Hi All, Just got this in the mail today from Aliexpress...and I almost freaked out. All Over the box and instructions it says "WiFi Smart Power Strip" and I'm thinking dammit it's gonna take 85 emails back & forth to get any resolution.
LongStoryShort- It is in fact zigbee, despite the box and instructions-sheesh.
Smart power strips are hard to come by, and hopefully this one lasts a long time.
It paired right up and functions good so far with built in driver, "zigbee multi endpoint switch". The outlets are individually controlled, but the relays are so loud it sounds like they're switching 85 amps. The 4 USB ports go on/off all at once, but all in all not bad for 28 USD
Apparently they have it in black, according to comment by the seller, but he said to contact him for a black one, as it's not in the listing.
More photos since folks curious about relays. The construction seems better than expected for 28 USD likely due to the way the CCP subsidizes business.
Doesn't look to be well safety certified. A lot of cheap Chinese junk isn't.
Buyer beware. They can be fire hazards: buddy had a cheap promo "usb charger" gizmo catch fire and melt-down. He to a second one apart and it was horrifically designed/built/assembled. Kinda amazing they ALL didn't burst into flames.
I am always skeptical plugging my phone into sketchy usb ports. My dad had a cheap generic charger/cord combo spark and fry the port on his phone, would not charge anymore.
There's not really a feasible way for anybody to make a decent quality, safe product that's really properly approved--and add Zigbee to it for that price. It simply doesn't "smell" right.
The Amazon site claims "CE/FCC/ROHS certified for safety use."
Things sold in Europe need a CE and ROHS mark. The FCC requires certain things to be compliant in the US. TBH, I wouldn't trust that any of those are legitimate.
So, they are clearly lying through their teeth--poor grammar and misrepresenting the standards.
And, it appears, a counterfeit ETL mark.
Yeah, not surprised to see a picture of one that's fried.
I will chime in here. I had a device like this. When I opened it to try and flash the firmware I noticed one of the outlets had partly melted. The device continued to function like nothing wad wrong.
I do not get why it is so tough for some of these things. I have a Ubiquiti wifi power strip. 6 controlled outlets, USB controlled separate... $49 and one of the few Ubiquiti devices that stays in stock and is not outrageous, like many of their devices. The problem is it is not that easy to control (even if you DO have their Unifi system)... Although I have it linked to my Hubitat and it works great.
But the short of that is, 6 outlets and USB controlled for $49 in a solid, WiFi-based device. Why is it so hard to find comparable ZigBee ones? Kasa makes decent WiFi ones also... But again, WiFi.
My Unifi Network Driver has it as a supported device (as well as the single outlet plug and the massive rack-mount power strip). Works well so far. Although I will admit that I control the single plugs more frequently than the outlets on the strip. Just the way it has worked out.
For me, I am pretty "saturated" for indoor plugs. I am looking more at the power strips we have around the house that could be replaced with controllable ones. I would also love to have a few outdoor controllable strips at this point for holiday stuff, although I have a lot of the Minoston outdoor plugs for that purpose.
