I’ve had mixed results with WIFI plugs from AliExpress – but I could not help myself when an offer of €3.79 for a Zigbee smartplug if-you-buy-3 came along. Would they be any good?
To look at these plugs, they seem high enough quality with a nice orange rim (not illuminated) and an orange button light. Model number is HT-SP-ZB-01 manufactured by Shenzhen HaiHo Electronics in guess-where – Shenzhen. The box calls this device the V2 Orange Zigbee Plug 16A. And now, the manual… nothing you would not expect… “Download the Smartlife APP” i.e. Tuya… but no need if you’re using Zigbee2MQTT so – completely local – no phoning home. I have to say, the manual was quite comprehensive.
I had no intention of trying yet another HUB and so the only question on my mind was – had I wasted my money or would these work on local Zigbee2MQTT? Short answer – yes, immediately. Features? ON/OFF. “countdown” – which works though I can’t see how to reset it – seems to be a one-off countdown. Power outage memory – importantly – works. Indicator mode – works. Power – I plugged in my wife’s hairdrier – 1200w and the plug said 1234w. Seems good. Current with the hair drier working came up as 5000A. Decimal point missing there but that seems about right – voltage 249v – that’s right. Sum of consumed energy – that test will have to wait until it’s not roasting in here – I could not bear the hair drier for more than a minute or so. There is also a child lock… that works.
Finally and most importantly – the plug appeared in Home Assistant no problem. The on-current in Home Assistant with the hairdrier connected came up correctly as 5.128A.
I’ve got quite a lot of cheap AliExpress Zigbee devices (I come out in a sweat when I see the price of Innr, Philips, even Aqara…) and on the whole they do work but sometimes don’t and sometimes they fail after a while. I’m currently waiting for a replacement for a plug – not your orange band one, but similar – which stopped connecting to Zigbee2MQTT after about a year’s use. The mechanical switch still works but no ‘smarts’. You also have to look out for Zigbee spamming, where the device reports its status much too often and unnecessarily, thereby flooding the network. You can sometimes look up the exact model number for reviews, although Ali often doesn’t include that useful piece of information (!) or you can just cross your fingers and test it once it arrives and put it down to experience if reporting more than, for example, once a second. On the whole they’ve made my smart home possible by being 4 times cheaper!
Thank you for giving me the courage to buy “Cheap AliExpress Zigbee Smart Plugs” on Aliexpress for Australian mains outlets.
Thanks to your post I found exactly the Zigbee Smart Plug I was looking for.
The Aliexpress seller was very wise to prove on his Aliexpress listing that this “Tuya Zigbee Device” would also work with Home Assistant by including a video clip demonstration proving that his “Tuya Zigbee Device” works with Home Assistant.
So it was a “no brainer” and so I ordered 8 of them.
Here is the link for anyone from Australia, New Zealand, Argentinia, etc who is interested.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009214185222.html
Like I said in the beginning… your post pointed me in the right direction and gave me the courage to buy 8 of these Zigbee Smart Plugs.
Thanks !!!