A networking device, with a little something extra
The Trendnet Home Smart Switch is designed to bridge the gap between a network wireless extender HomePlug and a smart electrical outlet.
It’s designed for use with a number of home automation projects or simply just one remotely operated and automated item of houseware. For example, you can be sitting there enjoying the extra stretch of your home wireless coverage, when you decide to switch on the radio in the kitchen. Provided the Home Smart Switch is configured as correctly, a single tap on the accompanying app will power up the radio.
On one side, we have the wireless extension function, capable of supporting 802.11b/g/n standards and WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption. The pair of internal antennas do a surprisingly good job and manage to spread the wireless signal another four or five metres before the signal once more drops out of range.
Setting it up is easy enough: all you need to do is plug the Home Smart Switch in, press the WPS button on your router and the one on the Home Smart Switch and away you go. For those who don’t have WPS capabilities, the Home Smart Switch comes with its own SSID and wi-fi key, as well as a management login IP address, so you can manually connect it to your existing network. It takes a little longer, naturally, but the result is the same.
The Smart Switch side of things takes on a more interesting role, in that you can begin to toy around with the accompanying app, for both Android and iOS devices, and create some scheduled powered control functions.
The Home Smart Switch is effectively the same as another wireless HomePlug, in terms of its appearance. There’s an electrical passthrough plug dominating the front of the device, with power and wi-fi LEDs, and the WPS button below. The side of the Home Smart Switch has a traditional power switch, which seems like an odd design decision, since one of the main features of the device is automation when you’re not actually at home; the opposite side houses a pin-hole reset.
When you’ve installed the Trendnet app and plugged in the radio, lamp or whatever else it is you want to automate, you simply tap the large power button
graphic on the app (coloured red for off and blue for on), and the Home Smart Switch will toggle the electrical load to the plugged-in item. And of course, you can activate the plugged-in item from wherever you are in the world via your phone and by allowing it through your router.
Beyond that, you can also set up a schedule to power up a device when you’re not there, such as a lamp to make it look like you’re at home or as an alarm to wake up to. And the app has the ability to monitor how much power the plugged-in item is using in real time.
The Trendnet Home Smart Switch is certainly an interesting device. Aside from being a decent enough wireless extender, it’s a first step device into the world of home automation or at least home security.
Priced at around £30, it’s not too expensive to try out either, even if it’s just to extend your wireless signal. It would be interesting to see where Trendnet takes this next. Perhaps a wi-fi extension smart four-way power gang setup? David Hayward
A handy wi-fi extender and home automation device.