iSocket Smart Plug 2022 REVIEW

With iSocket, you can monitor, control, adapt, and expand.

If you run a home or small office, you may not know when you will lose power. As a family physician, my office has several pieces of equipment that require uninterrupted power, such as a vaccine or medication refrigerator. When small incremental temperature changes could result in thousands of dollars in damaged medications, employing monitoring devices can drastically aid in the struggle to reduce cost/waste.

You may not worry as much about clinics/hospitals with on-demand generators and specialized outlets. However, I use devices like those from iSocket to alert me to outages for my computer, and fridge.

UNBOXING

The iSocket device arrived in a 7 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches tall by 3 1/8 inches thick retail package. The cover panel displayed the company logo along the top left, “Right iSocket for You!” along the top, “Forewarned is forearmed” along the lower segment, and a sentence about prompts, alerts, and notifications in your home. The middle portion of the panel provided a photo-quality image of an array of eight sockets representing various country-style outlets.

The black background served as a good base for the off-white sockets and the lime green accents. The top panel provided the iSocket logo, a quaint “iSocket for your home” slogan at the top, and then showcased the various sockets (Europe (Type F), France (TypeE), UK (Type G), US (Type B), Italy (Type L), Australia (Type I), Switzerland (Type J), and Israel (TypeH)). The right side panel provided a prominent Facebook QR code link, while the left side panel listed the logo at the top left, information about monitoring one’s home, product manufacturing labels, SKU barcode, and product specifications: 100-240VAC 50-60 Hz input, 16A/120-240VAC (fuse protected) output, 12VDC/100mA alarm, digital temperature sensors, power failure/restore alerts.

The front panel displayed the logo at the top left, a QR code for the App, the www.iSocketworld.com website, and features of the iSocket devices: Power failure alarm, Temperature rise/fall alerts, water flood alarm, door-open alarm, break-in alerts. Lastly, the back panel showcased a fun cartoon representation of the isocket features.  

I lifted the front flap, read the battery charge warning on the inner box (charge for 20 hours to charge the internal battery), and then removed the instruction manual. Like the outer packaging, the manual provided the lime green logo at the top left, the product name along the top center, and images of the bank of outlet types, as well as the outlet proper. Beneath the manual, you will find a rather large outlet adapter that measured 2 5/8 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches tall by 2 1/8 inches thick and weighed 8.3-ounces.

Before you dispose of the outer shell, make sure that you remove the bag with the 119 1/2 inches long sensor with 2.5 mm connector.   The house-shaped hexagonal socket device could be divided into an upper 1 5/8 inches diameter type A socket section and a lower square-shaped informational section.

The lower section provided the iSocket logo, a small factory reset button, a green-colored power LED, a blue-colored online LED, and a lower red-colored power outage indicator. Along the bottom of the iSocket, you will find a 2.5mm (temperature sensors) and a 3.5mm port (alarm sensors). The instruction manual provided a helpful quick-start diagram of each feature and a short descriptive sentence about the features.

INSTALLATION

At first glance, I was a bit concerned about the size of the iSocket device. I aligned the iSocket plug with the lower type A wall outlet and pressed the device into the wall. The plug was designed to provide a power sensor function, to provide power to the iSocket device, and to provide passthrough power to the NEMA 5-15 type A outlet on the front of the device. However, the outlet is non-powered by default and is covered by a yellow warning sticker.  

Once the device was plugged in, the power LED illuminated a soft green, while the online indicator flashed a soft blue. The internal cellular chip will start to transmit data and the device will become fully operational once the internal device battery reaches 100% power (~20 hours).    Navigate to www.isocket.me/account to learn more about the setup process or utilize the activation information sent via email.

I loved the ease of the plug-and-play system, the ability to add power outage information through the plug, and the option to plug the included temperature sensor into the 2.5mm port for add-on temperature monitoring. The setup provided a two-for-one sensor setup out of the box and allowed for add-on monitoring features like water sensor data (look for the water sensor review).  

Web-Based Application

The main panel showed the iSocket logo along the top left and provided a section for my email and password login. You can tap the “Keep me signed in” feature, review the Privacy Policy/Cookies/Terms of Use/Refund Policy, and when ready press the blue login button. The second panel provided the iSocket logo at the top left, a bullet icon at the top right, and my information in the next row.

When I tapped the iSocket icon, the page shifted and displayed location data and the product serial number. When I tapped my name,  a dropdown window appeared with my customer number, a cog “Settings” option, and the option to Logout. When I tapped the bullet icon, the web application showed fourteen different row options: Locations, Monitorings, Power Switches, Thermostats, Energy Meters, Temperature Data Loggers, My Power Guru, My Profile and Users, Notifications, Billing, Settings, Support, Enterprise Look, and Shop.  

When I tapped “locations,” the App took me to the panel described above. I found that I could either touch the upper right bullet icon or use the back button to return to the previous panel. When I tapped “Monitorings,” I was able to select the + to “Add new monitoring,” to see information about the Main Power (settings + log), information about the temperature sensor (settings + log), and then another segment to “Create Your Alarm Monitoring.”  

The App provides a plethora of features and utilized branching panels to access additional features. As an example, when I tapped the log of the main power, it showed “restored” and “Failed” features and that the data was sent to my email and phone message (SMS). You can purge the logs, review the logs, export the logs, or simply leave them alone. When I pressed “settings,” I was able to adjust a power failure notification slider, and was able to turn on/off “Web Alerts, Email Alerts, Advanced Notifications to my phone number, and the option to send voice messages. You can then choose to set the features or cancel to return to the previous screen. 

Similar to the above features, you can evaluate the temperature log by selecting log. For an additional monthly charge of $0.59 per month, you can see the last 1000 events or last 3 days of data, $0.69 per month you can see the last 3000 events or 30 days of data, and for $0.99 per month, you can see the last 10000 events or events over the preceding 90 days (whichever comes first).

When I tapped settings, I was able to set the temperature rise and fall alert, as well as how to send alerts via web , email, SMS, or Voice. Along the bottom of the panel, you will see a section to “Create Your Alarm Monitoring” with six non-touch icons and another “Add new monitoring” button. Tap the button to gain another dropdown menu for Alarm Monitoring, Active Power & Energy, Equipment Operation & Failures, and Elderly parents Supervising. I selected “Equipment Operation & Failures,” named the room Vaccine Fridge, selected “Set,” and then noted that the App returned to the preceding page.   

I loved the intuitive design of the App and the simple step-by-step user interface. The App noted “Your appliance is not energized, because its power switch is turned off.”  When I tapped the “?” Icon, the App provided a paragraph description about how to activate the socket through the “Power Switches” section (add-on cost feature).

The descriptive paragraph informed the user that iSocket could not know all possible requests for the power passthrough and that data monitoring may fluctuate if using the feature for devices with on/off cycles. Like the temperature log feature above, the on/off event log will require an additional $0.59/$0.69/$0.99 add-on per month. When done with the setup step, press the bullet icon to return to the main panel.

I selected Power Switches, toggled the selection from the off position to the on position, heard a click on the device, observed that the red OUT LED illuminated, and saw “Power Switch is turned on” within the App. When I tapped settings, I found that I could keep the same status prior to power loss, turn the outlet on when power is restored, or keep the device off when power is restored.

I chose the “Keep the same status as it was before power was lost” feature and then sent the request to the device. To show the function of the App/power feature, I plugged a GB circuit tester into the outlet and activated the power. With the power switch set to “On,” the tester showed correct grounding. With the power switch set to “OFF,” the circuit tester lights extinguished and no power flowed through the outlet. 

Returning to the main panel via the upper bullet button, I played through the thermostat widget (I did not have a thermostat to add), and then evaluated the energy meter demo. I added my iSocket information into the “Energy Meters” section and look forward to seeing the output of my Fridge over the next 30 days. When I tapped “My Power Guru,” I received a warning that “No one ‘Mains Power’ monitoring is configured. Please go to Monitoring section to configure them.” 

I tapped the warning and was transported back to the monitoring panel. I was able to add a section for power monitoring and found that I could adjust the fall alerts for raise and fall values, and hysteresis values (if desired). Interestingly, the app warned the user about changing the hysteresis information (set at 10W), unless they knew what they were doing. I did not understand what the system wanted me to do and thus I left the value alone at 10W. I plugged my MacBook Pro into the socket and found that the App recorded 21.53W.  

When I tapped “My Profile & Users,” the App provided my contact information, the option to edit the data, my billing address/information, and provided the option to add a new user. Unfortunately, if you want to add users, you will need to update your billing section. You can adjust the notifications through the notifications tab, adjust the SMS/Email settings through the settings tab, and then access the support FAQ.

The “Enterprise Look” feature was designed to see all locations at once, to sort based on address/ID/comments/device or location name. Probably the most real-world tab was the “Billing” tab. I was able to see my account credits and was able to “Top UP” instantly to maintain monitoring. The base iSocket Cellular Connected home feature cost $7.99 per month and provided a long list of features, and information about the $0.09 charge per test message or voice message for a total of $7.99 per month. You can add extra a la carte features for extra emails ($0.19/month), and for sub-users ($0.99/month).

SUMMARY

The midwest has recently experienced quite a bit of rain and flooding, plus its fair share of severe weather. For example, I was recently called at 6:30 in the am, alerted by a coworker that my office had lost power at 3:30 am, and that we were still without power. I was pleased to announce that I was already aware of that information and that I had already initiated the power-outage protocol.

Thanks to the text alert feature, I knew within about a minute that the power was out, and the temperature sensor showed that the temperature remained stable. I was able to contact another colleague to move the fridge contents into a portable cooler for safety and prevent the loss of product. Although the device/plan was supposed to be for home use and not for business purposes, I used this as a test feature for proof of concept.

Imagine plugging your home deep freezer into the outlet and knowing the temperature of your freezer and the status of power. Quickly learn if you lose power, if the device fails, and about the cost to run the appliance. Perhaps you run a small in-home office and you need information for tax purposes? What is your server doing? What is the status of power to a room? Did you trip a GFI somewhere and lose power?

Instead of coming home from vacation to a power outage, iSocket can alert you to the issue before coming home to a disaster. I have only scratched the surface of the opportunities/options for the iScoket device. The iSocket A La Carte features should allow you to build the loadout that you want/need and then add those desired features to the monthly bill.

Despite the $200 cost of the base device, the company will generously throw in the first month free for whichever tier you purchase. Depending on your desired features, you can enjoy peace of mind for as little as $3.99 per month. If sage advice suggests buying insurance when you cannot afford the loss, why not upgrade your sensors to physically ensure a better outcome?

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