meross WiFi Smart Plug, WiFi Plug IP44 Outdoor 2 Grounded Heavy Duty Outlet Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings

I'm a big fan of Meross. I bought some smart plugs over a year ago as a test and they haven't once failed me (touch wood!). So I've recently just started buying more... in comes the outdoor smart plug.Firstly, it's a solid product. It feels well made, robust and like it will live up to its outdoor requirements. Packaging was simple with an instruction booklet provided. Set up is an absolute breeze and took a little under 2 minutes. I already had the app though, but once downloaded, I reckon it'll take a similar amount of time for someone new to Meross.I have synced mine with Google Home. It works flawlessly. I have 2 sets of garden lights. One set is wired to this outdoor smart plug, the other is wired up to a Meross indoor smart plug. They're grouped and once I ask Google to turn them on, they light up as if they're connected. There's sometimes a <1 second delay. I can live with that. I also tested with Alexa, and it works just as well.There's some negatives though which has made me drop 1 star:- It's not strictly weatherproof. It is when it's not being used, but as soon as you plug something in (i.e. the only thing you're buying this for) the weatherproof capabilities are entirely lost. For me, that's not a huge deal as I've put it in a weatherproof box in the garden, but I question whether this can be fully marketed as 'outdoor'. A cover would have been so much better.- The cable is ridiculously short. Meross, please lengthen the cable. I have an outdoor socket probably 2 feet from the ground and it reached halfway and just dangled down. This may not be an issue for some, but I found this to be a significant flaw. I had to lengthen the cable (see attached image) with some outdoor IP68 connectors. It took 10 mins to do but, really, I shouldn't have to.Overall, its a great addition to my smart home and I'm delighted with it. But there are some issues. For the price, you can't go wrong though.

I used to use a dusk to dawn type timer for my outdoor lights. This worked OK but was a bit inflexible, once set there was no way to turn on or off ad-hoc. They also proved to be unreliable having replaced them twice already. So when it broke again I looked for a more reliable modern solution. What would be really great would be if I could integrate control into my smart home setup.This is where this product comes in. I now control the power to my garden lights via this switch. I have it set up via an alexa routine to switch on at dusk - it actually tracks actual dusk time at my location so I never have to adjust it for winter or summer - it just works. At bedtime my Alexa routine switches it off. I can also ask Alexa to switch on/off at any other time to suit.I was a bit worried about wi-fi signal range but it seems to be very sensitive and worked in my garden without a problem. I would say if you can get a wi-fi signal on your phone where you want to locate this then it will work no problem. For a bit of extra protection I installed it in a weatherproof box and i would suggest you do this unless you have a very well sheltered location just to be extra safe.Setup via the Mreoss app was easy, but after that I don't really use the app but it seems to work well.Overall I am very pleased with this. It has given me exactly the level of control I was looking for and integrates with Alexa well.

It is impossible to set up. Complete rubbish. Terrible app. In fact just avoid

Easy to set up and works well. The lead is very short however so only 4 stars. You would need to protect from rain as when a plug is plugged into the socket there is no cover protecting the plug itself. Fine under the eves though or in a waterproof box.

I have an outdoor waterproof socket at the rear of the house which I use to power a fishpond pump/UV clarifier in a regular outlet and a set of outdoor lights via a smart plug. Having recently purchased a bird box with camera, this left me a socket short; the Meross Wi-Fi outdoor plug seemed to be the ideal solution and would allow me to retain smart control via Alexa of both.Installation is a straightforward process. I chose to mount mine on the wall and this can be done using the single screw slot on the rear of the backplate. Once installed, to integrate with Alexa requires the downloading of an app to a phone or tablet. Although the instructions provided are poor, if you’ve ever added a smart home device before then it’s a relatively simple process.Once connected up to my home system, I was able to turn the pair of sockets on or off simultaneously and also have control of each socket individually. Annoyingly though, when turning on the Meross via Alexa, the default is for both sockets to be powered on. This means I cannot just power up the socket and then just turn on the bird box camera. The lights always come on as well and then have to be turned off again. Not perfect.Also bear in mind that although this is an ‘Outdoor Socket’, it is only rated to IP44 which is only splash proof. This is fine for me as it’s under a canopy and not exposed to rain but if your location is exposed, IP44 does not cover heavy rainfall or similar adverse weather conditions.In summary, this works fairly well and does give me the extra power outlet I need with the added convenience of smart home integration. I would much prefer the default for the two sockets when going live to be its last used setting, or if the power on state defaulted to off rather than on. A rating of IP65 would also be preferred to an outdoor power supply.Every product I review is one I have purchased myself.I rely on unbiased reviews when making shopping choices so that’s exactly what you’ll get from me. If you do find my review useful, please click on the Helpful button. Thanks