SONOFF S31 WiFi Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, 15A Smart Outlet Socket ETL Certified, Work with Alexa & Google Home Assistant, IFTTT Supporting, 2.4 Ghz WiFi Only (2-Pack)

After opening them up and flashing Tasmota firmware to the onboard chip, I can now control these via MQTT and my home control system without an internet connection needed. A VPN connection handles off-site control. I am currently using them to schedule lamps and equipment chargers periods of activity.

I have been assembling my own WiFi switches with Sonoff Basics and my own extension cords for a few years now. They have been extremely reliable with only one failure in over 35 units. I was happy to see these compact plugs with a 15 amp rating finally available. They integrate seamlessly with the rest of my switches and are fully accessible in the Alexa, Google Home and eWeLink apps. Options for Inching and energy monitoring are nice when needed. Build quality is excellent with a nicely finished case and solid feel. The indicator light is not obnoxiously bright.

Wifi loose connection all the time, device became useless,

I cracked this baby open as soon as I received it and flashed Tasmota onto it without any issues. Works great!

If you care about power monitoring function and/or potential to convert to Tasmota firmware, this is a serious candidate. Other than that, there may be better option around, e.g., TPLink HS103 (15A, no power monitoring) which is cheaper, has better software support and from a reputable manufacture (and UL listed). Now to get Tasmato firmware you need to have a USB-serial converter with 3.3v supply. You need to disassemble (and void warranty) the plug and solder 4 wire to connect to the serial, with the risk of destroying the soldering pad (I did on one of the VCC pad). All these are not really for average users. But if you went all the way through you got something really cool to play with.

I got this because I was looking for a smart plug that would alert me to the current dropping below a certain level, which this claimed it could. However this requires integration with IFTTT, which has an additional in app cost. Even after purchasing that, it would not integrate and I could not set up my alerts. Fortinatly I was able to get my money back from google, and return this plug. as far as a basic smart plug with Alexa goes it worked just fine before I returned the item.

I first bought SwitchBot smart plugs thinking they would work with the Core SwitchBot integration with Home-Assistant, extremely disappointed in not only the broken integration, but also the terms of service from a company that has had a lot of recent YouTube praise. Unfortunately, it just shows the known ignorance and total abandonment of values in the name of convenience... Enter HACS and Sonoff; While Sonoff is also doing some data mining it is possible to run the S31 Smart Plugs completely local without the app or the cloud using HACS on Home-Assistant with no fooling with jumpers or fussing with flashing. Several recent HA forum posts and YouTube videos cover the procedure, just look for the most current so you can follow along more easily since the recent changes. Also, Stay away from the S40 if you use Home-Assistant. S31 is the way to go. Deducted a star for the shady terms of service that are getting all too common with IoT products. Otherwise, it would be 5 stars.

Very easy to set up and use. They all work flawlessly. Im very happy with them.

Was a little difficult to pair with Alexa, had to upgrade eWelink. So far happy with it.

I love these switches because they are cheap but durable and (assuming you are not afraid of soldering) it isnt so difficult to replace the Sonoff software with something open source like Tasmota. They are my goto power-measuring device on my home automation system (Home Assistant) for household appliances. But here is my warning if you do intend to reprogram them: to open up the case, you need to extract three screws and these are always in so tight that it is extremely easy to strip them, or damage the case, or both.