Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis

Internet of Things

  • Home
  • Analysis
  • Startups
  • How-To
  • News
  • Podcast
  • Events
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Speaking
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Should you buy the Merkury Innovations Wi-Fi light switch for under $20? Maybe

August 27, 2019 by Kevin C. Tofel 1 Comment

Credit: Walmart

 

On our latest IoT Podcast, Joshua called into our Voicemail Hotline with a question about low-cost Wi-Fi switches he saw at Walmart. They’re made by Merkury Innovations and cost under $19. Joshua isn’t familiar with the brand and wanted to know more about it, so we shared just that.

Stacey previously bought a Merkury Innovations smart outlet and found that the company’s Geeni app was acceptable: Not great but not bad. Tuya, which is based in China and is one of the largest smart home device platforms in the world, provides the software platform. 

Normally, we’d shy away from smart products with a Chinese-centric company behind them but this isn’t a “no-name” brand around the world. As such, I wouldn’t be too concerned about using Merkury Innovations products. Yes, some of your device data may go to servers in China, but Stacey didn’t see anything nefarious about this when using her smart switch. Of course, this is a personal decision: You have to decide if you’re comfortable with where your home’s data goes.

Since the Merkury Innovations light switch uses Wi-Fi, you don’t need a hub in your home to use it. And if the Geeni app isn’t your thing, the product does integrate with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control. If you can live with a basic app experience and trust that your data going to China is safe and secure, this Wi-Fi switch on the cheap may be worth the look.

To hear Joshua’s question in full, as well as our discussion, tune in to the IoT Podcast below:

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: amazon alexa, Geeni, google assistant, Google Home, Merkury Innovation, smart switches, Tuya, Wi-Fi

Sponsors


Become a sponsor

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Comments

  1. SmartGR says

    October 31, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    I would by the Shelly components. They are mch more flexible und less expensive

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

IoT Podcast

Listen to the latest episode of the Internet of Things Podcast. Just press play!

Sponsors

Become a sponsor





Get Stacey’s free weekly Internet of Things newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Upcoming Events

See All Events

Recent Comments

  • Alberto Ciarniello on The cloud is coming to the edge because latency matters
  • Kevin C. Tofel on Why I’m pulling the plug on Wink
  • Kevin C. Tofel on Why I’m pulling the plug on Wink
  • Bryan Chamberlain on Why I’m pulling the plug on Wink

Stacey on Twitter

Tweets by gigastacey
Copyright © 2019 SKT Labs, LLC · Privacy Policy