Defiant Smart Hubspace Wi-Fi Bluetooth Plug Review - PCMag

The Home Depot’s exclusive smart home platform, dubbed Hubspace, is designed to enactment with the company’s proprietary brands including Commercial Electrical, Defiant, EcoSmart, and Hampton Bay. Don’t fto the sanction fool you, arsenic Hubspace-compatible devices don't necessitate a hub. Instead, they usage Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to link to the Hubspace mobile app wherever they tin beryllium controlled with an Android oregon iOS instrumentality (or with your dependable via Amazon Alexa oregon Google Assistant). We tested the Defiant 15-Amp 120-Volt Smart Hubspace Wi-Fi Bluetooth Plug, a single-outlet astute plug for indoor use. It works arsenic advertised and is affordably priced astatine $9.97, but you tin get much features and versatility with our Editors’ Choice for smart plugs, the $12.50 TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim.

Defiant Indoor Plug Design and Features

At 1.4 by 2.6 by 1.4 inches (HWD), the Defiant plug is astir the aforesaid size and signifier arsenic the Wyze Plug (1.5 by 2.7 by 1.2 inches) and is tiny capable that it won’t artifact the 2nd outlet of a two-outlet partition receptacle. It’s achromatic and sports a azygous three-prong outlet connected the beforehand and a three-prong plug connected the back. On the close broadside are a powerfulness fastener and an LED indicator that blinks orangish and greenish erstwhile Wi-Fi is not connected, glows coagulated greenish erstwhile the plug is on, and turns coagulated reddish erstwhile Wi-Fi is disconnected.

The plug is intended for indoor usage and has a 15-amp output rating. It uses an interior 2.4GHz Wi-Fi vigor to link to your web truthful you tin power it with the Hubspace app and with Alexa and Google dependable commands. It besides works with Alexa and Google routines, but doesn't enactment Apple HomeKit oregon IFTTT applets that let it to enactment with galore third-party astute devices. You tin adhd the plug to groups successful the Hubspace app and crook each of the devices successful the radical connected and disconnected with the interaction of a button, but you can’t make triggers to person it interact with different Hubspace devices.

By mode of comparison, some the TP-Link Kasa and Wyze plugs enactment with different devices installed successful their respective apps. Moreover, the Defiant plug doesn’t connection vigor reports similar the Emporia Smart Plug.

(Credit: Hubspace)

The plug gets its ain sheet connected the Hubspace app’s location screen. The sheet displays the sanction of the plug and has a fastener for turning it connected oregon off. Tap the sheet to make an on/off docket oregon acceptable an auto-off timer and to entree the plug’s settings, which fto you edit its sanction and location, delegate it to a room, configure Wi-Fi settings, and update firmware.

Back astatine the bottommost of the location surface are Home, Rooms, Schedule, and Integrations buttons. The Home fastener returns you to the location surface from anyplace successful the app, portion the Rooms fastener opens a surface wherever you tin make groups that let you to crook connected each of the devices successful the country with a azygous tap. Use the Schedules fastener to make connected and disconnected schedules based connected the clip and time oregon person the plug crook connected and disconnected astatine sunrise and sunset. The Integrations fastener opens a surface wherever you tin nexus your Hubspace relationship and devices to your Alexa and Google accounts.

Installing and Using the Defiant Indoor Plug

The Defiant plug is casual to install. I downloaded the Hubspace app, created an account, and tapped “Add a merchandise to Hubspace” connected the location screen. I utilized my phone’s camera to scan the QR codification connected the backmost of the plug, gave the plug a name, and selected my Wi-Fi SSID erstwhile prompted. I entered my Wi-Fi password, and aft a fewer seconds the plug was connected to the app and the installation was complete.

The Defiant Smart Plug worked good successful testing. It responded instantly to app and dependable commands and followed my schedules to a tee. I created an Alexa regular to person the plug crook connected erstwhile a Ring Floodlight Cam detected question and it worked similar a charm. Alexa dependable commands to crook the plug connected and disconnected besides worked arsenic intended.

A Simple and Affordable Smart Plug

The Defiant 15-Amp 120-Volt Smart Hubspace Wi-Fi Bluetooth Plug is simply a coagulated prime arsenic a standalone astute plug oregon arsenic an summation to homes that are presently utilizing different Hubspace astute devices. At nether $10 it’s precise affordable, installs successful minutes, and works with Alexa and Google dependable commands. However, integrations with different astute devices are limited. If you necessitate a plug that works with tons of different connected devices and supports Apple’s HomeKit platform, the TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim is your champion bet. It’s lone disposable successful a battalion of four, but the terms per plug is lone a spot much than Defiant and it offers greater third-party connectivity arsenic good arsenic vigor usage reports. As such, it remains our Editors’ Choice victor for astute plugs.