Hey Guys,

Today we are checking out a 2 socket, outdoor Wi-Fi outlet by Techin.  We’ll see what’s in the box, look at the specs, set up the app on my iPhone, try out the basic app controls and see why the app is so highly rated.  I’ll show you some practical uses for this rough-n-tough device, do some range testing, leave it outside in a rain and hail storm, and test if it’s really fireproof.  Yes, it’s supposed to be fireproof.  We’ll save that test for last.

I purchased this outdoor WiFi plug for use out in my back yard and for other tough environments like my garage and shed.  It would work perfect for outside water pumps and fountains, gazebo lights, or scheduling my outside Christmas lights to turn on and off at specific programmed times.  Bug zappers would work awesome with this or even my truck’s block heater would also be a perfect place for this plug, so I can activate the vehicle’s engine heater when the outside temperate drops to frigid levels here in Canada.

This plug cost about $27 US.  The link for where I got mine is in the description below for you to checkout.  This plug can be controlled manually with a button on the device or using its app.  No hub or subscription fees are required, and this device works independently on your home or business WiFi network.  It’s important to note that it does not work on a 5Ghz network.  Your WiFi must have a 2.4Ghz band active in order for this wireless plug to work for you.

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What's in the box?

  1. A user manual. When it’s stretched out, it’s about 3 feet long and there is information on both sides.  Give it a read, or keep watching this video because we’ll do a basic setup here today.
  2. Next, we have the device itself. It’s made from a pretty thick, hard quality plastic.  The cord is quite rigid and it appears they are using a decent gauge of wire for outdoor use.  Years of sun and weather exposure shouldn’t affect its performance due to the durable plastic and thick cord.  The wire is a little short but this isn’t meant to be an extension cord.  Here, I take it outside and throw it around for the first test.  No harm or visible signs of damage was done to the device.

Specifications I like:

  1. The plug is 3-prong and the 2 outlets also accept grounded power cords. The outlet’s maximum power throughput is 1875 watts and up to 15 amps.  Definitely within the range of anything I’ll be plugging into it.
  2. There is a weather sealed button on top of the device with a rubber coating. This manually turns on and off both outlets simultaneously as you can see here when I’m testing my Christmas lights.  The button is also used to enter the app setup flow.  Once we get into the app, we’ll see if you can control each individually.  You can also use this to reset the setting back to factory defaults by holding the button for 10 seconds.
  3. Just next to the button, there is an LED status indicator. Steady blue means it’s powered on but not setup or connected to your WiFi.  When it’s flashing fast, it’s ready for setup.  Solid green indicates a connection to the WiFi.  When the blue light is on at the same time as the green, it means one or both of the sockets are active.  If there is no light at all and the device is plugged in, it means it’s starting up for looking for its configured WiFi con
  4. On the back, there is a hook to hang the unit up like on a wall, somewhere out of the way or for convenient access.
  5. There are also some specs written here, including the maximum operating temperatures of -20 Celsius to +60 (-4 Fahrenheit to +140). In reading the online reviews people have had success with this product in temperate around -30c (-22F), but I’ll try that myself this winter and leave a note in the comments.
  6. As mentioned in the Amazon listing, the device is waterproof and it’s made from ABS material which is also fireproof. We’ll investigate both.

Smart Life App setup:

  1. The app is called Smart Life, so, I’ll get that installed on my phone
  2. Register an account by just entering your email address. Nothing else is required, so that’s nice and quick
  3. You’ll get an email, so verify the account
  4. Now setup a password to access the app
  5. I’ll allow notification from the app
  6. I’ll enable Bluetooth
  7. Let’s click on the plus in the upper right
  8. And we’ll add the Socket (WiFi)
  9. A reminder of the Wi-Fi frequency accepted. Looks like the app grabbed my home WiFi name and is now asking for the password to send to the outlet so it can be accessed on my network.  This is done over Bluetooth, just for the setup.  Afterwards, we will only be communicating with the outlet over WiFi, and Bluetooth is no longer used.
  10. Adding device
  11. Perfect, we now see the controls for the app. Let’s test them out.
  12. Turn on or off each plug using the controls on the main part of the screen or control both together here at the bottom. When using the individual buttons, you can click the power symbol or the name or even the plug icon to activate the power.
  13. There is like, no lag and the responsiveness is perfect. If I leave my network and jump onto the cellular tower, again, there is little to no lag.  Very impressive.

Smart Like App basic controls

  1. Let’s rename outlet 1 from ‘Switch 1’ to ‘Light’.  I guess this correlates to S1 written just above that outlet.
  2. There is a timer button, I’ll click that so we can configure timers and schedules.
  3. Countdown is pretty straightforward. It’s a timer.  Enter the number of minutes in the future you want your device to turn on or off, whichever it isn’t right now.  Back on the control panel for this outlet, there is no change in this icon giving an indication that a timer is set.
  4. I’ll now click on the icon again and set up a schedule to activate or deactivate the outlet. To add a timing, which means a schedule, select a time, the frequency, so every Sunday and then the action, on or off. Back on the control panel for this outlet, there is an indication of the next scheduled action.  Pretty cool.
  5. So where is the timer and scheduled information saved? On my phone, on the device once or on the cloud which will send the on or off signal at the programmed time.  Let’s setup a time for 2 minutes and turn off my phone and unplug my access point so there is no possible connectivity to the device.  There you go, the settings are saved on the device.  So, no worrying about timers and programs not working if the Internet or home network is down.
  6. Let’s check out the WiFi signal strength. Click on the pen icon in the upper right, click “Check Device Network” and right now we are good.  When doing this test, you need your phone on the same network as the WiFi plug, otherwise you will get an invalid message of a poor signal.  The device does work when you phone is on the cellular network, like when you are on vacation, you can control the plug and its schedule with no issues, you just cannot do a WiFi strength check.
  7. Just so you are aware, my IP address listed below is my public IP address to the world and not the internal IP address of this device. Using a utility calling Fing, I can see the smart device under the IP address 192.168.0.111.  You can’t do much with it at this point.  If your browser there, you cannot access a user interface.

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That’s it for the basic operations of this device.  Let’s run outside and see how far the WiFi range is.  My Ubiquiti access point is located on my main floor.  I presented this WiFi access point in another video and it’s still going strong.  Your results may vary depending on any WiFi interference or how many walls are between the access point and the WiFi outlet.  I have direct line of site here.

Starting off from 25ft (7.6m) away from the AP, you can see there is little to no lag and when I check the signal strength, it’s good.
Let me move my testing tripod away to 50ft (15.2m) from the access point, again, no lag and the signal is good.
Here at 100ft (30m), the response time is prefect and the connectivity is poor.  Let me try again.  Yup, poor.

The response time remained consistent up to 300ft (91m).  The signal strength continued to indicated poor.  Seems like the signal strength is either good or poor; no in between.  While testing in a different location, without line-of-site, at 125ft (38m) away with several walls between the outlet here and the WiFi access point, I did notice some lag.  A couple of time, the buttons did not respond and the signal was lost to the outlet.  When this happens, the green status light will eventually turn off.  When it automatically reconnects, the light will re-illuminate.

Let’s get that bug zapper hooked up.  The WiFi outlet is wedged up under the eave.  I tried to plug in the outlet directly to my outdoor power box, but it’s a side plug which doesn’t suit this device very well.  Let’s hit the power button for outlet 1.  Perfect.  If a thunderstorm and high winds is starting to brew, I can shut this down remotely without going outside.  Let’s program a schedule here for the bug zapper.  I’ll set it to turn on at 8pm and then off at 6am.  Back on the page here where we see the 2 outlets, the first one shows an active schedule and the bug zapper will turn on at 8pm and off at 6am, without any dependency to my phone, home network or the Internet.  Also, if there is a power outage, the WiFi Outlet will pick up where it left off on the timer or schedule and automatically reconnect to the network.  Pretty cool and so easy to setup.  I’m quite impressed with this app so far.

We have a nice thunderstorm brewing here in the background, so let’s allow nature to help us this test.  The manufacture recommends, for obvious reasons, that the outlets be positioned with the female plugs downwards to prevent water from entering the device.
This thing got completely soaked and still works perfectly.  So impressed.

For our last test, Let’s see if it’s fireproof.  It didn’t say fire resistant, but proof.  So, if your shed burns to the ground, your WiFi outlet should survive.

Let’s start off by getting the fire lit.

Drop in the plug and start the timer.  Fast forward here and 20 seconds has passed.  I let it cool off for a few minutes, but it’s still pretty hot.  Let’s plug it in.  Great, the green light is on, so we are connected to my WiFi.  Yes!  It still works.  So, let’s try again.

Back in ya go!  Let’s speed this up.  Ok, that’s a total of 100 seconds and I’ll place it on a board.  This thing smells really bad.  Just check this out, it’s pretty badly burnt and there is a hole in it.  I have my doubts it will still work but the cord looks safe.  I’ll plug in the lamp, then connect the unit to my power supply.  Wow, the green light turned on.  What do ya know!  It works.  It took a few seconds but it works and there is now no more lag.  Fantastic.  Ok, let’s try again.

Wow, it’s really melting now.  Ok, 2 minutes more.  That’s 4 minutes in total that this thing has been in the fire.

Now that it’s cooled off.  Let’s plug it all in.  Why not.  Ok, the device is offline.  Oh well, we tried.  Wait now.  It’s online, really?!  Annnndddd, yes, it actually still works.  After 4 minutes in the fire, it still works.  Just amazing!!

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Alright guys, let me know what you think; is it fireproof?  The outside was damaged but the electronics inside were protected.  I obviously can’t keep using this one in this condition, but I am so very happy with its performance.  It also survived my outdoor treatment when I threw it around.  And it survived the rain and hail.  Out of the box, setup was super simple and I was up and running in about a minute.  The manual on/off button comes in handy when I want to activate the outlets without reaching for my phone.  Using the timer and scheduling features were straight forward and quite useful.  The outlet’s response time was incredibly fast and the range of 300ft (91m) is crazy.  I also really like how you can control each of the two outlets independently.  Definitely a good purchase, great price and a product I want to use year-round.  So, good thing I purchased a second one.  LOL