Intermatic ABRA Smart Plug - WiFi & Bluetooth Enabled, Compatible with Alexa & Google Home - Energy Monitoring & Voice Control, Flexible Scheduling & Automation, No Hub Required

This makes for a great replacement for outlet timers for when traveling, but it also provides data on power consumption that is very handy for other devices. I’m currently using this for our security camera DVR not just to see how much it cost to run each month, but permits me to reset the cameras remotely if they go out when traveling. It doesn’t just allow manual operation of outlets, but you can set them up on a schedule through the app as well.The app feels very professional compared to many of the others have dealt with on Amazon, it is really set up for a whole suite of home wireless parts and pieces. I’m looking forward to being able to get more of these to control more of my appliances, and have a more comprehensive view of energy consumption, and being able to switch things on or off remotely.Setup was relatively simple, there was some confusion as there are multiple Intermatic apps available on the App Store. Make sure to download the Intermatic ABRA app, the standard Intermatic app doesn’t work, And if you set up an account on one, it doesn’t work on the other. Otherwise, all you need is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi password, and you’re done. There is no QR code, you have to search the App Store manually.

Because I already had the Intermatic ABRA app installed for setting up their smart bulbs, I didn't need anything new to set up this smart outlet. But it does require installing their app to setup (unless maybe you have some other app that can discover and configure it onto your WiFi?).Once I added it to my ABRA collection of devices, it automatically appeared on the list of devices I could add to my Google Home setup. This let me setup verbal commands to [dis]connect my A/V receiver and powered subwoofer to power (I use them rarely so I've had them on a switched surge protector, though accessing it has been a slight pain (in my old back :-). Now I can do it via verbal commands. I currently still need to actually turn the receiver on to get it to do its thing, but I might be able to figure things out such that my TV being on when the receiver gets power gets the receiver to turn on automatically via HDMI CEC, or maybe to turn on automatically whenever it receives power.

I use this to learn how much energy things around the house use throughout the week. Energy reading seems accurate and agreed with another energy meter. Has integrated Bluetooth hub that worked great with my third-party door lock. Great smart action support for controlling other things.Worked great with Tuya/Smart Life app, a great feature (I didn't try branded app). Shows current energy usage (open Energy Monitoring screen for faster update, though font is tiny). Has energy graphs for month and year, but lacks one showing usage throughout each hour of the day.Smart actions have good support, with ability to trigger off power, voltage, current, and when the switch is turned on/off. This allows things like turning on other devices when one is turned on (by monitoring power), turning something off when voltage gets too high or low, turning off when power exceeds some limit. Outlet tester confirmed correct wiring. Outlet holds plugs snug. Uses 1W when off.

I'm using this smart outlet as a way to control the power to an appliance in my basement shop. At first, I tried to set it up in the Intermatic ABRA app (as instructed) but "Basement" was not available as a location choice for the device. So I chose one of the available Locations (even though it really didn't fit), but still was unable to get it set up. I figured out that I could set it up via the Smart Life app, which is used by another smart device that I have (that isn't completely set up yet). This worked, but I did initially have some difficulty getting Smart Life to find the new device, and I also had to link Smart Life to Amazon Alexa in order to get the device to be controllable via Alexa voice commands. The switching now works fine via Alexa voice commands, but it took much longer than I expected to get it all to work. My devices that work with Tapo were much easier to get working, perhaps because I have several Tapo-compatible devices and adding new ones is less involved. If you're willing to use Smart Life with this device and fiddle with it to get is set up, it should be fine. But if you're already set up with other devices in Tapo and want to add this one to Tapo, I don't think it's compatible.

I didn't install their app but tested the Smart Life app that I already had on my phone. The device was found and added to the Wi-Fi network without an issue. Adding the device to Google home routine went well also. There is a button on the unit that can turn on/off manually if need be. I wish I had several more of these!

I have been involved in home automation since its inception, and I have tested and setup 100s of devices. It took me an hour of persistence, coupled with the experience with so many other devices (good and otherwise), to get this working. Now, if you want to just use the device with their app, it will be a bit easier, but even that was not straight forward as the app does not appear to be iOS 18 aware and leads you to the wrong settings. There was no information in the included instructions on how to make it work with Amazon Echo. I found that after looking around in the app, but even then, it referred to an ABRA skill that simply does not exist. Then there's a link in the app to set up other ways. That then calls for a completely different skill and is also confusing and not straightforward. In the end, because of all the devices I have set up over many years, I was able to get it to work, but I honestly cannot recommend this outlet at this time.

The "Intermatic ABRA Smart Plug - WiFi & Bluetooth Enabled, Compatible with Alexa & Google Assistant - Energy Monitoring & Voice Control, Flexible Scheduling & Automation, No Hub Required" works like a charm with my google home. Once I downloaded the ABRA app, it took less than 5 minutes to get the plug up and running with my Nest Mini. The app is quite intuitive and easy to use. The energy usage monitoring should be quite interesting as time goes on. Very happy with this.