Over the years, I’ve amassed a large collection of the best smart plugs. Smart plugs work by simply allowing or blocking the flow of power, turning the connected appliances on or off. These affordable gadgets plug into an electrical outlet and connect to your Wi-Fi network. Connect outlet-powered devices such as lamps, fans, and appliances to this intermediary, and you can control them from anywhere through an app or voice assistant.
The latest models are much smaller and smarter, with advanced energy monitoring and complex scheduling capabilities. But smart plugs are not that smart in my eyes. My biggest concern about what many claim to be one of the best smart home devices is that it doesn’t retain settings for connected gadgets once it’s turned off. While there are a variety of devices with adjustable settings, such as the flashing mode on a string light or the brew strength on a coffee maker, smart plugs don’t do much more than enable or take away power, so you can adjust it to your preference. The problem is that I can’t select the gadget.
Why can’t my smart plug return my device to its previous power state?
Smart plugs do not have onboard memory or processing capabilities to store and recall settings applied to individual devices. This is unfortunate because most older devices do not remember their state at the time of a power outage. My old window air conditioning unit and Christmas tree lights are a great example of where this can be a problem.
You can’t just use a smart plug to turn on your old window air conditioner at the temperature setting you want. Instead, you have to manually set the temperature to 66 degrees each night before going to bed. When the smart temperature sensor in my room detects that it has reached 66 degrees, the smart plug turns off the air conditioning unit. However, when you turn on the air conditioner using the smart plug when the temperature rises, it goes into a selective standby mode that waits until a physical button is pressed to manually select either the fan or cooling mode. . Often this means the room is uncomfortably hot by the time you wake up.
A smart plug lets you turn your tree’s string lights on and off, but you have to manually click the power button three times each morning to activate the gradual fading effect that I like. My Tree is more than just turning on your favorite lighting effect preset. For any gadget with “smart” in its name, a smart plug is actually a simple on/off switch that won’t remember the connected device’s previous mode of operation when you power cycle it. So how can you avoid it?
Look for devices with physical configuration controls
True, it’s not just the plug that makes it smart. Certain devices, such as air conditioners, have built-in monitors that remember their power state after they are turned off. That way, the temperature sensor will turn off when it reaches the desired temperature and turn on again when it gets too hot.
Until then, simply select a device that has a manual mode dial, button, or slider that must be set in place to select a preset option. This will leave your device in your desired mode once power is restored. (Or buy the best smart air conditioner). So for a heating blanket, it might look like a slider with a “Heat On” setting. For fans, turn the dial to a numerical speed setting and leave it there. Additionally, a string of string lights creates a gradual twinkling effect with the push of a button.
I’ve seen the price of smart plugs go down over time. They remain the best way to easily and inexpensively add core smart home functionality to your space, such as scheduling and remote management from anywhere. The options below are some of the best smart plugs you can buy today. At least not unless there’s a breakthrough model in the category that remembers pre-selected modes and settings.