Computers & Electronics

Does this sort of smart plug exist?

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  • Nov 30th, 2018 7:40 am
Deal Addict
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Dec 3, 2007
1002 posts
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Ottawa

Does this sort of smart plug exist?

I would like to get a smart plug that turns on and off based on whether my cellular phone is nearby or not. Whether it auto connects to the phone by Bluetooth and then switches on and then switches off when it gets disconnected, or by some other techno-magic. Basically I want it to turn certain lights on in my cubicle when I am around and turn them off when I am not, all on its own.

All the smart plugs I have seen for sale seem to be about letting you turn them on and off with a phone app, but I want it to do it itself without me needing to do anything but the initial setup.
7 replies
Deal Guru
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Mar 23, 2008
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Ferkner wrote: I would like to get a smart plug that turns on and off based on whether my cellular phone is nearby or not. Whether it auto connects to the phone by Bluetooth and then switches on and then switches off when it gets disconnected, or by some other techno-magic. Basically I want it to turn certain lights on in my cubicle when I am around and turn them off when I am not, all on its own.

All the smart plugs I have seen for sale seem to be about letting you turn them on and off with a phone app, but I want it to do it itself without me needing to do anything but the initial setup.
Our back deck outside lights and kitchen lights turn on automagically when I come home (detached garage in the back), but that's based on GPS, I believe. Set up a rule in my Wink hub to handle that. Not sure if that would be granular enough to handle being close to your cubicle, and whether one exists that doesn't require a hub/controller of some kind.

Don't know if that helped or not... :)

C
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Jan 28, 2009
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Calgary
can probably do this with smart plugs and IFTTT.
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Sep 29, 2005
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IFTTT should work however the problem with IFTTT is that there can be delay from the time of the trigger to the time the plug turns on. That delay can be minutes. I've experienced delays as long as 15 minutes. Stringify should be better. FYI, Stringify doesn't support WEMO devices but does support TP-Link and other brands.

I suspect that bluetooth connecting will be a bit difficult to implement as a trigger because the range where it can connect is pretty wide. A motion or door sensor would probably be a better option and that would take a hub like the wink or smartthings to function.
Last edited by Phils on Nov 29th, 2018 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Phils
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Dec 3, 2007
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Ottawa
CNeufeld wrote: Our back deck outside lights and kitchen lights turn on automagically when I come home (detached garage in the back), but that's based on GPS, I believe. Set up a rule in my Wink hub to handle that. Not sure if that would be granular enough to handle being close to your cubicle, and whether one exists that doesn't require a hub/controller of some kind.

Don't know if that helped or not... :)

C
The Wink wouldn't work since it needs a WiFi connection, and I cannot connect it to the network at work. I just want something that I could connect directly to with my phone. IFTTT sounds feasible, but I know nothing about how to do that.
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Ferkner wrote: The Wink wouldn't work since it needs a WiFi connection, and I cannot connect it to the network at work. I just want something that I could connect directly to with my phone. IFTTT sounds feasible, but I know nothing about how to do that.
If you search on amazon for “Bluetooth smart plug”, at least one turns up. But it may only work with HomeKit, which would be a no-go for you. You could try digging into that.

C
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Jul 3, 2017
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What you want is a geofence function, which triggers an action when your phone moves outside a certain radius from a defined location. Stringify would respond faster than IFTTT, and there are some individual apps that would probably be even faster.

The problem is that existing geofence functions have only coarse settings (like 0.5 km), designed for triggering an action when you leave home or leave work, not when you walk to the other side of the building. Something using short-range Bluetooth might be more appropriate.
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Feb 24, 2007
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Philips Hue has a motion sensor that you can stick to anywhere to trigger on/off (when get close to cubicle) your Hue lights (group them if you want more than one to come on). Don't even need to use your phone. And all smart lights has schedule function from Google Home.
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