Appreciation post: I was wrong about those cheap smart plugs from that brand Five Below sells

I grabbed a four pack of the 'Mainstays' smart plugs for $20 last month, fully expecting them to be junk that would break or not connect. After setting them up with my Google Home to control a couple lamps and a fan, they've worked perfectly for over 30 days with zero drops. It made me realize sometimes the bargain basement stuff is fine for simple jobs, but I still wonder if they'll last a year. Has anyone else had a surprisingly good run with a gadget you totally expected to fail?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.jessica3mo ago

Honestly, how often are you even turning those lamps on and off? For a basic schedule they're probably fine, but I'd never trust a no-name plug with anything important or hard to reach.

matthew_owens91mo ago

Oh man, you two actually make a really good point! I was totally on board with the cheap plug idea until @rowank69 mentioned the failure risk. My buddy had a no-name timer strip that got stuck on and cooked his floor lamp while he was on vacation. For something you plug in and forget about, saving a few bucks isn't worth coming home to a melted shade or worse. I'll still grab a cheapie for Christmas lights I'm watching, but I'm definitely rethinking using them for anything I can't keep an eye on.

rowank693mo ago

Disagree completely, this is how you end up with a house full of junk. Taylor.jessica has the right idea about not trusting important stuff. That plug works until it doesn't, and then you're either resetting it constantly or it fails on and fries your lamp. Saving five bucks isn't worth the hassle or the fire risk, even for a simple lamp. I've had name brand plugs die after a year, so no way a five dollar one has good parts inside. It's a total false economy to buy tech you can't rely on.