Smart plugs like the Ezviz T30-10A make it easy to control fans, lights, coffee makers, and other small appliances with your phone. For $14.99, the T30-10A is a small round plug that installs in minutes and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands in addition to a smartphone app. Unlike some models, however, it lacks energy reporting and has limited support for third-party smart home devices. And while it’s affordable, it’s isn’t quite as good a deal as the Wyze Plug, which comes in a pack of two for the same price.
A Simple Circle
The round T30-10A has a much different look than its rectangular sibling, the T30-10B, which we reviewed earlier this year. It’s a 10-amp/1,600-watt indoor plug that is 2 inches wide and 1.2 inches thick and has a single three-prong outlet on the front and a three-prong plug on the back. Its small form factor prevents it from blocking the second outlet in a two-outlet receptacle.
There’s a backlit on/off button on the left side that glows solid blue when the plug is connected to the network, quickly flashes blue during setup, and slowly flashes blue when it’s disconnected. The plug is equipped with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio for connecting to your home network.
The T30-10A doesn’t support IFTTT applets that allow it to interact with third-party smart devices, nor does it support Apple’s HomeKit home automation platform, but it does work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and routines. It uses the same mobile app as other Ezviz devices including the T30-10B plug, the DB1C Video Doorbell, and the LC1C Smart Floodlight Camera.
The app opens to a dashboard screen that shows all of your installed Ezviz cameras, doorbells, and plugs. Tap the panel with the T30 plug to open a screen that is blue when the plug is on and is gray when it is off. There’s a large on/off button in the center, and at the bottom there’s additional on/off button, a countdown button, and a timer button. The countdown button is used to set a timer that turns the plug off after a specific period of time, and the timer button is used to create on/off schedules for specific times of the day and days of the week. Missing is the statistics button for viewing hourly, daily, and monthly power usage reports that you get with the Ezviz T30-10B.
Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner to access the plug’s Wi-Fi settings and to enable the Power Recovery feature that returns the plug to its previous state if it loses power. There are also time zone settings, a switch to turn off the LED status light, and a switch to enable notifications if the plug goes offline.
Installing and Using the T30-10A
Installing the T30-10A was quick and painless in testing. I already had the app on my phone, but if this is your first Ezviz device, you’ll have to download the app and create an account. I tapped the plus icon in the upper right corner of the Devices screen and selected Smart Plugs from the list. When prompted I used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the side of the plug, powered it up, and confirmed that the LED was flashing blue. I selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and tapped Next to connect the plug to my network. After 30 seconds the plug was linked to my account and automatically added to my Alexa device list. I gave it a name and the installation was finished.
In testing, the T30-10A responded instantly to on/off commands when using both the mobile app and Alexa voice commands. I created an Alexa routine to have the plug turn on when a Ring Stick Up Cam Battery camera detected motion and it worked every time without issue. The plug also followed my on/off schedules to a tee.
Simple and Affordable, But Limited
With the $14.99 Ezviz T30-10A Smart Plug, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to turn traditional appliances into smart appliances. This single-outlet smart plug was easy to install and worked as intended in our tests, and it had no trouble responding to Alexa voice commands and working with Alexa routines. That said, it offers limited third-party integrations and lacks energy usage reporting. Our Editors’ Choice winner in this category, the Wyze Plug, is a much better deal. Granted, it also lacks energy usage reporting, but it works with lots of third-party devices and you get two plugs for the same price as the T30-10A, making it a better buy.
