VeSync

This app works well. It allows me to see the status of my devices and to control my devices and update my devices, but it has no features to help me automate things. This is fine when you have only a few devices, but the more you have the more problematic it becomes. 1st desired feature is notification that there is a firmware update. Cudos for frequent updates, but I have to open the app and dig multiple layers down just to find out that there is an update available. The app (at least under IOS) should use the red dot on the app symbol to indicate there is something new. A banner on the home screen should alert the user to the particular event details. Secondly, I have many of the same devices. Why can’t the app apply a firmware update to all of them at once??? I have to select each device, select settings, select firmware then select update for each individual device. Why would I update one and not all of them??? Such a waste of our time, ask: “update this one or all of them” and have the software do it. Next feature is groups. I have several different circuits around the house for outside lights. I frequently turn on several of these at the same time all the time. I’d like the ability to create a group called “outside lights” and have it understand that means three devices at the same time.

Quick note on the WiFi setup. If you have a dual band router, you need to disable the higher frequency WiFi. I read this in someone’s review here, and they saved me a lot of time. Just have the lower frequency WiFi turned on, and it will configure perfectly. Only do one at a time tho. Saw some reviews saying the scheduler doesn’t work. It does work, but in addition to scheduling the on/off times, you also need to enter the frequency of when the schedule runs. Unfortunately by default the scheduler doesn’t repeat. Another minor annoyance with the scheduler is that the scheduler doesn’t list by start time first. It lists the first start/stop time that comes after midnight. So if you have multiple schedules for a single device that span over midnight, it’s not easy to read. A nice upgrade would be the ability to sort my devices on the main page. I now have 9 of these awesome outlets. It’s a bit frustrating that I need to hunt for the specific outlet when I could sort them in a way that makes more sense. The workaround is to physically swap the outlets with their associated devices the way I want them to appear in the app. That’s no fun.

This app that is used with wireless outlet devices is great. You can use it like a timer and set a schedule. Or you can set it to shut off the outlet after a set number of minutes has elapsed. Or you can just decide, no matter where you are, that you want to turn the power off to the outlet. Even without using Alexa or Google features you can’t go wrong. I especially like the cost per kilowatt option. You can input the cost per kilowatt, which you can find on your electric bill. With this information you can actually see how much that old freezer is costing you per day, month or year. It seems to be fairly accurate for calculating electrical costs too. Works for me! In the summer, I use one of the devices with my portable air conditioner because I’m never sure what time I’ll be getting home. Now before I leave work I turn on that AC and it’s nice and cool when I get home. (and with less difficulty than setting an old timer, that you cannot access when away) Think of other electrical devices that would be great to control on your schedule. Get creative! I definitely recommend.

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I’ve been using this app for over a year. Had a couple outlets I was controlling and monitoring. Overall it’s been decent. The energy monitoring has history tracking features I like, although it’s a bit clunky to navigate. That all being said, I’m giving it 1 star for a serious flaw. I recently had to reset one of my outlets to factory defaults. When I tried re-join my network the app informed me that the Wi-Fi password limit is 32 characters. Now, had this always been the case it would have been annoying, but I would have assumed it was a hardware limitation and I could have just returned the outlets and bought something else. But I know the hardware supports longer passwords because one my outlets is still joined and working just fine. So now I have an outlet that is useless and one that still works. My guess is they added support for an additional hardware device that has this limit and rather than coding for an individual device limitation they just made it global to the app. Really frustrating, and I’ll probably never buy these devices again.

This app is exactly what I wanted! Not only can I turn the connected devices on/off from anywhere at any time, I can create a schedule! And I can override the schedule without messing with the next time the devices are scheduled to turn on/off. The app even allows for more than one schedule per day. I can have my lights turn on in the morning for a couple hours, then turn off, then turn back on again in the evening, and turn off when I go to bed. Whoever says the app is glitchy might have some other issue. The app is not glitchy for my husband or me. It’s perfect! Highly recommended! We have one for our living room lamp and one for our coffee maker. It makes getting ready in the morning so much better!