With the launching of model EP10, TP-Link has updated its Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug for the third time. Unless you’re an expert student of the Kasa Smart line, you’ll have a hard time noticing any significant differences. That isn’t always a bad thing; the Kasa Smart series is known for its cost and simplicity.
The EP10 is still a pint-sized, single-socket, three-prong smart plug, small enough to not protrude over the sides of the wall plate or impede the second wall outlet: Two EP10 devices can still be used in a conventional two-socket receptacle. Apart from small visual differences like the elimination of a bezel or two, it’s difficult to tell the EP10 apart from older models like the HS103.
The Kasa Smart app’s usage monitor displays the amount of time the plug has been turned on, but it does not display actual power consumption.
The Kasa Smart EP10, like its predecessors, connects to Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) and can handle a maximum load of 15 amps (1800 watts). You can manually toggle power using a button on the side of the gadget, which li
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ts up blue when it’s on and dark when it’s off. (You can’t modify this function.)
The EP10, like all Kasa Smart products, is set up and managed via TP-Kasa Link’s Smart app. Despite the EP10’s support for Amazon Certified for Humans, I had a difficult time getting it to make a successful initial connection, with the device refusing to complete the handoff from the temporary TP-Link Wi-Fi network to my home network.
Overall, the app configuration is antiquated and outdated; most modern devices have moved on to a more streamlined configuration process by now. Fortunately, the device abruptly linked to my network without issue on the second day of product testing.
The Kasa Smart app hasn’t changed much in recent months, and it’s still simple and intuitive. A scheduling system, a countdown timer, and a runtime monitor measure overall usage for the day, the previous week, and the previous month—though it makes no calculations concerning power consumption, only the total hours the plug was turned on. Toggling lights on and off during a defined timetable can be done with a randomized Away Mode. Finally, Kasa integrates with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung Bixby to provide even more functionality (and voice control options).
The TP-Link Kasa Smart EP10 is the most affordable name-brand plug you’ll find, costing $10 for a single device and $30 for a four-pack. The frills here, as with previous Kasa Smart plugs, are extremely modest, but thankfully, so is the price tag.