An in-depth look at TP-Link Smart LED Bulbs. Discover how they work with Google Home, other smart bulb options and why we think TP-Link’s are the best.
Most nights after dinner I’ll make my way over to the living room, turn on my blue lamp and settle in for a nice relaxing evening in front of the TV.
Inevitably, I’ll doze off on the couch for a few minutes before I drag myself upstairs to bed. Nine times out of ten I make it halfway up the stairs and whoops– blue lamp is still on.
After about 6 months of this night after night, I decided I needed to find a solution. After searching around, I found the modern day clap-on-clap-off light, but better, the TP-Link Smart LED Light Bulb.
How TP-Link Smart Bulbs Work
Since installing the TP-Link smart bulb, I walk into the room and say “OK Google, turn on the blue lamp”, “OK Google dim the blue lamp”, “OK Google turn off the blue lamp”. I can completely control the lights with my voice, it’s fantastic. I never have to leave my couch to turn it on or stumble down the stairs when I forget to turn it off.
The way it works is simple:
- Screw in the smart bulb just like any regular bulb.
- Download the Kasa app, an app that is compatible with TP-Link bulbs and allows you to control the bulb from a voice assistant like Google Home. Within the app, you can give your bulb a name so that your voice assistant can identify which light you want to control. I called mine, blue lamp.
- If you have a whole room set up with smart bulbs you can name them all “living room” to control them all together. If you don’t have a Google Home or Amazon Echo, you can turn the light on/off and dim right from the Kasa app.
- Open the Google Home app, connect your Kasa account with your Google Home account and add the “blue lamp” to the device list.
Within the Kasa App, you can easily set an automatic timer so you lights turn on and off at set times each day. You can customize different times for different days too. I set mine to turn on every night at 7:30 PM and off at 11 PM.
TP-Link Smart Bulb In Action
Top Features
- Ability to control your lights from anywhere using the free Kasa app (iOS, Android) or connect to Amazon Alexa or Google Home and control with you voice
- Adjust brightness and dimming
- Schedule your light to turn on and off and certain times
- Works through your Wi-Fi and doesn’t require an expensive “hub”
- 2-Year warranty, 24/7 customer service via phone and email
Downsides
I’ve had this bulb now for about a year and 99% of the time it works like a charm. In the first week, there were 3 instances when I said “OK Google, turn on the blue lamp” and Google tells me “I’m sorry I cannot connect to the device”. When that happened, I had to turn the light on and off through the Kasa app and, immediately after that, it worked fine through both the app and Google Home.
Based on my experience and reading dozens of reviews from others, connection issues is the main complaint. It operates through your WiFi so if the connection in the room is not strong or gets interrupted for any reason, you may have to reset.
Other than that minor connection issue, it’s been awesome and I plan to buy a more to set up in all the rooms of my house. Why waste precious time and energy turning lights on and off with my hand when I can look at them and say “turn on, turn off”?
There are several smart bulbs on the market including the Philips Hue which is very popular, however, you have to also buy the Philips Hue Bridge (hub that controls the connections from the bulb to the voice assistant) in order to operate. This was a turnoff to me because the Bridge was an extra cost and since this was my first foray into smart bulbs, I wanted to keep the investment low. Some others on the market had good reviews but were only compatible with Alexa and not Google Home which was a deal breaker for me.
Some of the top rated ones on Wirecutter.com worth checking out are:
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit
The Best Smart Bulb for Google Home and Amazon Echo Owners
The TP-Link Smart Bulb is relatively inexpensive, easy to install and sync with voice assistants, and makes life at home a little easier. Yes, of course, it’s more expensive than a regular bulb, but you can’t yell at regular bulbs to turn them on and off. If you are looking to add a quick enhancement to your home and make the task of turning on lights as simple as saying “blue lamp, turn on”, we believe that the TP-Link Smart LED Light Bulb is the best option.
Thank you for reading our review of TP-Link Smart Bulb!
We hope you enjoyed reading our review and that it provided helpful information in your quest for making life easier and embracing “smart home” technology.
Have you had a different experience with TP-Link Smart Bulbs? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Are there any other smart bulbs that you think are better than the TP-Link? Please let us know in the comments section or contact us directly, we would love to hear your feedback.
If you found this review helpful, you should also check out my comparison of Soft White vs. Daylight bulbs where I explain which type is best for each room.
Great article. I’ve used these bulbs for a few years now and I love them. For me, the automatic ceridian temperature/brightness setting is the best. It’s wonderful to automatically have bright white daylight at noon and have the bulbs gradually shift to a warm candlelight by nighttime, without me having to do anything