Monthly Archive: September 2013

We’ve had the pump running on a timer but that’s pretty inefficient and inconvenient when we want hot water during the hours the pump isn’t running. I bought this little unit and had it running within 5 minutes. I downloaded the Android ap and even though its still in Beta it functioned just fine. It took a couple tries to get it right, but was really easy/intuitive. Now I can turn the pump on/off from my smart phone, even when i’m not on WIFI (as long as I have data connection on my phone). I’d recommend this device for anybody who needs power automation from their phone! It’s genius!!

I really dont have a big technical background as im just a marketer by day with an MBA. however i have to say this product set up and operation worked without ANY issues. i really felt the need to write a positive review because i couldn’t described a simpler process and the app is SUPER user friendly. i dont think the setup and use could be any easier.

I experimented with it for a couple weeks before an out of town trip. I originally set it up in the sidelight window next to my front door and used the IFTTT website to have it send me a text when it detected motion on my front porch. It was hit and miss, I think the glass, time of day and reflections may have been an issue. I opted to aim it inside the house by the front door instead and it was good peace of mind during my trip. I have areas where I want to experiment with this some more for turning on lamps when motion is detected. I used the switch as a lamp timer during my trip, and while I’m home, it turns on a small lamp in the mornings at the same time my alarm goes off. For the lamp timer, I configured it with the WeMo app for the iPhone. I can’t wait to see what other options will become available from Belkin.

The initial setup was easy and the iPhone app worked for a day or two. But, later on the app stopped working, and it works only if I re-install it (killing the app and restarting doesn’t work). I think it’s more to do with the version of iOS that I’m running.

To control the switch from my android phone, I created two recipes on ifttt, to turn on or off the switch by sending #on or #off message from Google Talk; I’ve shared the recipes, you can search on the ifttt site. The only problem with this ifttt’s google talk interface is the ifttt bot goes offline often, and when I contacted ifttt, they told that they are working on stabilizing the bot. Hope it’ll be fixed soon, so that I can control the switch from my phone or PC. There is another cool recipe on the ifttt site to turn on the switch at sunset, I’ve enabled it, and it works like a charm.

Great when you have a light on when you come home rather than using those messy timers. Kids watching to much tv or xbox turn it off from work.

I was reluctant to order this product. I did try it and have to say I could not be happier.

Setting up was very easy, connecting the switch to our WAP/2 network was no problem and within 10minutes it worked perfectly.

I love ITTT-integration and look forward to more units.

The app works great. My wife and I both use it with our iPhones. I can turn it off or in with mine and it shows correctly on hers. The only time there is a slight delay for us is when we are leaving or entering our home wifi area and try to control the device during that change-over period. I recommend for sure.

About a month later, I decided to upgrade my first generation airport extreme base station (1st gen) to the same model 5th generation. I spent about three hours after setting up the new base station trying to figure out why the new switches weren’t working. The key was ensuring that your SSID was the same and that it was set to broadcast. If you don’t do both, then you’ll either have to start over and/or will fail to see the switches after they’re programmed. Great switches that work if you follow the programmer’s instructions; e.g. have a secure network, broadcast SSID (don’t change), and set password. Great device, will plan to purchase more.

After opening it we immediately started using it… we were going on vaction the next day. Works fantastic and exactly as it’s advertised! My ONLY complaint about it is, it won’t turn ON manually if you previously turned it off via WeMo. And if you turned it off manually then it won’t turn on via WeMo.

For example: I pull up in my driveway, take out my phone and turn on the livingroom lamp via WeMo before entering the house. (Awesome!! I get to enter a lit room.) When getting ready for bed and charge my phone, I turn off the living room lamp via WeMo. (Wonderful!! I didn’t have to walk across the house to turn off the light.) I forget something in my purse that is on the table by the front door, walk over and try to turn on the light so that I can see inside my purse. (Crap! The light doesn’t turn on because I turned it OFF remotely via WeMo.)

I love this product and plan to get a few more for other electronics and/or appliances in the house.

I have 3 additional switches connected to my one motion sensor and they work great. Initial setup was pretty straight forward. I was very impressed how setting up additional units was even easier as the WeMo app remembered my wifi settings. I setup a rule to have the lights turn on when someone enters a room but only after sunset and before sunrise. My rule was based on an actual time but reading about IFTTT, which these work with, I can actually have the units adjust automatically throughout the year based on the sunrise and sunset times.

My primary reason for giving this a 4 star instead of a 5 star is that I feel Belkin should made the plug for the motion sensor capable of having a device plugged into it rather than needing an additional outlet. Depending on your room layout it might not be possible to have the motion sensor near an entry point if you also have a light near the door but only one outlet due to the size of these units.

They work just as described. We have one setup to turn on lights in the porch. This way my wife can turn on the lights before arriving home, or before entering the area. Pretty cool technology!

Currently the main use is to allow me to turn on some lights in the house remotely but it is *so* simple to set up and use I’m totally bought in. I could wish for more- it’d be nice to adjust the power, e.g. for a dimmer switch, and it only works in outlets, not for in-the-wall electrics, but I do hope this spawns such devices. Can’t say enough how much I like this product.

If you have an Iphone, out of the box and a few steps and walla, control of that outlet on your Iphone, thro out the time dial old day timer and when your wife pulls up to the house turn on what you want on and vice versa, get in car and turn off what you want off, now I am just wasting your time, get one and try it you will want many….

Never worry that you forgot to leave a light on. You can fix that!

You can also set rules so that it comes on when if gets dark and turns off when the sun comes up.

The setup is a little messy and not the easiest, and if your wifi network goes down it may take some work to get it back up, but this is a truly great product for 50 bucks! Recommended.

All three programed up in minutes. I use one to control my gas fireplace, and two to control side lights. I can control them from anywhere my iPhone works! I can turn it on with my iPhone and back off with my wife’s iPhone. The interface changes the color of the switch to reflect if it is on (GREEN) or off (colorless). This changes on all iOS devices that are running its app. These devices make basic home automation easy and affordable.

Awesome product, easy to use. They stay linked to the network and do not need rebooting. Lots of potential uses for future application. I look forward to the expansion of its line and devices in my future.

I can do it from half way around the world. I also hooked one to the stereo so that if I’m streaming wifi radio on my iPad but want to hear it though the home sound system I just click. No need to go downstairs and turn on the system.

I have to admit though that I’ve had the most fun surprising people… I no where near the light or blender but there it goes! Maybe I’ll put one on my rice cooker next. Touch my iPad when I leave work and fresh cooked rice ten minutes after I get home. The possibilities are endless. Next they need one to hook up to a wall plate so I can turn on the whole house fan from downstairs.

Set up only took a couple of minutes. Very easy and intuitive.

I can now use my Iphone 4 and control a light manually or set a program schedule. The Iphone app is also very simple but does what i need. A very nice thing is that the unit has a small blue LED so I know if it is getting power. This is nice for me because my socket is connected to a light switch. I wish Belkin would come out with an outdoor model for my Landscape lights and a in socket for a ligh switch. Also, one to control my thermostate. Hopefully they will soon. I’ll be all over it to purchase.

They seem best suited for a lamp. I can’t think of much I would want to plug into them other than a lamp, except maybe a coffee maker that didn’t have a timer …. but just about all basic models now have timers and the cost of this switch would facilitate a better coffee maker …. anyway …
The setup is super simple. You do need to have a wireless network in your home for these to really work.
I have my house wired up with motion sensing lights through out the house and the one lamp I don’t have on the motion sensing is on a good part of the day anyway – so my situation didn’t lend itself to the switch as well as it would have with out the motion sensing.
However, if you are in a rental unit or in a house that isn’t wired up yet, these switches would be great.
Imagine yourself coming home to a dark house, all you need to do is pull out your iPhone and quickly tap on all the lights in your house. Poof. Done. Super cool. The app is easy to use and easy to program.
If you go away on trips, you can turn on your lights and shut them off from the app a 1,000 miles away. Cool beans.

I had no problems setting it up on my Airport home network. The iPhone app is so easy and intuitive to use and I imagine that even those that aren’t so techie would feel the same way! As a single gal, it brings so much peace of mind to know that I can set lights and my sonos system in my house on and off so that my home looks lived in while I’m out of town. The motion sensor and the alerts I can see on my phone are great too. While its functionality is somewhat limited in my home right now, I am excited to find ways to integrate it further.

I actually didn’t buy my switches on Amazon, I got them at Costco in a double pack. I put off attempting to install them due to the complications some reviewers experienced. Totally unnecessary. I had both units up and running in less than an hour. And that includes the time it took to move some furniture to get to outlets, find one of those grounded plug adapters and upgrade firmware. The whole process.

How could it be any simpler than: download the app, plug in the switch, change the wifi on the iphone to connect to the switch, launch the app and connect to your home wifi network, edit the name of the switch in the app (completely optional), accept prompt to upgrade firmware and wait until complete. That’s it!

I suspect some people may be interrupting the firmware upgrade because the only way you can tell anything is happening is the blinking light on the switch. The app doesn’t show anything going on. If you cut power to the switch while it is downloading that could probably screw things up. All you have to do is just wait until the switch shows up on your app. If you need to press buttons, just hit the refresh button.

So easy to setup and they are working great after testing. Will use them in a real-world environment this weekend, but so far very happy.

I have a beautiful chandelier in my living room that has a very oddly placed on off switch. Since it was kind of difficult to turn on and off I very rarely used it. I purchased this so that I could use this chandelier daily. I placed the motion sensor at the front door so as soon as I open the door the light turns on. I really love this product and want to thank Belkin for making such a wonderful product. I had no problems setting it and I have been using it for two weeks now and I have not had an issue as of yet. The only con for me is the price. I wish that they would sell a set of three for a reduced price. I can think of other places I would love to have one of these!!!

I am able to co from from anywhere and store simple rules. Works for what I got it for. I look forward to a number of improvements such as: an android widget, control from a web browser, having it automatically turn off some interval after I turn it on, multiple conditions in IFFT (so that when it is over 85 degrees and I am on my way home the AC comes on), local control( so using a switch on the controlled object turns it on).

But it does allow me to control a device from anywhere and set timers so it does what I bought it for. It is still a little expensive but I am glad I waited rather than sending it back. Android works with it for me on this version.

You may not get a very good signal from your router. I use my Wemos to control my window AC units in the bedroom and living room windows. I did have them plugged in a lower spot and I had to change the configuration.

Using if this then that (ITFFF.com) has been fantastic. If the temperature reaches 86° my living room AC comes on and then it automatically goes off at 10 PM. Isn’t that special? I have a central AC controlled by Nest but I also have the window units because the house is very large and old so I need to spot cool here and there. WeMo allows me to control these AC units in ways I could’ve never imagined. With the right set up Wemo can be fantastic. Just be sure that they’re not hidden behind furniture.

It could not connect to the access point (AP) but this problem was solved after firmware update. Firmware update was noticed through iPhone App and just one click and wait for several minutes.

Without the firmware update, I probably returned the product because it did not work reliably. But with the firmware update, it works without problem. Very quick response through internet (4G network to local).

…easy to configure and simple to use. The free WEMO app is well designed and thoughtfully implemented. Just follow the “quick setup” instructions included in the box and in less than ten minutes you will have the ability to control just about anything with a plug from anywhere in the world using your home wireless network. WEMO supports multiple switches, too. Very cool stuff… Highly recommended!

I installed the motion sensor by the main door of the house, and as soon as someone steps in, the sensor detects the move and the system automatically triggers a light to switch on.

the light stays on for 5 minutes and off automatically. and the system is only active during evening/night (thanks to the smart rules).

so this is really convenient when I get in the house with my hands full: no need to look for the switch.

I immediately fell in love with it. I have since bought 3 sensors, so now rooms where the wall switch was set to a plug that was not effective turn on the moment you walk in. Setup was easy. I did have trouble with one of them, but it was most likely the cache within the iPhone. To fix this I switched to a different iOS device and it set up very fast. I hope at some point they add wall switches and a way to enter multiple rules within ifttt. It would be great to say if cloudy allow these sensors to work with specific rules. In the current beta of ifttt you are limited to one recipe with just one if and one that. I know you will enjoy this item.

The Belkin WeMo solves those issues and they have a nice, modular look and operation. However, setup was a little more cumbersome than I’d hoped it would be and one of the switches never established contact with my router and so I had to revert to the old fashioned timer at that location. It was only 25-30′ from the router so it was disappointing that it could never be detected but the instructions do say that there could be issues with certain types of routers so it may be necessary to upgrade there.

Overall, good performance and easy to set up the program on my iPhone once connected…

I found the set up to be painless, and I set up two lamps. What I like is that I can set up times for the lamps to go on/off, but I can also turn them on/off from a remote location. If I’m away, I can have the lights go on/off at various times.

I have set up the IFTTT, but not used it yet. It seems that sooner or later I’ll use it.

In general, the things I would want to turn on remotely–say a space heater an hour before I get home–are potentially dangerous when unattended. That said, there are several good uses for this type of device, and if you already have the need this is one good solution. But please, be safe.

Almost like it was “feeling out” my network. But ever since then, it has performed flawlessly with my iPhone. Never gets dropped from my network. Responds within 1-2 seconds, whether at home on the wifi or on a different continent. I can see how it would be a pain to use if you weren’t technologically-inclined, but for the rest of us, use is a cinch.