Gabe Turner: Hey, folks.
This is Gabe at Security Baron and you know what?
I'm tired of turning on appliances by hand so let's go ahead and see what the WeMo Smart
Plug is all about.
[music]
In today's review of the WeMo Smart Plug, I'm going to go into its design, its feature
set, the installation process before diving in to the mobile application to make sure
you have all the information you need to find 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 WeMo Insight Switch looking at its design.
It comes in your typical white aesthetics so it's going to blend to your décor with
no problem.
You'll note that it's a little bit on the larger side, but as long as you put it in
that top outlet for your wall, you'll be able to plug something in below it.
When you look at the actual device, there's a button here that allows you to toggle it
on and off which will especially come in handy when you're integrating it with your smart
platform.
Then you have a reset button.
Then you have this micro USB port which doesn't provide any functionality now, but WeMo tells
us that they hoped to have some accessories and extended functionality in the future.
Overall, it's a pretty standard design for a plug.
Nothing really to write whole about but also, nothing that's going to be an eye sore in
your home.
Now that we've checked out this design, let's look at the feature set on the WeMo Insight
Switch.
First, the most important thing is the ability to control your appliances remotely.
If you want to make sure you turned off that heater so you don't burn your house down,
you can do so right from your mobile device.
The second thing to do is set up schedules.
We have schedules set up, you can know when to turn things on right before you get home
or to turn things off right when you leave the house.
The third thing I would note is that you have the ability to set up all three of the major
smart platform.
You can set up Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit to work directly with your
WeMo Insight Switch so you can just voice control from home.
Overall, it's a pretty strong feature set coming from the WeMo Insight Switch.
Let's talk about the installation process for the WeMo Insight Switch.
You're going to want to download the app on your mobile device and then you're going to
want to wait a second before launching the app because then, you're to go ahead and plug
in the WeMo you'll get an indicator light here.
Then it will actually begin to alternately flash the WiFi signal.
When you get that alternate flash, you're going to go into settings, WiFi settings to
be specific, and connect to the WeMo Insight's network.
Once you connect to that WeMo Insight's network, you can launch the WeMo app and finish the
installation process.
Honestly, it takes fewer than five minutes with most of that time being spent with the
firmware update once you connect your WeMo to your actual WiFi.
Overall, it's a pretty painless, straightforward and simple installation process.
Hold on.
Quick break.
I hope you're enjoying our review of the WeMo Insight Switch.
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Let's get back to the video.
Now that we've set up our WeMo Insight Switch, let's go ahead and check out its mobile application
where we're going to be doing all the interfacing with the device.
One thing I'll note is that people on Android seem to be having a few issues with it saying
that its software is a bit buggy and they've had troubles connecting to the device itself.
That's reflected in the Google Play Store where it only gets a 3.1 out of 5-star ratings.
On the other hand, iPhone users seem to love it.
It has a 4.4 out of 5 stars so let's go ahead and check it out on my iPhone X.
Here I am checking out WeMo Insight Switch's mobile application and first things first,
let's see how this actually works.
If you note on the right side at the top right there is no light on that power button.
Let's go ahead and turn it on and turn on the lamp that we're using here at Security
Baron.
[clicks on]
Gabe: Boom, lights on.
You may have heard a mechanical click and that's what you get with most smart plugs
when you know that it's turning on and off.
You'll hear it again as we jump back into the mobile application which I'll go ahead
and do now.
[clicks off]
Gabe: Now that we've seen the WeMo Insight Switch in action, let's check out some of
the scheduling you can do in the Rule section.
We click to right of Devices, you have Rules.
Rules are schedules for when the smart plug turns on and off.
You'll note that I have three Rules applied at the Baron Rule for morning and evening,
weekdays.
You got the Soccer Rule for weekends and we can make any rule we'd like.
If I hit "Plus," go to Schedule, I can make a new rule name.
Let's say Baron Workout or Baron Work.
Turn it on and off.
Let's just have it for a Tuesday-Wednesday and I can just have it come on at 11:30 and
off at 12:30.
Boom.
Save.
Now I've scheduled yet another Rule.
Now that we've set up some schedules, let's go ahead and see what scheduling is useful
for, energy usage.
If you look on the Devices page, you click on your device, you actually get some useful
information like how long the WeMo Insight Switch has been off, how long it has been
on for today, and how long it's on, on average.
Along with estimated monthly prices for how much money you're spending, it provides you
a lot of information on the kind of energy you're using.
I know that's important to many of us for both environmental reasons and [laughs] financial
ones.
It's a really great element of the mobile application to give you that type of information.
Let's go ahead and check out some extended functionality with the WeMo Insight Switch's
smart platform integrations.
Today I'm going to show you the setup of the WeMo Insight Switch with Amazon Alexa and
Google Assistant but remember, you can also set it up with a host of other ecosystems
like Apple HomeKit, IFTTT, and even get further ecosystem integration with the Nest products.
Anyway, let's go ahead and look at what that process is like.
You're going to into the Amazon Alexa mobile application.
You'll search for the skills for WeMo.
Once that skill is found, you'll actually toggle the physical button found here in order
for it to work for you.
Once they link together, that verification process is finished, you can control it with
your voice.
It's a similar process with Google Assistant.
You'll go into the Google Assistant app and you'll search for WeMo.
Once you toggle once again to verify that you do have control of that smart plug, the
two will link and you can control this system entirely with your voice.
Let's go ahead and check out how that works.
I'll turn it on using the Amazon platform integration.
"Alexa, turn on WeMo beta."
[clicks on]
Gabe: Here you have it.
Using my voice, I was able to use Amazon Alexa to turn on the WeMo Insight Switch.
I can even switch and integrate various smart platforms.
Let's go ahead and use Google Assistant to turn it off.
"Hey Google, turn off WeMo beta."
[clicks off]
Google Assistant: Sure.
Turning off WeMo beta.
Gabe: Here you have it.
Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are really easy and useful integrations with the WeMo
Insight Switch.
Now that we've done a rundown of all the features with the WeMo Insight Switch, you want to
know what do I think about it.
I'll say this.
It brings a lot to the table in terms of smart platform integrations, integrating with Google
Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit.
You can set up schedules and even monitor your energy usage.
These are all pretty nice features to have with any smart plug.
I will note that it's about $50 which is a bit spendy for a smart plug and if you're
an Android user, you may be a little bit worried about some for the reviews that are out there.
Overall, even considering its price, I do think it's a pretty solid choice for a smart
plug.
[background music]
Gabe: That concludes our review of the WeMo Insight Switch Smart Plug.
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As always, this is Gabe at Security Baron.
Be secure.