For many years, I have had two kinds of lights in my backyard, in part to provide illumination but mostly just because they look interesting: small lights on a string, similar to what you might put on a Christmas tree, and larger G40-style globes on a string ($18.98 from Amazon) that hang over an outdoor table. For many years I would just manually plug them in to an outdoor outlet when I wanted them to come on. In 2017, I purchased an iHome iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug so that I could turn the lights on and off without having to even go outside, and I reviewed that plug in 2018. It worked well for many years—I definitely got my $40 in value from it—but a few months ago, it started to have problems working with HomeKit. When I told Siri to turn lights on or off, it didn’t work more often than it did work. At first, I thought it was a problem with Siri, but I eventually realized that the unit itself was starting to fail. Thus, I replaced it with a Meross Outdoor Dimmer Plug with a list price of $30.99 that that is only $17.39 on Amazon. I’ve been using the Meross product for a few months now, and it has been working great. This is a great gift idea for virtually anyone since it works with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Home, and of course, it would be a great gift to give yourself.
This Meross plug has been a perfect replacement for that iHome product because not only does it do everything that the iHome plug did, it also lets me dim the lights to any level, giving me even more control over how the lights look in my backyard.
The Meross Outdoor Smart Plug has a standard three-prong plug on one end. The other end has a water-resistant outlet that is made to work outdoors (or indoors). I have an extension cord plugged in, and the other end of the extension cord goes to my fence where my lights are located.
Once you are set up, you can tell Siri to turn the lights on or off. You can also tell Siri to adjust the light to any level, from 0% to 100%.
Meross has a free app that you can use to control the device, but I’ve used this product for months without even downloading the app. I just added the Meross Outdoor Dimmer Plug using my iPhone’s built-in Home app and everything worked great. In preparing this review, I finally downloaded the Meross app to see if it does anything special. It has a few extra features, such as the ability to see how good of a WiFi signal the plug is receiving (mine has a 65% and that has been working great), and a feature that lets you test if your lights are compatible with the plug or if they start to flicker at certain brightness levels.
Because this is a standard HomeKit device, you could put your outdoor lights on a timer if you want them to, for example, come on at sunset and turn off a few hours later or at sunrise. That’s not how I use my backyard lights so I haven’t specifically tested this, but that should work since it is just a standard HomeKit function.
When I purchased this device a few months ago, I was surprised to find that it was the only outdoor smart plug that worked with HomeKit and also included a dimmer function. I just did another quick search, and I’m still not seeing another product that includes both functions.
I’m also impressed with the price. The iHome device that I had been using cost me almost $40. The Meross product is less than half the price. I’m also a big fan of Lutron’s Caséta products, which I have throughout my house, and there is a Lutron Caséta Weatherproof+ Outdoor Smart Plug, but it costs almost $100 and doesn’t have a dimmer function. That Lutron product does appear to be more durable; for example, using the IP code scale, the Lutron product is IP65, whereas this Meross product is only IP44. The first number is dust protection and the second number is water protection, so that means that the Meross product, IPx4, can handle water splashing from any direction whereas the Lutron product, IPx5, can handle a water jet from any direction. If you are watering your plants using a hose, I guess you should avoid pointing a jet directly at the Meross device. Normally, I would consider paying more for a more durable product, but given the large price difference—$18 versus $100—I’m willing to risk having to replace the Meross multiple times and still pay less than the Lutron device.
To be fair, there is one more advantage for the Lutron device. Lutron Caséta products use a proprietary Clear Connect technology that is even more dependable than HomeKit over WiFi. This means that the almost $100 Lutron outdoor device should be more dependable when you use Siri or the app to turn it on or off. Having said that, in the few months that I have been using this Meross product, it has worked perfectly every time that I turn it on or off.
Conclusion
I have been incredibly happy with the Meross Outdoor Dimmer Plug. It is very nice when it is dark outside to be able to tell my HomePod or my iPhone or my Apple Watch to turn on the fence lights and, through my window in my living room, see the lights come on. Or, if I’ve been outside for a while and the sun starts to set, I love being able to turn on the outdoor lights using my iPhone or Apple Watch without having to manually plug in a cord. And it is great that I can even dim the lights to get just the right ambiance. On top of all of that, at less than $20, this device is incredibly inexpensive. Note that if you want to independently control three different outdoor devices and you don’t need a dimmer, Meross also sells an Outdoor Smart Plug with 3 Independent Sockets for only $33.75 on Amazon. But if you just want a simple outdoor plug that works with HomeKit and lets you dim outdoor lights, this Meross product is the one to get.
Click here to get Meross Outdoor Dimmer Plug from Amazon for $17.39.