Problem with TP-Link HS110 smart plug: it switches off but not on
MarkS
Member Posts: 3
I have connected a TP-Link HS110 smart plug to OhmConnect and it is shown on https://login.ohmconnect.com/connect.
There are two problems:
If I try to switch the plug off and on using the "Toggle Device" button on OhmConnect's "Connect" page, switching off works but switching on doesn't. OhmConnect's "Connect" page shows "Status: On" but the plug doesn't actually switch back on. However, switching the plug back on using Kasa from Android works OK. (It works from Kasa whether the Android device is on or off the wifi network, so presumably TP-Link's remote control is working successfully.)
Any ideas what is going wrong here?
So far, OhmConnect has not switched off the plug when an OhmHour has occurred. This has happened twice.
When should I expect OhmConnect to switch the plug off for an OhmHour? Should this happen on the hour, or some number of minutes before, or might it occur a few minutes after the start of the hour?
Best Answers
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UkiwiS
San DiegoPosts: 1,625
I've got 8 of these plugs and they've worked fine for 6 months or so. They were tricky to set up initially and in order to get them working I set them up in Kasa, enabled remote control and added them in OC. Then I left them totally alone....for some reason I thought that touching them was the cause of the issues I was seeing. I cannot remember exactly what the issues were but I do know that I wasn't getting tokens for all of them being turned off during an OhmHour. So I removed everything in Kasa, reconfigured them and then left them alone! I started getting all tokens so I left it like that.
Just now I toggled a few of them in OC and I see the exact same behavior you are seeing. I can turn them off, via OC but they will not turn on. I can toggle them on and off in Kasa and everything is good, but in OC it's another story. To them functional I make sure they're all on in Kasa then reconnect in OC using the big plus at the bottom of the page. Another issue, you mouse over the button and it says "Add another cell phone"
Once they're all showing as ON, I recommend leave and don't come back! Don't toggle them in either app and check what happens for your next OhmHour.
As for when the smart plugs turn off, my experience is that it's within a few minutes before to a few minutes after it starts.
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santacruzsaver
Posts: 5
OC's integration with TPLink is obviously utter garbage. After having the same (and other) problems, I gave up on linking them and instead control my plugs with a command line script that doesn't rely on any cloud services. I'm missing out on tokens and frustrated at OC's hypocrisy in pushing automation that doesn't work. But the main thing, points and streaks, are working for me.6 -
Mike Davis
Posts: 8
I have 5 TPLink switches (HS110) and they are working reliably. As Ukiwis said, don't use OC to toggle them, just the Kasa app.
5
Answers
Thanks for the information! I'll try leaving the plug alone as UkiwiS and Mike Davis suggested, and I might try controlling the plug directly as santacruzsaver is doing.
I had assumed that the purpose of the on/off button on the Connect page was partly for testing that the smart plug is working reliably, so it's ironic that using it would cause the plug to stop working reliably.
I use this script to control the plugs: https://github.com/plasticrake/tplink-smarthome-api
I also use an IFTTT applet & ohmconnect to push the "on" signal to my fridge so that I have some extra insurance against food loss.
And per the recommendation of @UkiwiS to keep the plugs on thru the Kasa app and make sure it’s also toggled on in OC’s web portal, is everyone finding that OC is still reliably able to turn your TP-LINK Smartplugs off & on for OhmHours and are being awarded tokens?
I’m encountering the same issues when I try to reconnect these plugs after receiving an automated email from @Ben at OhmConnect that they are “...stuck on the sidelines” and the coach needs to “put ‘em in”.
Hi everyone! @AKPsi Vince , thanks for tagging me.
@mrs-mythic-beasts, @santacruzsaver, @Mike Davis - let me give you a bit of information on our integration with TPLink.
We integrate directly via TPLink's production REST API to monitor and control your smart plug, and have been given access to the API through our partnership with TPLink. During an #OhmHour, we:
To clarify this thread a bit -
@AKPsi Vince talked about a reconnection issue. We found a bug with how we were handling TPLinks being erroneously flagged as disconnected last week and released a fix Friday. We are hopeful that the majority of_erroneous_ disconnection alerts will be fixed by that, but if you are having wifi issues, we will still flag your device as disconnected after it has been offline for a significant amount of time.
@santacruzsaver & @mrs-mythic-beasts, you both highlighted issues with TPLinks not turning back ON after an #OhmHour. I'm going to follow up with you all individually - we may have discovered another issue on TPLink's side late last week, so we'll be digging in there.
Finally, the last set of issues is around our Connect page not turning on/off your devices. That's really frustrating, and I'm sorry. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected] if you have more thoughts/feedback/questions. Thanks!
Ben, can you please clarify the status of this "last set of issues"? Resolved or being worked on, ETA?
@UkiwiS - we are still investigating them and will let you know when there's an ETA.
Following the advice earlier in the thread, I avoided touching the "Toggle Device" button on the Connect page, and some time after that, OhmConnect has been successfully switching the plug off and on during OhmHours. That worked without reconnecting the plug to OhmConnect via the "+" button.
@Ben at OhmConnect: Thanks for looking into this! I noticed that there is now an alarm clock icon on the Connect page whose mouseover text shows when the plug is scheduled to be switched off and on. That's useful.
I can try the "Toggle Device" button again if that would help.
I am seeing just the opposite recently ... OC is turning on all my TPLINK HS100/110 plugs on after OhmHour regardless of what their state was beforehand. After a few mishaps I am disconnecting the plugs until I read things are working correctly again.
> I am seeing just the opposite recently ... OC is turning on all my TPLINK HS100/110 plugs on after OhmHour regardless of what their state was beforehand. After a few mishaps I am disconnecting the plugs until I read things are working correctly again.
I think I’m seeing the same thing. We were sitting living room during the ohmhour on 3/30 21-2200 PDT and the plugs turned off (already on) at the end of the hour, then turned right back on again, as if they were sent two toggle commands not a turn on command... odd.
My switches may have been set to PST instead of PDT for that event and maybe that’s part of the weirdness, see the thread about this issue.
I have the opposite problem. Devices that were off before the Ohm hour are being turned on after. I'm coming home to find my bedroom lights and fan on which is wasting power!
Edit: finished reading the thread and see there are two other people with the same problem. Please fix because having Ohm Hour waste power afterward is completely antithetical to what Ohm Connect is all about.
I have a TP Link smart plug coming soon, and now I'm a bit worried. I'm not too tech saavy. I'll try to follow all these directions but I must say I feel a cold sweat coming on.
I am having problems with the Lyric round. I can turn off and on with the app on my phone, but OC can not connect to it. Does anybody else have problems? If I try to turn it on or off on the OC site I get this message: DEVICE ERROR! Could not turn off HONEYWELL_LYRIC device_id=9369 because of
Status=400, reason=Bad Request, body=' {"code":400, "message":"Device Not Found"} '
I contacted Honeywell and they insist the problem lies with OC.
Is this a sporadic or ongoing issue with the TPLink not turning back ON after an ohm hour? I've had mine connected for a while without any issue, occasionally getting a notice that OC could not turn it back on (but when I would check it was turned back on). Unfortunately I did not get a notice that my device was not turned back on after Friday's ohmhour, I found out on Saturday when I went out and could smell the freezer. :-/
Lesson learned to always double check.
I forgot to double check once and my garage fridge/freezer was off almost 24 hours. Here's what my Buddy said to do:
Set a "fail safe" entry in the Kasa app at each plug's "schedule" for a time when we won't get an OhmHour, like 11:30 pm, to switch on the plug. Don't forget to repeat this schedule for every day of the week.
Now if your smart plug is not automatically turned on by OC, it's automatically turned on by Kasa a few hours later. Peace of mind!
Thanks for the fail-safe suggestion. This should be included with device.
One fridge of spoiled food would cancel out the savings from an awful lot of OhmHours. That is not a good way to keep people feeling warm and fuzzy about OhmConnect.
What is "it"? KASA or OC website? If KASA works but not the OC connection, check your setting for remote operation (in KASA settings).