![]() ![]() If you're just getting started with home automation or smart home control, pick up the Wemo Smart Plug to use with something like a lamp. Wemo is one of the top brands in smart home accessories, and its products are some of the best HomeKit light switches and dimmer switches around. HomeKit compatible Wemo products for almost any need If you have some of these older accessories installed around your home, and you don't want the hassle of replacing it with the latest version, then the Wemo Bridge is the way to go. If you decide to buy one of these, and its performance is terrible after setup, confirm the firmware version-if it's not at least 2.9.6, wait for an update to trigger and update your device.The Wemo Bridge brings HomeKit to older discontinued smart devices like the Smart Light Switch, Insight Smart Plug, and Wemo Motion Sensor. At $33 (current selling price), it's probably at least ten times cheaper than wiring a new real wall switch, and works just as well. In short, though it's been less than a day with the "new" Scene Controller, I'm thrilled with this solution to my lighting issue. And now I even have a spare button left over for some other HomeKit device or scene. I reprogrammed the switch to use single click (on) and double-click (off), and it's working like a charm. The switch does what it's supposed to do, every time, and with zero delay. I must say, I wasn't expecting such a drastic change in behavior, but it's literally night-and-day from pre-update. So what was new in the firmware update? The big news is that they added Thread support. And the buttons now had three behaviors each-they added a new double-click behavior. Not only did the buttons work 100% of the time, they worked instantly, as you'd expect with a real light switch. Fifteen or so minutes later, and it was like I had a brand new device! This morning, when I went to remove it from Home, it showed a firmware update was available for the Wemo. I decided I'd just take it down and return it the next day. ![]() Most of the time, in fact, the switch didn't do anything. Sometimes the HomePod came on, sometimes it didn't. Press a button, wait three to five seconds, and then-maybe-the lights turned on or off. Then I went to use it…and it was a horrid experience. (My thinking was that two separate switches would be easier for people to understand than "long press," but I'm the only user of the HomePod, so it didn't matter for that one.) When I programmed the switch, I set one button to turn the lights on, the second to turn them off, and added a HomePod toggle on the third button. ![]() I would prefer a more-traditional switch, but this was all I could find. You can easily pull the remote out and use it from elsewhere, if you wish. Instead, it's a three-button remote control that's magnetically mounted to a base, to which a switch-like surround can be attached. The switch itself isn't actually a switch in the traditional sense. As received, my Wemo supported a single click or a long press on each button, giving a total of six possible activities I could assign. Installation was relatively simple-put the battery in the Wemo, put the thing next to the phone while the Home app was open, and follow the instructions.Īfter that, programming is quite easy–you can assign any device or scene to any of the three buttons. I bought one to test, and after the first day, I was preparing to return it and write a very scathing review… (Note: I don't know if this thing works outside the USA or not I found a note on their site indicating it may not work in the UK, but that's all I was able to find.) Instead, I found Belkin's Wemo Stage Scene Controller 1 Apple sells this on their site, too, but at a much higher price., which promised an install-anywhere switch for any HomeKit connected devices. ![]() I can now easily turn the lights on and off with Siri, but I wanted to have a more-traditional wall switch, too.Īs the wall outlet isn't switched, the "real" solution would have involved hiring an electrician to cut holes in the wall and run a new line to a new switch, followed up by a fair bit of drywall repair, texture, and painting. It's a darker corner, so I added lighting to the cabinet and the shelves, all of which is then plugged into a HomeKit-compatible power plug. I recently assembled an IKEA cabinet and shelving in the corner of a room. ![]()
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