@MikeSun I used no ballast and the switch seems to works just fine.

MikeSun wrote

@MamaRita 

 

Well, you can use a switch and configure it in a group. That will do the job. 

 

You can use any Kasa light switch to switch a Kasa plug or another Kasa Switch. 

 

I use it as a "wireless 2 way switch" to switch a dimmer switch on the other side of the room.

 

BUT IMPORTANT!!!   The key is that you need a ballast on the "empty" switch to make it work.

I got this one and it just works fine: https://amz.run/4xeH

 

 

MamaRita wrote

@Prl519 I completely agree there should be switches available for the plugs! Im in the dilemma now that my bedroom switch controls only the plug directly below it, but our light needs to be plugged on other side of room so we walk across a dark room to push the button on actual Kasa plug, or use the app to turn on (when we remember to have our phones with us)

 

 

 

 

@MamaRita 

 

Yup. Works for me. Like I said, it did not work for me without a ballast, however that might be related that I got a 2way Kasa switch. One way might not need a ballast. You can try. 

In either case you will be able to control the Kasa plug with the Kasa switch.

Thank you for the help! I’m ordering my switch now! Will order the ballast if I cannot make work without it

YES!!!!!   @Prl519 

 

Kasa has been a leader for smart home lighting but this remote request is a MUST.  
Voice control is nice however there are many scenarios where pulling out their phone is annoying or start talking to their preferred voice control system is going to be disruptive.   
 

Also - a dedicated motion sensor.   I know that they just made a light switch with motion....  that defeats the need for smart bulbs and I like going all in on bulbs vs hard wired switches....  I know the cameras have motion detection and you COULD use that motion detection to trigger the light bulbs on or off however there are many places where a camera might not be appropriate- for instance the bathroom.....   

 

you get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and you don't want to blind yourself, you walk in, motion detects and turn on the lights to a very dim setting.  
 

BTW - Phillips Hue had a dedicated motion sensor AND remote control.   
 

As someone with a 19th century house who has resorted to using smart plugs and lamps, I would very much like both a wall mounted option to control the smart plugs and a fob, so that I don't have to unlock my phone, navigate to the app, navigate to the device just to turn it on or off! DeWenwils makes a plug that has a wall switch that can be mounted anywhere or just left by the bedside, but it *cannot* be controlled by one's phone.

@Prl519 YES! I was wondering the same! I have Lutron all over my house, and I'm turned off by the price. I also like Kasa's simpler lightswitch design - I don't have to touch tiny little buttons like on Lutron. I'd really like to install a Kasa light switch in my kitchen and office, but I want to have a stick-on remote by the coffee bar and inside my desk drawer (so I can turn lights on without getting up from my desk). A remote with buttons that can trigger programmable events would be perfect.

 

Imagine this - stick a 4-button remote onto your coffee table by your TV.

One button you set to turn off the lights,

One button turns on the accent lights & turns off the main lights (for watching TV)

One button turns off the accent lights & turns on the main lights (for socializing)

One button turns all the lights on

 

I did something like this with a Pico remote with my Lutron. 

 

Prl519 wrote

One thing I discovered trying to use a Kasa wall switch as a "virtual" remote switch (it's not connected to any physical load) is that it doesn't always know the on/off state of the remote device it's controlling.

 

I have a wall switch configured to remotely control a table lamp that is plugged into a Kasa smart plug.  The plug itself is under the table, so I can't use the on/off button on the plug itself to turn the lamp on or off.  Instead, I use Alexa or the remote wall switch turn the lamp on or off.  But if I use Alexa to turn the lamp on or off, the wall switch doesn't "know" about that change in the lamp's state. So the illuminated white circle on the rocker switch may not "agree" with the current state of the lamp.  The result is that pressing the rocker switch may turn the lamp on when it's already on, or turn it off when it's already off.  The "fix" is to simply press the switch again.

 

This is further complicated by the fact that there's a noticeable delay using the virtual remote feature, since the signal to turn on or off the controlled device(s) must get sent, over the internet, to your Kasa account, and then routed back down to the device(s).  In my case that delay is about 1-2 seconds.  So if I press my virtual wall switch to turn my table lamp on or off, it takes a second or two to see if the lamp changes state.  If it doesn't (meaning the switch and smart plug are out of sync)  I have to press the switch again, resulting in another 1-2 sec delay.  Certainly not "instant" as would be the case if the wall switch were directly controlling the lamp.

 

A Kasa hub controller would solve this problem (the hub would know the state of every defined device, and could communicate that state with every smart switch or plug), and eliminate the delay described above, but not requiring a central hub is one of the best features of Kasa (keeps the cost down and the configuration much simpler), so...

Paul

 

@Prl519 

Why not have Alexa control only the wall switch instead?  Can you rename the wall switch linked to the lamp plug to "lamp"  or something?  

In google home you can set up routines with multiple voice triggers like "turn on the lamp"  or "turn off the table lamp" etc and have it activate the wall switch rather than the plug.  This would ensure the switch is always in sync with the plug.  Same with any other automations.  Just have it control the switch rather than the plug.