Some questions about the Band and the Plug

Do Wyze plugs turn themselves off or on when the internet goes down, (like the amazon smart plug) or do they just stay on/off until the button is pressed?

And can I control smarthome products other than Wyze made ones using the Band? I mean, if it has Alexa built in, the user shouldn’t need to always verbally turn an appliance on/off for example. Sure, I guess they could pull out their phone, but wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of having the band?

Welcome to the Wyze community!

From my experience, the plugs will stay how they were (On/Off) when the internet was working.

Yes, you can you can turn on and off almost anything connected to your Alexa account even if it’s not a Wyze product. you just have to use the Alexa verbally.

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I think, based on the way he asked the question, that your second answer should have been “no”, you can’t control non-Wyze devices by touch through an Alexa interface on the band.

Aw. That kinda sucks, but I kinda understand why. But do skills work though? (I have a skill set up so I can use my Google Assistant through Alexa-I followed a guide)

I get your point but…
You technically can control devices but only with your voice.

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I know that. My last question is whether or not skills work, since the google assistant skill I have set up. (which doesn’t need sound, it can print out text too)

Agreed, that is my experience as well is that the Wyze plug will stay how they were if the internet goes down (which is a GOOD thing). I learned the hard way with the Amazon smartplugs that they turn OFF when the internet goes down (not good especially when I had them connected to my TiVos). So I now use the Amazon smartplugs with non-critical applications, and the Wyze plugs for critical/important devices. At the beginning of the Wyze plugs, I had lots of disconnection issues where I had to re-pair them in order gain back control (so I went with Amazon smartplugs which turned out to be bad), but I have not had this disconnection issue with the Wyze plugs in several months now (so they must have worked out the disconnection bugs). They are very reliable in my experience - I just can’t wait for native SmartThings integration so I can stop using the IFTTT workaround.

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Isn’t smartthings a Zigbee hub? And I know for a fact that the plugs are WiFi-Based.

Yes…and the plugs are WiFi. Wyze is working on SmartThings integration … don’t know timing on it though. So I use IFTTT to integrate with SmartThings which is a pain, but it mostly works with some delays in response.

Ah, I see. Personally, I use IFTTT as a bridge between TriggerCMD on my PC and Alexa. (so I can just say something like “open chex quest” instead of some complex command thats really specific)

They do have a WiFi plug:

Huh. Neat! Now, back to the original topic: Do alexa skills work on the wyze band?

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What do you mean by skills? You can turn on and off Alexa connected devices verbally with Alexa on the band.
For me, some of my routines(shortcuts/automations) worked and others didn’t.

Funny that I have not tried those yet … I have way too many brands of smart devices. For plugs in order of preference/reliability I have: IKEA, Wyze, Kasa TP-Link, and Wemo. IKEA was easier to integrate with SmartThings directly and it works with Alexa via their Alexa skill, and it is very reliable…spot on all the time. Wyze are great too but I would give the edge to IKEA because of easy integration with SmartThings and Alexa. Wyze looks nicer though…the IKEA plug is ugly :slight_smile:

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Hmm… guess I’ll just find out if skills work when I get my band. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to do verbal Google searches!

It should work… so it sounds like you use the Google Assistant-like skill via Alexa. I can use my band to say Alexa commands the same as I ask a regular Echo and it performs them…including Logitech Harmony commands that is a skill. It’s not the greatest experience though…the lag kills it for me, so I rarely use it for Alexa commands. Maybe you’ll have a better experience with it. I like the band though…I tend to wear it more than my Apple Watch.

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I got my Band! (And the plugs!) Oddly enough, the Band came with a “I backed Wyze Band” sticker, (which I’m saving) even though I’ve never backed the crowdfunding campaign for the Band. Anyhoo, the Google skill works, but really only for device control. (e.g. The Govee strips on my TV, the Yeelight in my room, etc,.) For whatever reason, it doesn’t give any text output (e.g. the response from my Assistant) so the screen just goes blank… Even though it gives text output on my Fire TV Cube! Also, the “simon says” command seems to work, so that’s fun.

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Oh, and how come shortcuts are so… basic? And why can’t I just control a device directly from the Band?! I mean, in the app’s user guide for the Band, it even shows a single shortcut for turning a light on or off! (two buttons, one for on one for off) I shouldn’t have to sacrifice 2 shortcuts so I can control a single device. Sure, this is probably not where I should be saying this, but still. At least add some “If, Else” logic to shortcuts. (e.g. When the shortcut runs, it checks if the device is on or off. If it’s on, it’ll turn it off, and vice versa)