Alexa Mini Smart Plug – meross mini smart plug is the thinnest one in the market, it fits into UK wall socket and it won’t block other socket when it is plugged in a power strip

Easy to install, well worth the £23
Great plugs, integrate with mobile device via the Meross app and then automatically with Alexa..4 set range in price from£40 to £23. Use a price runner to watch for cheapest time to buy.

Well Made, and Responsive, but Pairing is Awful
This is a review of the more recent MATTER version of these mini plugs, not the “Works with HomeKit” variety which have been around for longer.I have a Thread/Matter network and my main smart home driver is Apple Home, with some Alexa-based devices. So these new Matter mini plugs seemed like a great forward-facing choice over the older HomeKit versions, allowing me to automate from/with different brands.Unfortunately they have been a little problematic. There is not yet a great deal of forum chatter about these plugs, since at time of writing they have not been available for long.When setting up the plugs the Meross app finds them and pairs very quickly, with no issues. It was when trying to pair them in the Apple Home app that the real fun started.These devices need a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network to connect to, and you need to disable the 5 GHz side on your router while you pair (you can do this for Eero by going to Trouble-Shooting in the app, where you can pick “my device won’t connect” and turn off 5 GHz for ten minutes).So I did that, then put one of the plugs into pairing mode. This involves holding the side button until the plug resets, and the LED alternates orange and green. Apple Home spotted the plug and asked for the Matter code, scanned successfully, identified that it was a plug, started pairing.Oh dear. The mini plug exits the pairing state before Apple Home can complete the process, resulting in a failed pairing.This happened with both plugs, and it was the same on multiple attempts. The Meross app had already updated them to the latest firmware version, although there was nothing in the update notes which explicitly mentioned pairing.The problem appeared to be the private Wi-Fi used by my phone. One my second attempt the next day as well as turning off 5 GHz Wi-Fi temporarily, before attempting to pair I went to my phone’s Wi-Fi settings and turned off Private Wi-Fi Address and Limit IP Address Tracking. THEN I held the plug power button for five seconds, waited for the LED to flash amber/green, and finally scanned the QR codes to pair. It worked.However I’ve now added another four units, and using that method doesn’t make any difference. I’m at a total loss here. It’s like they just eventually decide to pair when they feel like it.Quite a lot of faffing, but when it’s done it’s done. It’s just getting to that point is a trial and there’s no obvious and reliable way to ensuring pairing works first time, which is frustrating.In terms of build and functionality the plugs are great. They have a small form factor, they feel well made, and they include energy monitoring (plus bill forecasting) via the Meross app. Matter doesn’t yet support communication of energy consumption, but I expect if the Matter standard ever develops that far it shouldn’t be difficult for Meross to make the mini plug’s consumption data available across Matter.Despite the fussing about trying to troubleshoot (don’t even bother with Meross support, save yourself the time), they seem like great little bits of kit. Response time is pretty much instant from both Home and the Meross app, once they’re paired, and I’ve not had a single “no response” in Home as yet.

Simple Smart kit
What a product very neat and tidy, hardly noticeable next generation smart plugs. The handy little guide to installation could not be simpler. Pairs very easily and links to Alexa without the usual faff. This has replaced an analogue timer that is a bit limiting. I have set this up to come on at dusk so more intuitive.

Serious technical know-how required to set up, and then they still don’t work!
I would have returned these plugs and maybe give a more generous rating but my return window closed. The problem is they just don’t work! I’m very good with tech but I have not been able to make these work, except for one, for about a minute. Setup is much too complex for this kind of product. I’ve been messing about in my router settings because they don’t work on modern protocols, and even after that they just don’t work. Nothing useful is this hard to set up. I assure you I followed the instructions, and the videos, and messed with my router just to make them work. They don’t work. Good idea, it just doesn’t work. I wish they did! Even if they did work you require a fairly confident knowledge of IT ‘stuff’. It was a frustrating and miserable experience trying to make these plugs work. I spent a lot of time with them. They don’t work for an above average user so more modest tech people will have significant issues. There is no way my Mum could set these up, for example. This technology needs significantly refined software and a clear, step by step instruction manual. I should not need to change settings in my router just because the produce can’t cope with the modern world. Note they don’t tell you that when you buy them! There is a lot wrong with these plugs and I hope this feedback is representative of an average consumer… even though I’m way above average when it comes to technology. Please try a lot harder, otherwise you are just selling landfill

Will not work with smart life app

Very easy to set up. Reliable connection. Only thing is no individual button to control each plug. But Siri can be used to operate though. Overall satisfy!

Easy to setup. Works fine with Apple Home, Google Home, etc. Highly recommend it.