Hi all,
I need some opinions - I have a zigbee network set up, but I need some smart plugs in the garage. Would you recommend going with Zigbee (like the Sonoff S31 Lite) or go with the WiFi S31 and flash it to keep it local only?
Thank you!
-David
Do you need power monitoring? If so then the S31 it what you need. Otherwise the S31 Lite will do. My preference is for the S31 over the S31 Lite. I am using 12 of the S31 currently
No, for the ones in the garage, I don’t particularly need power monitoring. Just wondering if I would be better off with one over the other?
I guess the benefit of going with the lites is extending my network and not adding devices to my WiFi. But I’m open differing opinions.
Thanks!
Or if you still want ZigBee and power monitoring the Third Reality Smart Plug Gen2 looks to be good candidate. Just got some of those and the first one paired right away easily. But I don’t yet have any track record over time with it though.
Note that the Third Reality plugs come in versions with and without power monitoring. Just be careful when ordering to make sure you get the version you want.
I also have some S31 Lite’s that I do like and they have been reliable, they just lack the power monitoring.
Third Reality and Sengled zigbee have been solid performers for me.
I never had the S31 zigbee plug. I did have a few Sonoff S40 zigbee plugs that ended up in the trash.
The S31 Lite zb seems to have problems when acting as a repeater. My Lumi / Aqara devices would occasionally go unavailable when the S31 were in the mesh.
There’s an older thread (not mine) about it here that help me identify the problem:
Dont get the S-31 lite if you want it to be a router. Its not a good one.
The aquara plugs are much better routers.