Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

according to people

1,218
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #7,296 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★☆☆☆☆
How on Earth does this have so many positive reviews?
I purchased 4 of these. All 4 were put to use on our second floor. Our router is also on the second floor (this is important, as "smart" devices all need to connect to WiFi to communicate). Specifically, my router is in our Master Bedroom, as are 3 of the 4 WeMo smart plugs. I also have an Echo Dot in my room, next to my Router. The fourth and final WeMo was installed in a room just down the hall from me (also on the second floor) along with another Echo Dot. My intended use case was to use them to power lamps (very standard use case). It is definitely worth mentioning that I have an absolutely beastly router. My router can blast a 100Mbps connection throughout both floors of my house and even maintain a connection out on the street - that's how strong my router is. Now that the setup is clear, I'd really love to inform all of you that only one of these 4 WeMos can reliably connect to my router (again, 3 of my WeMos reside in the same room as my router). Two of the WeMos are directly across my Bedroom from the Router. One has a clear shot, the other is behind a small Nightstand. The WeMo with the clear shot always behaves. The WeMo behind the nightstand seemed okay for up to 1 hour after initial setup, but then was no longer able to maintain connection to my WiFi. My third WeMo has direct line-of-sight partially blocked by two computer towers. This WeMo sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. My fourth and final WeMo down the hall from my room worked for about an hour after initial setup (just like the one blocked by the nightstand), and then ceased to connect to my WiFi. The bottom line is this: you can't sell a "smart home" product if it can only communicate while being in direct line-of-sight of your router. The fact that my sample size was 4, together with the consistent behavior I witnessed, leads me to conclude that this hardware is just awful. As my title states, I have not a single clue how this device has so many positive reviews. The Fakespot profile of this page indicates that there may be some deception involved with these reviews. I hope more people see mine. Do NOT waste your money on this product. Especially not for this outrageous price!!!
October 2017 · Tools and Home Improvement · verified purchase
the product in question
Wemo Mini Smart Plug, WiFi Enabled, Works with Alexa, Google Assistant & Apple HomeKit
4.0★ · 18,803 ratings, as of 2023
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