Gabe: Hey folks, this is Gabe at Security Baron, and did I forget to turn off my space
heater?
Well, hopefully this is not a question I will have to ask henceforth because today I am
reviewing the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
[music]
Gabe: I'm excited to jump into the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini and see what it's bringing
to the table.
In today's review, I'm going to check out its design, its feature set, the installation
process, and really dive deep into its mobile application to see if it's the right plug
for you.
If you'd like to see a list of our favorite smart plugs, Google Security Baron best smart
plugs.
If you have a question about today's review, leave us a comment and I'll get back to you.
Let's kick off today's review of the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini looking at its design.
You'll see that it's actually pretty thin.
It's all based on the X-axis, so you don't have to worry about it taking up too much
space.
In fact, you can stack these in any standard wall outlet.
On this side, you'll note that there's actually a button so you can physically turn it off
without having to actually unplug the entire device.
We've got this classic white.
It's really going to blend in to your home's decor.
Overall, pretty big fan of the design on the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
Let's check out the feature set for the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
You want to be able to control your appliances remotely.
It gives you that capacity.
You can be wherever you want to be in the world and turn on and off your TP Link.
The next thing you want to be able to do is schedule, so you can actually schedule your
devices to turn on and off.
You can set up a heater to turn on right before you get home, so you come home to a toasty
apartment, you can do so.
Beyond that, you can actually set up groups of appliances to work together.
If you want to have those groups of appliances working, you can set up a scene, like an away
scene, for example, to make people think that you're home when you're not.
If I set up "away," I hit that button, it'll turn on my lamp here and there to make people
think that I'm actually in the home, which is pretty impressive.
The final thing I'll note in terms of its basic feature set is its ability to integrate
with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, so you can just voice control your appliances
in the home.
If I'm sitting on the couch and want to turn my air conditioner, I can speak to Amazon
Alexa, I can speak to Google Assistant and my AC is on.
I'm impressed with the functionality of the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
Let's check out the installation experience for the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
The first thing you're going to do is download the Kasa app for your mobile device.
With the Kasa app, you'll be able to add a device like a smart plug.
Then you're going to take your smart plug and plug it in.
The mobile device will ask you, "Is it orange?"
You'll say, "Yes."
Then it will say, "Is it blinking alternately between orange and blue?"
You'll say, "Yes."
Here, you will actually connect to the TP-Link in the WiFi settings.
Once you're connected, you'll be able to go back to the Kasa app and finish the installation
process.
It takes you fewer than five minutes.
Once you're set up, you'll know because you'll have this blue light indicating that there
is actually electricity and current running through it.
You can turn it on and off right there in the mobile app.
However, I do want to note that it's cool that you can actually hear the breaker turning
off the actual smart plug.
It's an audible cue for that mechanical experience.
If you listen here.
[click]
Gabe: That's the breaker coming into effect.
If I'd like to turn it back on, I can get the visual cue in terms of the blue, and hear
that mechanical cutting back on.
[click]
Gabe: Overall, it's a very painless, simple, straightforward experience installing your
TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
[music]
Gabe: Hold on.
I hope you're enjoying our review of the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
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Let's get back to the video.
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Gabe: Let's check out the mobile application for the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini because
this is where you're going to be doing basically all of your interfacing with the device.
Fortunately, people seem to love it in the Apple App Store.
It gets 4.8 out of 5 stars.
In the Google Play Store, it gets 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Speaking of mobile devices, let's go ahead and check it out on my iPhone X.
Here I am, checking out the Kasa mobile app, which I use to control my TP-Link Smart WiFi
Plug Mini.
You note that it's already on and I had the Baron lamp plugged into it.
With the Mini itself, I can click in and here you see a completely new screen.
On this screen you can look at the schedule.
You note here that I have a schedule set up.
This schedule turns my Smart Plug on every Sunday and Saturday around noon.
I do this because that's when I'm leaving to play soccer and I want to make sure people
think that I'm home.
I'm trying to get better at going to sleep at an early hour.
Because of that, you see here that I have my Smart Plug turning off, therefore, taking
away my light at 10:30 at night on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
You really want to make sure you're getting enough sleep and the Smart Plug can help you,
it turns off.
It reminds you, "Hey, you shouldn't be up right now."
I can even go and set a new schedule.
Let's hit the schedule here, and let's set a time for it to turn on to wake me up.
7:00 AM, turn my Smart Plug on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Boom.
I'm up at 7:00, I get up, do something, try to go to the gym, probably not.
[laughs]
You'll also note that you can set up something like away mode.
Let me hit away mode.
Away mode is active for me between 7 AM and 6 PM, around the time I leave the house and
come back to the house every day.
I've set it for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
What's good about this is it will randomly turn on and off your device.
If I'm using something like a lamp like I am today, it'll turn the lamp on and off,
so people may think I'm actually at home but you can also set it up with anything.
Then on top of that, you go into the top right corner and you can check out the settings.
I named this TP miniplug which is not that exciting of a name.
Let's change it to Baron plug and now this has a new name or I could even remove the
device here.
Another thing that I like that you can do with the plug is go to a timer.
In here you can have it turn on or off after a certain period of time.
Say I'm about to take a nap, I don't want my lamp on, but I do want it to wake me up
in about 30 minutes, a little power nap.
I can start it.
Now I've started it and my plug will turn on in that period.
I'm awake now, so I don't need to do this.
Let me hit stop.
In terms of the capacity to control things, let's just see what it's like with the lamp
that's plugged into the plug.
Here you are.
You see my lamp, it's blue, and I don't want to use my hands to turn it off.
What kind of peasantry is that?
Instead, I can hit the Baron plug to turn it off and voila.
One, you heard the mechanical clicking turning off the plug.
Two, you saw the lamp go out.
Let's go ahead and turn it back on.
Here we are.
I control my lamp just using the plug, so in terms of what you can do with this mobile
app, a lot is on the table.
[music]
Gabe: All right.
We've reached the end of our review of the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini and you want
to know, "Gabe, what's your take?"
I have to say this.
There are very few weaknesses with this smart plug.
I mean, you've got smart home integrations with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
The ability to set up schedules using a beautiful, intuitive interface in the Kasa mobile application.
Frankly, I don't have a lot of negative things to say about this smart plug.
I think it's a strong contender at $20 for your home smart plug.
[music]
Gabe: That concludes our review of the TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug Mini.
If you appreciated today's video, give us a like and hit that subscribe button.
As always, this is Gabe at Security Baron.
Be secure.
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