likely to interfere with your neighbors. One day your 2.4 Ghz side is on channel 1, the next day 8, and maybe even up to 11. It's what modern good routers should do if needed. It seems like the smart plug isn't smart enough to reconnect to my router when the router restarts (to clear cache) or switches channels to give me the most available bandwidth. I still need to go and unplug it and plug it back in to connect. As a compromise, I now just keep my router on a set channel for the 2.4 Ghz side so the plug will always know where it's at. My 5 Ghz side, which is used for more bandwidth intensive activities anyhow, still changes channel based on the noise around me.iHome needs to focus more on the reconnection aspect with the next update; connections are stable, but the plug isn't smart enough to reconnect automatically...like the other 15 Wi-Fi devices in my home are.UPDATE 1: Moved my rating down to 1 star. The plug has lost connectivity 5 times in the past week now. My router does not restart itself, nor does it provide less-than-adequate coverage for the home. But even if I do restart the router, the plug should be smart enough to reconnect when that router is back online, like the other devices in my home do. I'll be contacting iHome this week about exchanging it. The dreaded red light of no connectivity is driving me insane.This plug constantly loses Wi-Fi connectivity. I've got it paired to my dual-band AC1900 router, which (for those of you who know routers) is one of the latest types of routers you can have. The iHome pairs seamlessly to my router and works fine for a bit. However, every few days or so, I get the dreaded red light of death, which means it has lost connectivity to the router. Interestingly enough, it's not very far from my router at all. No other devices in my home, even ones much farther away from the central router in this 3600 square foot home, lose connectivity. Honestly, I'll wait until other HomeKit plugs are on the market before I invest more in the HomeKit ecosystem; I'd probably go with another brand as well for my smart plugs.