Last year, GE Lighting changed the name of its C By GE smart home line to Cync and revamped its product lineup with new cameras, light bulbs, sensors, and smart plugs. The $14.99 Cync Indoor Smart Plug is a relatively affordable option that supports voice commands and integrates with the new Cync mobile app, essentially making anything you plug into it smart. You can add the plug to Alexa or Google Home routines, but it doesn’t work with the HomeKit or IFTTT platforms and can’t provide power usage reports. And although it’s affordable, you can get a pack of two Wyze Plugs for the same price. So while the Cync Indoor Smart Plug worked just fine in testing, the Wyze Plug remains our Editors’ Choice winner for its lower price and support for IFFTT.
Standard Build, Few Integrations
At 1.4 by 2.6 by 1.4 inches (HWD), the Cync Smart Plug is similar in shape and size to the Wyze Plug (1.5 by 2.7 by 1.2 inches). It has a single three-prong outlet on the front and a three-prong plug on the back. The right side includes a power button, while a reset button and status LED sit on the front. The LED glows green when the plug is on and flashes blue during setup.
The Cync plug houses both a Bluetooth and a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio for pairing with the mobile app and connecting to your home network. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and routines, but not with IFTTT applets or the Apple HomeKit platform. Moreover, it doesn’t generate power usage reports like the $19.99 Ezviz T30-10B, and you can’t set up other Cync devices to trigger it. That said, you can configure it to turn on and off along with other Cync devices via the Scenes feature.
To control the plug from your phone, you need to download the Cync mobile app (available for Android and iOS). The Indoor Smart Plug appears in a dedicated panel on the Home section, along with any other Cync devices you own and an option to Add Devices. Tap the plug panel to turn it on or off; assign it to a room; or add a picture of the device it powers. Touch the gear icon in the upper right corner to edit the plug name and room; add it to a group; configure Wi-Fi settings; and disable the LED status light. Back on the Home tab, tap the Scenes button in the upper right corner to set up a Scene. Here, you can also create schedules to automatically activate Scenes at specific times of the day or on specific days of the week.
Quick Setup and Dependable in Testing
As with most smart plugs, the Cync is very easy to install. To start, download the Cync mobile app and create an account. Once you accept the unusually long terms of service agreement and verify your email address, the app asks you to select a device type. Select Plugs from the list and follow the on-screen instructions to plug in the device and confirm that it has power. Tap Next to enter Setup mode, and when the LED begins to flash blue, press Next again. When the app prompts you, give the plug a name, select a network SSID, and enter your Wi-Fi password. To complete the process, select a room where you intend to use the plug and, if the app prompts you, update the firmware.
The Cync Indoor Smart Plug worked well in testing. It responded instantly to app and Alexa voice commands, and followed my Scene schedules without issue. I also set up an Alexa routine for the plug to turn on when a Ring Floodlight Cam detected motion, which worked as intended.
Just the Basics
The Cync Indoor Smart Plug enables you to control ordinary lamps, fans, and anything else you plug into it with your phone, and integrate those products into your Alexa and Google Home routines. It’s easy to install and at $14.99 is affordable enough for most budgets. That said, it can’t tell you how much power you use like some other plugs can, and it doesn’t offer the level of interoperability that you get with the Wyze Plug. Because you can also get two Wyze Plugs for the same price as one Cync plug, it remains our Editors’ Choice winner for indoor smart plugs.
