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Aukey Wi-Fi Smart Plug Review

For $24.99, the Aukey Wi-Fi Smart Plug is an economical way to control anything from your lamp to your coffee maker, straight from your phone. Not only do you get two plugs for the price of one, you also get scheduling, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and If This Then That (IFTTT) integration. Unlike pricier options, it doesn't support geofencing or energy monitoring, and it doesn't work with Apple HomeKit. That said, it's a strong value if you're just starting to build a smart home, though the Belkin Wemo Insight Smart Plug remains our Editors' Choice for its wider feature set.

Design and App

The plug itself is a white rectangle, measuring 1.5 by 2.5 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighing 2.8 ounces. That's smaller than the Belkin Wemo Mini Smart Plug, which is a slightly chunkier 1.4 by 3.8 by 2.7 inches. You should have no problem fitting both Aukey plugs into a standard two-socket wall outlet. On the left side you'll find a power button and on the right there's a small gray Aukey logo. The front holds a three-prong outlet, to the left of which is a small indicator light.

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The Aukey Home app connects to the plug and is available for both Android and iOS. The app is simple to navigate. The main screen displays your connected plugs; you can tap each to access controls like Switch, Countdown, and Timer. Switch turns the plug on or off, while Countdown does the same after a specified period of time. Timer lets you create custom schedules.

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At the bottom of the home screen, there's a tab for Scenes. Instead of controlling each plug individually, you can create a Scene to control multiple plugs for custom situations. For example, you can turn a lamp and the coffee machine on at a specific time in the morning.

Aukey Wi-Fi Smart Plug Review

The four default Scenes include Coming Home, Leaving Home, Sunrise, and Good Night, but none of them are programmed with actions; they're just suggestions for Scenes you can customize for those occasions. You can create your own by hitting the plus button in the top right corner. To set up a Scene, you first add a condition. You can select from a list of temperature, humidity, weather, air quality, and sunrise/sunset (all of which is based on entering your current city in the app). After that, you add a task. You can select which plug you want to control, and decide whether it turns on or off. This is handy, for example, if you want a fan to automatically turn on when the temperature goes above 80 degrees.

Finally, a Profile tab on the home screen lets you access settings and features such as device sharing, integration, and a FAQ.

Setup and Performance

To connect your phone to the plug, you first need to download the Aukey Home app and create an account. Next, if you have dual-band Wi-Fi, make sure your phone is connected to a 2.4GHz network during setup; the plug isn't compatible with 5GHz. Then press the power button on the plug for five seconds until the LED indicator flashes blue rapidly. Once it's blinking, hit the confirm button in the app and enter your Wi-Fi password. Once connected, the LED indicator should turn a steady red.

After that, the rest is straightforward. Plug in whatever device you want to control. Any AC-powered products work, though Aukey recommends you don't exceed an output of 1,800 watts. In the app, press the Add Device button and select the type of device plugged in, and you're good to go.

Adding Amazon Alexa or Google Home voice control is also easy. For Alexa, you simply enable the Smart Life skill and link your Aukey and Amazon accounts in the Alexa app, then tap Discover Devices. Once your plugs have been discovered, they can be controlled from your Echo or other Alexa-based gadgets. The process is similar for Google Assistant.

You can also control the plug through IFTTT. For example, you can create an applet that will turn a plug on or off based based on your phone's location. That said, there is no option for geofencing like this outside of IFTTT.

If you prefer Siri, you're out of luck—the plug doesn't support Apple HomeKit. There's also no option to see your energy usage, like you get with the Wemo Insight.

I set up a few routines, turning lights on and off at various times. Each time, the plug responded reliably. There was also negligible latency when issuing commands manually via the app. Voice control performance and Scenes also worked without a hitch.

Conclusions

The Aukey Wi-Fi Smart Plug is pretty basic, but it's hard to ask for more when you're getting two plugs for just $25. It offers all your basic scheduling options, IFTTT integration, and voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant, making it a great choice for beginners. If you're looking for more than the basics, such as Apple HomeKit support and energy monitoring, you're better off with our Editors' Choice, the Belkin Wemo Insight Smart Plug, but it's nearly twice the price.