Thank you! For the record, I don't think that *all* paid reviewers push lies, but I do agree that they may sometimes... "forget" to tell you the bad things about a product. If my channel ever grows big enough that companies would like to sponsor a video for one of their products, I promise I will do my best to put it through the wringer and point out all the flaws, just like I did in this video. :) Thanks for watching, and thanks for the sub!
@fasthowto yea im looking at getting the ks205 thay are 20 a peice on Amazon just trying to learn this stuff just got a 5 gig fiber lines run to my house so iv been watching videos on hubs and devices wifi and routers learning im an electrician by trade but do big power 3 phase 800amp and up so all this low power integration is new to me just wanna walk in the house and say light on and still have a switch that works right now im gathering products got 15 Amazon echo 5s what that elevator music throw my house lol
@@chrisyerp174 The whole rest of this channel is all about Smart House stuff - more specifically, Home Assistant. Automate EVERYTHING - lights, garage door, locks, home audio, the works. If it can talk to another piece of equipment, or if it can be remote controlled, I've either already done it or I'm working on doing it. LOL Take a look at Home Assistant. It's much more flexible than the competitors - but that means you have to "do" more of the things to make it go. But... Custom doorbell ring notifications, security cameras, object/person detection, lights, door contact sensors, motion detection, water leak, automatic water main shutoff... It's all there if you want to do it!
Just wrapped up replacing 24 out of 25 switches with a variety of kasa smart switches. Switch number 25 is the garbage disposal. No need to smartify that. So far I love them!
Super video - nice work. I have 6 3 way dimmers that I am ripping out(X10 install on the whole main floor of the house) then I would like proper 3 way dimmers that work. (also I wonder if KASA has fixed the issue in 2024) Any advice /update on your setup would be awesome !
No change to my setup, it's still the same as it was when I made the video. They still work fine in my dining room, still give me a headache in the kitchen if I turn off the max brightness automation. I haven't updated the firmware on anything though - I'm of the mindset that I don't screw with stuff that currently works. They work "well enough" for me, so I left it alone. Be sure to come back and let me know how your deployment goes, and if you run into any problems!
I've been using the Kasa products for about 18 months, and at this point, I couldn't be happier. Had been disappointed by a few pricier options in the past, so I've got nothing but praise for these. Not often do you find something that's cheaper yet more reliable
I only have 18 and I am in a rental that's why I haven't continue doing more switches. I've been using them for over 4 years now. I've replaced all of them about a year ago when they finally jumped into homekit market. Works awesome with my home kit home.
Thanks for the video. I have 52 Kasa switches in my house, so you've got me beat... ha! They all work great and are very responsive to my Home Assistant automations. I will say that you must have a good WIFI network or these switches will jamb up your bandwidth and after a certain number of switches you won't be able to connect more. I learned this the hard way and had to upgrade my WIFI network to dual band so I could have these switches on a dedicated 2.4G band. But, they all now work great.
You're most welcome! Yes, you're definitely right about the networking. I need to do a video about networking at some point.. It's just such a touchy topic since there are a lot of people with "knowledge" of networks, and people tend to be quite defensive about whatever product they bought - even if it's not doing what they need it to do. "My brand x gear is just fine! It worked great until I added these KASA devices. It must be their fault!" "Well how many did you add?" "40" Ermmm... :) Luckily, being an IT nerd, my home network was horribly overbuilt for what it was at the time, but now with all these KASA switches all over the place, it's getting the workout it deserves. LOL What are you using for network gear? Thanks for watching!!
@@fasthowto I have an Araknis AN-310-RT-4L2W Router with 3 Netgear access points. Probably overkill but I didn't want to take any chances after my previous network didn't cut it. Ha!
I have a lot of Kasa switches though I had crazy problems with their 3-ways, I tried another brand for those and the wife liked the look of the other brand so I’m half and half, downstairs are all Kasa, upstairs is another brand. Both are working like a dream a year later!
For me, their regular 3-ways were fine. I only installed one of them, and that was at the end with the neutral (it's not required to have one on both ends). Is that what you did? Now, their 3-way DIMMERS... Well, I addressed those in the video, and it's not gotten any better. LOL What was the other brand that you used? Thanks for watching!!
Thank you for the kind words! I've done a few other reviews. I have some more planned, but since companies don't send me free shit, I only have so much to work with. Lol
I have Kasa everywhere and they work great. I will be installing the 3- way dimmer soon. I'm looking for them to come out with a panel display so I can control many switches in one place. Especially when I leave out the house.
I use Home Assistant to manage everything in my house, and for a panel I use a cheap, old tablet mounted to the wall in my kitchen. I'm able to control everything from my phone then - lights, garage door, door locks, cameras, the whole works. If you don't have a smart home solution in place yet, you should check out the rest of my videos on the channel; they are all about how to build & configure Home Assistant.
Yep, I have 6 or 7 Kasa devices and they work great. In addition to switches and dimmers, I have their HS300 6-port power strip that's pretty useful, with 6 individual smart outlets with energy monitoring. Local control sure helps. Not doing the 3-way thing though. I also have a couple of their LED strips that I installed to the bottom of the railing leading upstairs. Paired with a couple of motion sensors, nice to light up the stairs without turning the lights on.
Yeah, overall, I give the brand a solid rating. Just the weird 3-way dimmer issues. Oh well, nobody's perfect I guess. And I am still using them, and have no interest in replacing them, so.. :)
I have a similar number (55) of Lutron Caseta - a mix of dimmers switches & pico remotes. I've had most of them installed for >>5 years. I paid no more than $45 each for dimmers & switches - bought carefully on eBay (except for a couple of ELV and high power dimmers). I've had zero issues with any of them in that time, they all work perfectly and quickly every time. Everything also works perfectly fine without the internet (integration w/HA, automations via Lutron & HA) and all but automations/integrations works even with the hub unplugged and WiFi disabled (e.g. basic operation, scenes, multi-way). I'm guessing I paid 2-3x what your equiv. Kasa system was - but I want my home infrastructure to work every time without fail - so to me it was totally worth it. Plus I'm confident Lutron will be around in 20-30 years - something I'm not at all sure about with other smaller companies - I was burned once with that before - never again.
Well, since I've not had any more issues since making that video, and the issues I previously had were clearly spelled out and explainable, combined with the fact that local control from HA to these switches works just fine, I'm not sure there was any tangible benefit to what you bought - aside from the fact that kasa & many of the other consumer-grade smart switches weren't on the market just yet. So at the time you installed those, it sounds like you made a great choice. Either way - if it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you! Some people simply want what they want, and you shouldn't feel the need to have to justify it to anyone. :) Thanks for watching!
I have Kasa all over my house as well including the 3-way switches and one thing not many people know is that even though they only sell the 3-way switches in 2 packs you only need one. I have 2 different 3-way setups in my house and I used one switch for each and left the regular not smart switches at the other end and have had it that way for about 2 years. Never really had any issues with them.
Bought a Kasa on Prime Day. Liked it enought that I bought four more a few days ago and just installed them today. So, I guess I'm sold. Unfortuately, they don't seems to make a 1 gang switch that contols two dimmers for ceiling fans/light. So I might have t0 buy a couple of those from a different vendor.
The dimmer was kinda funny on some led's and had to adjust the minimum. As far as the motion they are great as you can can adjust how long they stay on and at what brightness, so the lights don't go off during a shower.
I have had them for years definitely without a doubt I understand being a Kasa fan! i love that they dont need an internet connection and work on the house local intranet from Kasa phone app. google cant do shit without internet google worthless without Inet. You beat by a few switches ...I totally feel your Kasa love bro!
I'm in the process of replacing my control4 light switches. I don't want to have to be at the mercy of my distributor if I have any issues.. They use Zigbee
I have 10 tp link kasa switches they all work great and one on a 4 way switch and one on a 3 way and only had to use one three way on each and they work fine. Just put the kasa on the first switch where the first switch that feeds the circuit so that saves you buying two. I have not tried their dimmer switch. I have feit dimmer switches on some light that I waned to dim.
Can you do a basics video and explain things like what is the difference between kasa smart dimmer switches that are apple kit, matter, smart dimmer, etc…? They look the same… all the vocabulary of all the smart things would be helpful to know.
They all look the same because they are all the same. All those things are just the protocol that they use to connect to your smart house. If you are using home assistant, wifi is the easiest. If you're only using apple, then you'd buy apple homekit ones. IMO, Matter isn't ready for prime time yet, so I'd hold off on any of those. Lots of empty promises there so far.
I have a dozen Kasa switches pretty much the same mixture. I also got them off the tangled web and went local with my Hubitat. I also had 5 switches that had no neutral wire instead of wiring a neutral i bought Lutron dimmers with picos along with the pro hub which you need to communicate with HA or another smart hub. I've never had trouble with any of my Kasa switches and the only complaint I have with the Lutron switches is the main switch only turns on full brightness and you have to dim it every time.
@@fasthowto I paid $65 for a switch a pico kit. The pro hub was $150. I got around $500 invested with Lutron it would have cost thousands to have neutrals added plus drywall repair which I hate to do lol. I wish Kasa had no neutral switches.
@@rollinsms $65 * 54 = $3510. :D Adding neutrals, in some cases, isn't as difficult as you'd think. Just like everything else real-estate related, it all comes down to location, location, location. LOL Aqara has no-neutral switches I see. I haven't tried them, but I have a LOT of other Aqara gear, and it's all been rock-solid thus far.
do all kasa devices work without internet? on the home assistant integration they mention that the newer devices all need cloud authentication. I wonder if internet is just required for the intial set-up, or also for operation
Great video! I'm almost all-in on KASA, but the dimmer issue with your wafer LED's makes me nervous. Would be GREAT if you could figure out the cause, LED model, etc? Thanks!
As stated in the video, I've figured out as much as I'm willing to figure out with that issue. The automation was an easy fix, and I've got WAY better things to do with my time than get out a ladder and screw up the paint on my ceiling. LOL
Love your videos. Subbed. So do you find that having all these devices on your network effects the overall bandwidth much? Is something like Lutron better since they use RF instead of Wi-Fi? That’s one of the things that’s really keeping me on the fence.
Thanks! I have no issues with them on my network, no, but - I use ubiquiti network gear, and have 6 APs, so there's plenty of wireless to go around. I'm planning to make a video about my network soon. Thanks for watching!
@@ZZFilm check out some of the other ubiquiti videos I've already done, like automating your firewall rules and automating changing your guest wifi password - including adding a QR code to the dashboard for guests to easily hop on your network.
KASA fan as well. The only one I have had trouble is I have a light switch that was powering an always HOT and on outlet to plug things into. How do you wire the Kasa that way when it basically is just hit switch. Either giving power or not giving power. So when the ceiling light should turn off everything plugged into the outlet should still be getting power.
I don't understand what you're trying to explain... But, having said that - I'm not an electrician, and it sounds like you're not either. If there's one thing I've learned, it always pays to call in the experts when you're unsure - especially if we're talking about something that could burn down your house. Electricians aren't as expensive as you might think... Thanks for watching!
Really wish you would have gone up the ladder to get the bulb information to see if that was the problem. Who settles for partially and then makes a video about it 😂
Hi Jeff, I’m having issues with my KS220s. I have a smart house that’s ran by Orbi mesh and good strong internet. All of my other devices connect and run with no issues whatsoever on HomeKit and their respective apps. The Kasa HomeKit switch works fine as well. The dimmer however I cannot get past the initial setup sequence. They will not connect via HomeKit or Kasa itself. Any tips?
No clue, I have zero apple products in my house so I don't own any of their HomeKit switches. The KASA integration in Home Assistant works REALLY well, so I've not seen any need to add yet another layer of complexity by introducing HomeKit. I'd reach out to their support. As I mentioned in the video, they are pretty quick to respond, and it could be something as simple as a firmware update. Sorry I didn't have an answer for you, but thanks for watching!
This might be too late, but Homekit does not work with mesh networks. I suggest doing what I did - get rid of the Homekit switches. I struggled with them for two years and then ripped them all out and replaced them with the plain non-Homekit Wifi version after the sixth one went totally dead. The firmware was buggy - I must have rebooted them on average at least every month. Now, the plain vanilla WiFi work great, works with Alexa and Google Home, and the automation works flawlessly.
Can these authentic on WPA3 or WPA2 with PMF implemented? Looking at setting up a VLAN with an Apple HomeKit to keep the local commands. That’s a really good point you made with that, and interested to see it in action. Unfortunately no PMF on the network is a no-go for me and their documentation is lacking.
Homekit isn't required, Home Assistant will directly communicate with them. As for the WPA3 question, I don't know the answer to that. They are pretty cheap, and Amazon has an easy return process/policy, maybe order one and test it out? Let me know what you find! Thanks for watching!!
Question: I have a room with two light switches in it. One switch is a single with a dimmer, and the other has three switches on it-- one that works the same as the single, and two that control the back porch. I never use the dimming function, so I don't care if that doesn't work anymore, and I don't want to use a smart switch for the porch. I'm trying to figure out if the light will work properly if I only exchange the single switch for a smart switch without a dimmer, and leave the other one as-is?
Since these switches are wifi, the answer is no - they need to connect to wifi. That's how wifi works. Why do you not want to connect to wifi? How do you use your computer or your phone?
@@fasthowto I plan to switch 18-20 switches in my house and I don’t want to clog my wifi plus in future if I change my password or network name I have to manually reset all my 20 switches. If they have hub or bridge like HUE, Lutron it solves the problem
@@Pranilkarki551 You're trying to solve the wrong problem(s). "clogging your wifi" isn't a thing if you have a proper network. I just went and looked, and I have 109 devices connected to my wifi networks. Same goes for your concern about changing your password or network name. You create a dedicated network for your smart home equipment, and that's ALL that connects to it. That way, there's no need to change any of it. Sounds to me like the problem you really need to address is your network design. I'll be doing a video in the future where I cover my network equipment and how it's all designed, and why it works so well.
@@fasthowto I do have a proper network. So you are saying If I have wifi band 2.4 ghz name: HOME and password: 123, and in the future if I want to change the network name or password, I do not have to go to each of my 20 switches and reset and connect with new wifi name? Plus reliability. I tested with one switch, which needed to be reset after 29 days. I didn't make any changes. That is why I bought Lutron Cassata with Hub, and it had not given any issues yet, but they are a hell of expensive and could not convert to my entire house.
I am using a TP-link Motion activated dimmer switch KS220M, ES20M in my bathroom. I would like to set up a routine using my Alexa Voice activation to communicate through the switch using the word “shower”. What I would like the routine to do is when I am ready to take a shower, I would like for the light to stay on for at least 15 minutes or longer. When I'm in the shower the light keeps going out after one minute, and I must constantly wave my hands to trigger the motion detector to get the light to turn back on while I am in the shower. Is there a way that I can create a routine to trigger the light for the light to stay on while I am in the shower for at least 15 minutes or longer. I am also using a Smart Things controller as well as Alexa.
Can the output of the smart switch be latched so smart bulbs can be powered continuously, such that the press of the switch button will instead send an instruction to the bulb itself via an automation?
To my knowledge, the switch itself does not offer a feature like that. To be honest, I've never understood that application anyway. If you have a bulb that is controlled by a physical switch, why does the bulb need to be smart? Use a regular bulb, they are cheaper. I've always found smart bulbs are more useful for things that don't have wall switches, such as a lamp. Perhaps you could help me understand the application you're thinking of?
@@mwahlert Ok, sure. Wouldn't it be just as easy to just write an automation so that whenever someone turns on the switch you send a color change to the bulb as required? Or does that not work for some reason that I'm currently not thinking of? LOL
@@fasthowto It is possible but it is rather slow and clunky, especially when using WiFi bulbs. From the moment you power the bulb up to the time it has joined the network, received an IP address, and is ready to take commands is often several seconds alone.
@@mwahlert ah, I can see that. I use all zigbee bulbs for smart applications, so I guess I didn't consider the speed of the wifi ones. Hrmmm.. I know there are switches out there that do what you're asking. In fact, I *think* you can accomplish that with Shelly relays?
I've never tried wulian, so I don't know anything about them. If the switches in the video meet your needs as I described them, then they might be good for you. One thing to watch out for, however, is that apparently the newer versions of firmware make you authenticate to the switch, and some people have had issues with this. I'm still running old firmware so I can't confirm this.
@lovewinson3 I actually don't do any voice control, but if I did I'd use the local voice control built into home assistant. Faster, and no eavesdropping going out to the corporate overlords.
I have a "3 gang" its 3 light switches crammed inside one fixture. I see Kasa doesn't have a 3 gang, just 1 switch. How can I wire this 3 gang with Kasa light switches?
If I'm understanding correctly, you have 3 switches in a single gang box? You'll need to remove that single gang box, cut some drywall and install a 3 gang box, then put in 3 switches.
@@fasthowto I live in an apartment not a house so cutting drywall isn't going to happen. I have 3 switches in a row. They are covered by one plate. So Kasa only sells single switches, some other smart companies sell the 3 gangs. I just don't know if it's compatible.
There is nothing bad about these. The only thing Kasa needs to do is release 2 gang and 3 gang cover plate for these. The typical screwless coverplate will not cover the switch flush with the wall.
Firmware firmware firmware... I've had happy wifi switches that stopped working after 6 months since a firmware update. Each vendor I've dealt with won't allow downgrades and the wife isn't going to wait for them to build a fix or troubleshoot over email. I skipped to flashing all of my switches with open source firmware. Tasmota and esphome. Have never looked back and enjoy the crap out of them.
Can you do that to the kasa switches, or are you using a different brand? I purposely have not updated the firmware on any switches since install, and the vlan they are on also has no internet access. So far, so good. But I'd be interested to hear more about your experience with flashing. I haven't done that yet - with anything. Read quite a bit about it in the forums, but it's a road I haven't needed to venture down (yet!).
Not sure how I feel about that. Seems like people would just skip around and watch bits and pieces of videos then. I put a LOT of work into my videos, and if people don't want to watch them, then just don't. Only watching bits and pieces, and then asking me questions which were already answered in the video is far too annoying given the number of hours it takes to create a video. Thanks for watching!
Subbed becuase your awsome and not a paid reviewer pushing lies. Just straight forward
Thank you! For the record, I don't think that *all* paid reviewers push lies, but I do agree that they may sometimes... "forget" to tell you the bad things about a product. If my channel ever grows big enough that companies would like to sponsor a video for one of their products, I promise I will do my best to put it through the wringer and point out all the flaws, just like I did in this video. :)
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the sub!
@fasthowto yea im looking at getting the ks205 thay are 20 a peice on Amazon just trying to learn this stuff just got a 5 gig fiber lines run to my house so iv been watching videos on hubs and devices wifi and routers learning im an electrician by trade but do big power 3 phase 800amp and up so all this low power integration is new to me just wanna walk in the house and say light on and still have a switch that works right now im gathering products got 15 Amazon echo 5s what that elevator music throw my house lol
@@chrisyerp174 The whole rest of this channel is all about Smart House stuff - more specifically, Home Assistant. Automate EVERYTHING - lights, garage door, locks, home audio, the works. If it can talk to another piece of equipment, or if it can be remote controlled, I've either already done it or I'm working on doing it. LOL Take a look at Home Assistant. It's much more flexible than the competitors - but that means you have to "do" more of the things to make it go. But... Custom doorbell ring notifications, security cameras, object/person detection, lights, door contact sensors, motion detection, water leak, automatic water main shutoff... It's all there if you want to do it!
Just wrapped up replacing 24 out of 25 switches with a variety of kasa smart switches. Switch number 25 is the garbage disposal. No need to smartify that. So far I love them!
Lol same here. No need for the garbage disposal to be smart at my house, either!
@@fasthowto I did replace the garbage disposal switch with a flat rocker switch to match everything else. Lol
I dont like directly connecting to Wifi. Are there any HUB that support these switches?
I have five Kasa products. Most work well, but I have one that just doesn't want to connect. I'm generally pleased with them though.
Super video - nice work. I have 6 3 way dimmers that I am ripping out(X10 install on the whole main floor of the house) then I would like proper 3 way dimmers that work. (also I wonder if KASA has fixed the issue in 2024)
Any advice /update on your setup would be awesome !
No change to my setup, it's still the same as it was when I made the video. They still work fine in my dining room, still give me a headache in the kitchen if I turn off the max brightness automation. I haven't updated the firmware on anything though - I'm of the mindset that I don't screw with stuff that currently works. They work "well enough" for me, so I left it alone. Be sure to come back and let me know how your deployment goes, and if you run into any problems!
I've been using the Kasa products for about 18 months, and at this point, I couldn't be happier. Had been disappointed by a few pricier options in the past, so I've got nothing but praise for these. Not often do you find something that's cheaper yet more reliable
#troof Thanks for watching!
I only have 18 and I am in a rental that's why I haven't continue doing more switches. I've been using them for over 4 years now. I've replaced all of them about a year ago when they finally jumped into homekit market. Works awesome with my home kit home.
You should just use Home Assistant. Then you wouldn't have had to waste your money replacing them. ;) Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video. I have 52 Kasa switches in my house, so you've got me beat... ha! They all work great and are very responsive to my Home Assistant automations. I will say that you must have a good WIFI network or these switches will jamb up your bandwidth and after a certain number of switches you won't be able to connect more. I learned this the hard way and had to upgrade my WIFI network to dual band so I could have these switches on a dedicated 2.4G band. But, they all now work great.
You're most welcome!
Yes, you're definitely right about the networking. I need to do a video about networking at some point.. It's just such a touchy topic since there are a lot of people with "knowledge" of networks, and people tend to be quite defensive about whatever product they bought - even if it's not doing what they need it to do. "My brand x gear is just fine! It worked great until I added these KASA devices. It must be their fault!" "Well how many did you add?" "40" Ermmm... :)
Luckily, being an IT nerd, my home network was horribly overbuilt for what it was at the time, but now with all these KASA switches all over the place, it's getting the workout it deserves. LOL What are you using for network gear?
Thanks for watching!!
@@fasthowto I have an Araknis AN-310-RT-4L2W Router with 3 Netgear access points. Probably overkill but I didn't want to take any chances after my previous network didn't cut it. Ha!
Moral of the story - stop buying shitty networking equipment. :)
I have a lot of Kasa switches though I had crazy problems with their 3-ways, I tried another brand for those and the wife liked the look of the other brand so I’m half and half, downstairs are all Kasa, upstairs is another brand. Both are working like a dream a year later!
For me, their regular 3-ways were fine. I only installed one of them, and that was at the end with the neutral (it's not required to have one on both ends). Is that what you did?
Now, their 3-way DIMMERS... Well, I addressed those in the video, and it's not gotten any better. LOL
What was the other brand that you used?
Thanks for watching!!
dude, you are hilarious - can you do all reviews and how to videos please!!!! Thank you for helping us save a ton of time
Thank you for the kind words! I've done a few other reviews. I have some more planned, but since companies don't send me free shit, I only have so much to work with. Lol
I have Kasa everywhere and they work great. I will be installing the 3- way dimmer soon. I'm looking for them to come out with a panel display so I can control many switches in one place. Especially when I leave out the house.
I use Home Assistant to manage everything in my house, and for a panel I use a cheap, old tablet mounted to the wall in my kitchen. I'm able to control everything from my phone then - lights, garage door, door locks, cameras, the whole works. If you don't have a smart home solution in place yet, you should check out the rest of my videos on the channel; they are all about how to build & configure Home Assistant.
Yep, I have 6 or 7 Kasa devices and they work great. In addition to switches and dimmers, I have their HS300 6-port power strip that's pretty useful, with 6 individual smart outlets with energy monitoring. Local control sure helps. Not doing the 3-way thing though. I also have a couple of their LED strips that I installed to the bottom of the railing leading upstairs. Paired with a couple of motion sensors, nice to light up the stairs without turning the lights on.
Yeah, overall, I give the brand a solid rating. Just the weird 3-way dimmer issues. Oh well, nobody's perfect I guess. And I am still using them, and have no interest in replacing them, so.. :)
Thanks for thw video. Helped me decide to buy Kasa after 3 of my 5 other smart switches lost the ability to communicate via wifi.
I have a similar number (55) of Lutron Caseta - a mix of dimmers switches & pico remotes. I've had most of them installed for >>5 years. I paid no more than $45 each for dimmers & switches - bought carefully on eBay (except for a couple of ELV and high power dimmers). I've had zero issues with any of them in that time, they all work perfectly and quickly every time. Everything also works perfectly fine without the internet (integration w/HA, automations via Lutron & HA) and all but automations/integrations works even with the hub unplugged and WiFi disabled (e.g. basic operation, scenes, multi-way). I'm guessing I paid 2-3x what your equiv. Kasa system was - but I want my home infrastructure to work every time without fail - so to me it was totally worth it. Plus I'm confident Lutron will be around in 20-30 years - something I'm not at all sure about with other smaller companies - I was burned once with that before - never again.
Well, since I've not had any more issues since making that video, and the issues I previously had were clearly spelled out and explainable, combined with the fact that local control from HA to these switches works just fine, I'm not sure there was any tangible benefit to what you bought - aside from the fact that kasa & many of the other consumer-grade smart switches weren't on the market just yet. So at the time you installed those, it sounds like you made a great choice.
Either way - if it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you! Some people simply want what they want, and you shouldn't feel the need to have to justify it to anyone. :)
Thanks for watching!
I would certainly do it again today - I see the benefit - that's really all that matters. @@fasthowto
I subscribed because of your tshirt bro
That's awesome, thank you! And thank you for watching! :)
Where did you get the shirt.
I have Kasa all over my house as well including the 3-way switches and one thing not many people know is that even though they only sell the 3-way switches in 2 packs you only need one. I have 2 different 3-way setups in my house and I used one switch for each and left the regular not smart switches at the other end and have had it that way for about 2 years. Never really had any issues with them.
Anybody who paid attention while watching this video would know that. ;)
Thanks for watching!
Bought a Kasa on Prime Day. Liked it enought that I bought four more a few days ago and just installed them today. So, I guess I'm sold. Unfortuately, they don't seems to make a 1 gang switch that contols two dimmers for ceiling fans/light. So I might have t0 buy a couple of those from a different vendor.
They do not, you're right. Just remove the single gang box and replace it with a 2 gang box. Problem solved!
Thanks for watching!
The dimmer was kinda funny on some led's and had to adjust the minimum. As far as the motion they are great as you can can adjust how long they stay on and at what brightness, so the lights don't go off during a shower.
great video. I love the Kasa products. I am looking for a smart ceiling fan switch and I don't see that Kasa has one. What would you recomend?
I guess I'm not sure. What type of switch are you referring to? My ceiling fans operate on normal light switches. What kind does yours use?
Their stuff really works well and is mega friendly.Ive tried a few others and most didnt work flawless.
Agreed. Haven't had much in the way of problems with any of it. They look good, and work great! Thanks for watching!
great video
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
I have had them for years definitely without a doubt I understand being a Kasa fan! i love that they dont need an internet connection and work on the house local intranet from Kasa phone app. google cant do shit without internet google worthless without Inet. You beat by a few switches ...I totally feel your Kasa love bro!
I'm in the process of replacing my control4 light switches. I don't want to have to be at the mercy of my distributor if I have any issues.. They use Zigbee
I have 10 tp link kasa switches they all work great and one on a 4 way switch and one on a 3 way and only had to use one three way on each and they work fine. Just put the kasa on the first switch where the first switch that feeds the circuit so that saves you buying two. I have not tried their dimmer switch. I have feit dimmer switches on some light that I waned to dim.
I'm not sure what you're getting at? Are you referring to the issue described in the video?
Great channel thanks, Cheers
Thank you so much for the kind words, and thanks for watching! :)
Can you do a basics video and explain things like what is the difference between kasa smart dimmer switches that are apple kit, matter, smart dimmer, etc…? They look the same… all the vocabulary of all the smart things would be helpful to know.
They all look the same because they are all the same. All those things are just the protocol that they use to connect to your smart house. If you are using home assistant, wifi is the easiest. If you're only using apple, then you'd buy apple homekit ones. IMO, Matter isn't ready for prime time yet, so I'd hold off on any of those. Lots of empty promises there so far.
I have a dozen Kasa switches pretty much the same mixture. I also got them off the tangled web and went local with my Hubitat. I also had 5 switches that had no neutral wire instead of wiring a neutral i bought Lutron dimmers with picos along with the pro hub which you need to communicate with HA or another smart hub. I've never had trouble with any of my Kasa switches and the only complaint I have with the Lutron switches is the main switch only turns on full brightness and you have to dim it every time.
My biggest issue with Lutron is cost. No way I'm spending $5000 on lightswitches. LOL
@@fasthowto I paid $65 for a switch a pico kit. The pro hub was $150. I got around $500 invested with Lutron it would have cost thousands to have neutrals added plus drywall repair which I hate to do lol. I wish Kasa had no neutral switches.
@@rollinsms $65 * 54 = $3510. :D Adding neutrals, in some cases, isn't as difficult as you'd think. Just like everything else real-estate related, it all comes down to location, location, location. LOL Aqara has no-neutral switches I see. I haven't tried them, but I have a LOT of other Aqara gear, and it's all been rock-solid thus far.
do all kasa devices work without internet? on the home assistant integration they mention that the newer devices all need cloud authentication. I wonder if internet is just required for the intial set-up, or also for operation
All the ones mentioned in this video do. I can't speak for any of the new ones since I haven't bought any in a couple years.
great video and a big help...
Thank you, that's great to hear. Thanks for watching!
@@fasthowto just purchased 7 devices. Installed one already and surprised how easy it was. Thanks.
@@gsulliv1 yeah, super easy, right? Enjoy!!
Well done
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
Sweet t-shirt
Thanks, and thank you for watching!
Great video! I'm almost all-in on KASA, but the dimmer issue with your wafer LED's makes me nervous. Would be GREAT if you could figure out the cause, LED model, etc? Thanks!
As stated in the video, I've figured out as much as I'm willing to figure out with that issue. The automation was an easy fix, and I've got WAY better things to do with my time than get out a ladder and screw up the paint on my ceiling. LOL
looking to install 4w dimmer switches. Can I modify the dimming setting in the transit switch?
Love your videos. Subbed.
So do you find that having all these devices on your network effects the overall bandwidth much?
Is something like Lutron better since they use RF instead of Wi-Fi?
That’s one of the things that’s really keeping me on the fence.
Thanks!
I have no issues with them on my network, no, but - I use ubiquiti network gear, and have 6 APs, so there's plenty of wireless to go around. I'm planning to make a video about my network soon. Thanks for watching!
@@fasthowto Ah! Great. I’m in the process of building a Unifi system. Will definitely look for that video.
@@ZZFilm check out some of the other ubiquiti videos I've already done, like automating your firewall rules and automating changing your guest wifi password - including adding a QR code to the dashboard for guests to easily hop on your network.
@@fasthowto Thanks 🙏
KASA fan as well. The only one I have had trouble is I have a light switch that was powering an always HOT and on outlet to plug things into. How do you wire the Kasa that way when it basically is just hit switch. Either giving power or not giving power. So when the ceiling light should turn off everything plugged into the outlet should still be getting power.
I don't understand what you're trying to explain... But, having said that - I'm not an electrician, and it sounds like you're not either. If there's one thing I've learned, it always pays to call in the experts when you're unsure - especially if we're talking about something that could burn down your house. Electricians aren't as expensive as you might think...
Thanks for watching!
I even removed some of my old X-10 switches.
Need a dimmer that works with 4 way switches.
Well, they can't even get their 3-way dimmer working 100%, so...... ;)
Really wish you would have gone up the ladder to get the bulb information to see if that was the problem.
Who settles for partially and then makes a video about it 😂
Like I said, it's plenty bright enough. And I'm not repainting my ceiling to satisfy some lazy tech support staff's curiosity. Lol
Hi Jeff, I’m having issues with my KS220s. I have a smart house that’s ran by Orbi mesh and good strong internet. All of my other devices connect and run with no issues whatsoever on HomeKit and their respective apps. The Kasa HomeKit switch works fine as well. The dimmer however I cannot get past the initial setup sequence. They will not connect via HomeKit or Kasa itself. Any tips?
No clue, I have zero apple products in my house so I don't own any of their HomeKit switches. The KASA integration in Home Assistant works REALLY well, so I've not seen any need to add yet another layer of complexity by introducing HomeKit. I'd reach out to their support. As I mentioned in the video, they are pretty quick to respond, and it could be something as simple as a firmware update.
Sorry I didn't have an answer for you, but thanks for watching!
This might be too late, but Homekit does not work with mesh networks. I suggest doing what I did - get rid of the Homekit switches. I struggled with them for two years and then ripped them all out and replaced them with the plain non-Homekit Wifi version after the sixth one went totally dead. The firmware was buggy - I must have rebooted them on average at least every month. Now, the plain vanilla WiFi work great, works with Alexa and Google Home, and the automation works flawlessly.
Can these authentic on WPA3 or WPA2 with PMF implemented?
Looking at setting up a VLAN with an Apple HomeKit to keep the local commands. That’s a really good point you made with that, and interested to see it in action. Unfortunately no PMF on the network is a no-go for me and their documentation is lacking.
Homekit isn't required, Home Assistant will directly communicate with them. As for the WPA3 question, I don't know the answer to that. They are pretty cheap, and Amazon has an easy return process/policy, maybe order one and test it out? Let me know what you find!
Thanks for watching!!
Do these switches work well with ceiling fans? As basically every room in my house has one.
They are a lightswitch, and can control anything a lightswitch can control.
What do I do when there are four switches that control my great room lights?
It is best to consult an electrician if you're unsure about electrical wiring.
kasa HS210 can work in 4-Way / 5-Way switching circuits.
Question: I have a room with two light switches in it. One switch is a single with a dimmer, and the other has three switches on it-- one that works the same as the single, and two that control the back porch. I never use the dimming function, so I don't care if that doesn't work anymore, and I don't want to use a smart switch for the porch. I'm trying to figure out if the light will work properly if I only exchange the single switch for a smart switch without a dimmer, and leave the other one as-is?
If you are uncertain about wiring, your best bet is to contact a licensed electrician.
I do not like to connect to wifi directly. Are there any HUB or bridge that support these switches?
Since these switches are wifi, the answer is no - they need to connect to wifi. That's how wifi works.
Why do you not want to connect to wifi? How do you use your computer or your phone?
@@fasthowto I plan to switch 18-20 switches in my house and I don’t want to clog my wifi plus in future if I change my password or network name I have to manually reset all my 20 switches.
If they have hub or bridge like HUE, Lutron it solves the problem
@@Pranilkarki551 You're trying to solve the wrong problem(s). "clogging your wifi" isn't a thing if you have a proper network. I just went and looked, and I have 109 devices connected to my wifi networks.
Same goes for your concern about changing your password or network name. You create a dedicated network for your smart home equipment, and that's ALL that connects to it. That way, there's no need to change any of it.
Sounds to me like the problem you really need to address is your network design. I'll be doing a video in the future where I cover my network equipment and how it's all designed, and why it works so well.
@@fasthowto
I do have a proper network.
So you are saying If I have wifi band 2.4 ghz name: HOME and password: 123, and in the future if I want to change the network name or password, I do not have to go to each of my 20 switches and reset and connect with new wifi name?
Plus reliability. I tested with one switch, which needed to be reset after 29 days. I didn't make any changes.
That is why I bought Lutron Cassata with Hub, and it had not given any issues yet, but they are a hell of expensive and could not convert to my entire house.
@Pranilkarki551 it doesn't sound to me like it's very proper...
If for some reason wifi is down, do these still just act like regular switches when pushed manually?
Yep, sure do!
I have a question can you have regular 4 way switch in between?
Not with the dimmer, no, but possibly with a regular 3 way at one end of the circuit? Not sure.
I am using a TP-link Motion activated dimmer switch KS220M, ES20M in my bathroom. I would like to set up a routine using my Alexa Voice activation to communicate through the switch using the word “shower”. What I would like the routine to do is when I am ready to take a shower, I would like for the light to stay on for at least 15 minutes or longer.
When I'm in the shower the light keeps going out after one minute, and I must constantly wave my hands to trigger the motion detector to get the light to turn back on while I am in the shower.
Is there a way that I can create a routine to trigger the light for the light to stay on while I am in the shower for at least 15 minutes or longer.
I am also using a Smart Things controller as well as Alexa.
Home Assistant could definitely handle all that for you, but it doesn't sound like you use it.
I need dimmable smart motion for under cabs. I also need a remote switch like the pico. Can this be done with TP lInk?
Depends what you mean by "with TP link"?
@@fasthowto I thought these were made by TP link?
@@Flienlow pico is lutron, AFAIK, so... ?
Can the output of the smart switch be latched so smart bulbs can be powered continuously, such that the press of the switch button will instead send an instruction to the bulb itself via an automation?
To my knowledge, the switch itself does not offer a feature like that. To be honest, I've never understood that application anyway. If you have a bulb that is controlled by a physical switch, why does the bulb need to be smart? Use a regular bulb, they are cheaper. I've always found smart bulbs are more useful for things that don't have wall switches, such as a lamp. Perhaps you could help me understand the application you're thinking of?
@@fasthowto "Follow the sun" color temperature control is my main reason for using "smart" bulbs.
@@mwahlert Ok, sure. Wouldn't it be just as easy to just write an automation so that whenever someone turns on the switch you send a color change to the bulb as required? Or does that not work for some reason that I'm currently not thinking of? LOL
@@fasthowto It is possible but it is rather slow and clunky, especially when using WiFi bulbs. From the moment you power the bulb up to the time it has joined the network, received an IP address, and is ready to take commands is often several seconds alone.
@@mwahlert ah, I can see that. I use all zigbee bulbs for smart applications, so I guess I didn't consider the speed of the wifi ones. Hrmmm.. I know there are switches out there that do what you're asking. In fact, I *think* you can accomplish that with Shelly relays?
I have wulian but i want to change should i use kasa
I've never tried wulian, so I don't know anything about them. If the switches in the video meet your needs as I described them, then they might be good for you.
One thing to watch out for, however, is that apparently the newer versions of firmware make you authenticate to the switch, and some people have had issues with this. I'm still running old firmware so I can't confirm this.
If i use alexa to voice control my switches, will there be a delay without the home assistant?
Everything is delayed using that product, which is one of the big reasons why I don't.
@@fasthowto what would be an alternative?
@lovewinson3 I actually don't do any voice control, but if I did I'd use the local voice control built into home assistant. Faster, and no eavesdropping going out to the corporate overlords.
@@fasthowto thanks
Do these switches work with a ceiling fan with a light?
Depends how it's wired, but I use several for lights with fans without issue.
I have a "3 gang" its 3 light switches crammed inside one fixture. I see Kasa doesn't have a 3 gang, just 1 switch. How can I wire this 3 gang with Kasa light switches?
If I'm understanding correctly, you have 3 switches in a single gang box? You'll need to remove that single gang box, cut some drywall and install a 3 gang box, then put in 3 switches.
@@fasthowto I live in an apartment not a house so cutting drywall isn't going to happen. I have 3 switches in a row. They are covered by one plate. So Kasa only sells single switches, some other smart companies sell the 3 gangs. I just don't know if it's compatible.
@@nothingelse1520 You can use the 3 gang plate just pop off the Kasa plates on each of the switches.
There is nothing bad about these. The only thing Kasa needs to do is release 2 gang and 3 gang cover plate for these. The typical screwless coverplate will not cover the switch flush with the wall.
@@williamluo1786 work fine at my house, you may need to adjust your installation method?
Firmware firmware firmware... I've had happy wifi switches that stopped working after 6 months since a firmware update. Each vendor I've dealt with won't allow downgrades and the wife isn't going to wait for them to build a fix or troubleshoot over email. I skipped to flashing all of my switches with open source firmware. Tasmota and esphome. Have never looked back and enjoy the crap out of them.
Can you do that to the kasa switches, or are you using a different brand? I purposely have not updated the firmware on any switches since install, and the vlan they are on also has no internet access. So far, so good. But I'd be interested to hear more about your experience with flashing. I haven't done that yet - with anything. Read quite a bit about it in the forums, but it's a road I haven't needed to venture down (yet!).
@@fasthowto just depends on the chip inside. Mine are typically esp chips or bekken. Then you can put stuff like openbekken or Tasmota on them
Chapters for your videos would be appreciated.
Not sure how I feel about that. Seems like people would just skip around and watch bits and pieces of videos then. I put a LOT of work into my videos, and if people don't want to watch them, then just don't. Only watching bits and pieces, and then asking me questions which were already answered in the video is far too annoying given the number of hours it takes to create a video.
Thanks for watching!
Marquardt Via
@@WendellErixon-b8y what?