Kasa KP125 questions

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1

I red bunch of good review on Kasa KP125 plugin outlets and just bought few.
But before I will mess up with creating TP Link account (I guess, I will need it
for the initial setup, right?) I have few very important questions:

  • Can I have local control or the control is cloud based?
    I got an impression the control is local but built-in Kasa Drivers do not have
    any entries for the IP address or so. So, which driver to use for the local control
    if local control is possible?
  • Is this toy reporting Status and Power Levels or Polling is a must?

If there is no local control or polling is a must I will return back this plugs.

2

Control is local.

I think they use mDNS to discover the IP address.

3

This is very good and a must.

So how about Polling?

4

It should be all local control. There is cloud available for really messed up lan configurations (but that is a backup).

The App determines the IP address. You should set a Static IP address in your router for the kasa devices, and that will be the end of it. If the IP does change, you will have to run the app again (it will rescan and then update all Kasa IP addresses. Again - BEST TO SET STATIC IP.

Polling is used to get the fastest state for power as well as for someone turning the device off manually. If you have a use case, you can set this polling for as fast as every 5 seconds. It is your hub.

Read the help (accessible through Hubitat). It gives decent instructions for installation.

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5

If i will have few of these how do I know which one is which?

6

All my HA WiFi devices have quasi static IP addresses.
I am using DHCP MAC-IP mapping option.

Well, this is very questionable statement.
How Polling could be faster than instant reporting for the On/Off status?
And for the Power reporting fastest will to report power change when it
crosses preset thresholds.

So, is Polling a must for these plugs?

7

Polling is never instantaneous on most wifi devices. If you set it to 5 seconds, that works pretty well. Notes:

If you use Hubitat to send a command, the update is usually under 2 seconds. For the plugs, I poll immediately after the command OK response is received.

If you use the Kasa App (or an assistant linked to the Kasa app) or the physical button, the delay will rely on the polling interval for the device.

I don't care how you do static IP addressing, virtual or real. If it changes, the device will not work until corrected via running the app.

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8

Its not, but there is no way to subscribe to the events for a third party app with Kasa, polling is the only option. If you want instant reports for power metering to determine when power draw changes you will want zwave or zigbee plugs.

If you set the polling to 5 seconds though the average lag would be 2.5 seconds.

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9

Hello:

Been using two KP125's for some time now and they have been rock solid up until recently when I added two more. My original two now lose connection with hubitat. The two new ones are now rock solid. All are configured with static IP addresses in my router. I can control them via HomeKit or through the Kasa app with no problem. They never fall off my network,

I have removed the two original ones from hubitat and then reinstalled them and still have the issue.

Any thoughts as to what the issue may be?

10

Please provide logs or whatever evidence you have that the hub is not connecting with them.

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11

Thanks for the response. Will do as soon as they drop off again.

12

You could maybe try resetting the two problematic ones and set them up again. I think they will reconnect in place in the Kasa app and Hubitat so no extra harm is done you just have to reconnect them to the Wifi. Should be something like holding the button down for X seconds to reset, would be in the instructions.

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13

Before reinstalling in the Kasa app, try doing a reboot (using the Preference Reboot) for the problem-matic plugs). They can go insane and can also start spewing data.

Have you made any changes to your router lately? New router or new settings?

14

Thanks All for the suggestions. They have always worked in the Kasa app and in HomeKit when they drop off line in Hubitat. That's what is a little strange. There have been no router changes or settings. Just strange that the two new ones have been fine.

The problems with the original two coincided with the installing of the two new ones.

Right now they are stable. But, will try to do the reboot first and then a hard reset of that doesn't work,

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15

One final item. Look at the device stat page on Hubitat Logs. The % of Total value for these Kasa devices should be less than 1%. If any are greater, then reboot them - they are causing.

16

Yep. Always keep an eye out that stuff. The % is half of 1%. I do poll them every 5 seconds as one is for a dryer and the other for a washing machine. I am using them in Webcore to notify my Alexa's when dryer and washer is done. Been this way for over a year with no issues.

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17

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