Single Pole Smart Light Switch White, Tapo S500

"The Tapo switches are reliable and easy to connect to Home Assistant."

— Matt (5/5)

Had higher hopes BUT

"The smart switch works great if you use the TAPO app but so far it does not seem to want to work with the other TP Link like, KASA. If they can get it to where you do not need 2 apps to run these I will happily give it 5 stars but until then its just another smart switch with its own app. That being said, it is easy to connect and use and setup in the TAPO app."

— BH (4/5)

Smart Light that Works�Fits any Basic Needs

"Overall it works well, am comfortable with electrical so was able to install it myself without issues. Set-up went overall well and was relatively easy and had no issues. The smart light works�doesn�t have as much bells and whistles as other brands but it�s a decent smart switch. The actual switch itself feels a bit cheap, thin plastic but it seems to be holding up fine. Overall it�s a good product, don�t think I would change all my switches to this brand but it�s fine for where we have it."

— LZ31 (4/5)

Nice quality switch at a great price point for a "Smart Switch"

"No issues here. I would consider myself handy and I am very familiar and able to change out a light switch. The switch takes up a little more room than a standard "Decora" switch, so getting everything to fit was a little challenging but other than that, it installed very easily and there were no issues during the install. I am in the process of changing out all the expensive "Insteon " switches in my house. These switches are less than half the price. The switch is made from standard material that most other switches are made and feels solidly built. It works well with my "Echo / Alexa" devices. It is as described and pictured on Amazon - 5 Stars from me."

— Dave K. (5/5)

Great for sunset or sunrise programming

"I have used a lot of smart products and tp-link is amongst the best! Their products are always decently priced, offers a lot of functionality and just plain works. I own their light bulbs, cameras, and of course lots of smart switches. Rarely do I ever encounter an issue with any other products. I love to see that they offer a reset switch right on the bottom of the switch. I had some old WeMo switches and the only way to reset them and get them working again is to go out to the breaker box, find the room to reset and switch it off and back on again. With the tp-link products I never had to do that. I like though that you can force reset it just in case as sometimes my Wi-Fi goes out and that may bring the switches online faster by hitting the reset button but it always works after a while anyway. I also have some switches that turn on automatically like 20 minutes after dusk which you can specify in the app and even if the internet's down, the switches still function perfectly and turn on and off when they're supposed to. I also love the fact that you can program them to shut themself off say after 11:00 or midnight in case you forgot to turn them off. All in all these are great quality switches at a very reasonable price. No hub required and of course has connectivity from the app, alexa, or Google home devices."

— Robert S. (5/5)

Simple to install - adds great convenience

"Very easy to install if your box isn't crowded and was wired in a professional way. (If yours is packed with wire and wire nuts leaving you a rats nest to sort out, have patience, take your time and take lots of photos with your phone.). Turn off the power, remove the existing switch, connect the smart switch, screw it into the box, put the plate back on and program. Connecting the smart switch should be straight forward. If your existing switch is wired correctly you'll have 2 black wires. Connect one to a black on the switch and repeat with the other black (doesn't matter which goes where). You probably have 2 or more existing white wires connected with a wire nut. Remove the nut, add the white from the smart switch and put the nut back on (you might need a bigger nut). Connect the ground wire. At this point check your wiring for correct and tight connections. Turn the power on and see if you can turn your lights on/off by pressing the switch (bottom). If everything works, put it all back into the box and install the cover plate. I recommend turning the power off again while you do this. Program by following the instructions included with the switch. If you've never installed or replaced a switch before my description above probably sounds confusing. Do an Internet search for "tapo switch installation video" and you'll find lots of videos taking you through the process. I named the Tapo switch to Master Bath and added it to my existing Alexa set up and included it in the bedroom group. I got hooked on smart switches very early and have them all over the house. As just one example, it is nice to be able to get into bed, notice I left the kitchen lights on, and be able to turn them off without getting up again. While I started with Lutron Caseta, I quickly switched to Tp-Link (Kasa and Tapo) switch and smart plugs. I've found them to be easy to set up and completely compatible with Alexa. In several years I've not had a single failure. This is a great product from a great family of smart devices."

— mdgarnett (5/5)

Good smart switch but was expecting more.

"These switches appear to be a lower-tier offering than some of their other smart items, namely Kasa. The plastic is flimsy and appears cheap. The app that controls these is also different than Kasa and took more effort to integrate with Alexa. The nighttime illumination on the switch is very faint. The switch has worked well with no issues for almost two months but still expected it to be more in line with Kasa products. It is still UL Listed which is a big plus. A couple of �Buyer Beware� notes are that this is an oversized switch housing and there maybe issues with shallow electrical boxes or boxes with excessive wires. Another is that the chassis is thick plastic so if you're pairing in a double gang configuration with a standard metal chassis switch you might run into issues with some plate coverings. For the price this an okay smart switch."

— Love T. (4/5)

Reliable. Better than a timer. Some modification of your existing switchbox may be required.

"Reviewing: "TP-Link Tapo S500 Tapo Smart Light Switch, Single Pole, Neutral Wire Required, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Light Switch Compatible with Alexa and Google Home, UL Certified, No Hub Required, White" I've had this installed for a few months now and so far, it has worked well. Installation was pretty simple, and the instructions are well-detailed and clear to understand. Caveat: this may not be simple enough for someone who has no experience installing or changing out switches. I am just a DIYer but I do have experience with installing wiring and switches from prior remodels. If you don't feel confident doing this, I would recommend having a friend help you or hiring a pro to do it. Once installed, the setup via Bluetooth was pretty straightforward. I installed the app, created a login, and then added the skill to Alexa, and then created a routine. I have not noticed this switch behaving erratically since it was installed (which I only mention because some of my wi-fi plugs are not as reliable). Turning it on/off manually is as expected, just push it in and it goes on or off. I like that there's a notification light inside of it to tell you that it's ready to go, or it lets you know if there's a problem reaching the internet. The only thing about this that I don't care for are the mounting flanges. On my old switches, the mounting flanges are a thin metal, so that when you put the switch in the box and tighten the mounting screws, the switch is flush with the wall, and then your switch coverplate fits flush. This has thick plastic mounting flanges, so after it's installed, your switch plate is not flush. There's about a 1/8" gap. I can tolerate it, but I don't really like it. If you are doing a brand-new install, you can just inset your boxes to compensate, but if it's a retrofit (as mine was), then you may want to use a Dremel and grind away part of the outlet box where the mounting flanges sit, in order to compensate. I will probably do that eventually, whenever I get around to repainting. Still, I think it's a good value for the price, and would recommend it. This was sent to me free of charge in order to test and review, but if this had been a regular purchase, I would have kept it and given a positive rating, but I also would have appreciated knowing in advance that I would have to modify the outlet box in order to make it fit flush."

— youpickedawinner (4/5)

Works great - not used in tp link app

"I had a good experience with using the switch, it worked in every way it's advertised to work. The only thing I am iffy about is the fact that it requires a different app to function than other tp-link products. It's not a big deal, I just do not like having so many apps to control my home and one of the benefits I thought of Tp-link was that I already had the app. If that's a big deal to you, consider that, otherwise this is a great smart switch that works perfectly and I recommend it for that :)"

— N. L. (4/5)

Easy to install, works well!

"I have the previous generation of these switches (kasa), in addition to this one installed in my home. It connects via WiFi still, so functionality wise I don't notice a difference. I do have to use another app now though which is kind of annoying. TP-Link should consolidate all their apps, they have too many. The app and switch work great though and the away/vacation feature is awesome."

— JarJarBinks (5/5)