Because we buy more and more from China, the chances are high that you buy something with another type of power connector. Read our other article to know more about connectors all over the world.Of course, you can use power adapters (travel plugs or converters) but how safe is that?
A reason for me to choose this Xiaomi 5 outlet Smart . This power strip is smart and you only need one converter instead of five. I bought mine at .
Xiaomi works together with the brand Qingmi for this product.
I replaced my old power strip that was filled with adapters with this one. Smart and whitout adapters. safety first!
Contents
Specifications
Specifications as stated on banggood.
Brand | Xiaomi |
Model | Qingmi |
APP | Mijia APP |
Color | White |
Outlet | 5 Outlet |
Rated Voltage | 250V |
Rated Power | 2500W Max |
Max Current | 10A Max |
Dimension | 265 x 42 x 26mm |
Weight | 315g |
Maybe one of the most important thing to know is: This power strip is smart. that means you can use an app to control power supply and measure power consumption. The protocol that is used for that is WiFi.
Expectations
The reasons I choose for the Xiaomi smart power strip: I love the Xiaomi design and its quality, like the integration in my home automation setup. The main reason I already mentioned earlier is that I want a cleaner and safer cabinet without power adapters.
What’s in the box
Just one small Xiaomi Qingmi Smart Power Strip and a little manual with a QR code to download the Mi Home app.
Features
The features of the Xiaomi Qingmi 5 Outlet Portable Smart WiFi APP Remote Control Energy Monitor Timing Power Strip with Smart Chip are:
– APP remote control, intelligent timing reservation
Remote control your household appliances on your way or let it turn on / off automatically at specific times and temperature. So set your household appliances to turn on at a pre-set time
– With power statistics function
The plug can detect power of air conditioner and aggregate the power consumption, ultimately saving you money
– Energy monitoring
The plug comes with energy monitoring, allowing you to monitor real-time and historical power consumption for your connected electronics through the App. Closely monitoring power-hungry devices can help you better manage energy usage in your home
– Equipped with smart chips
With the smart chips, if there is leakage of equipment, APP will push the warning information, and the plug will turn off by itself automatically to ensure the electrical safety
Test
Stand alone
Without the Mi Home the strip is also very usable. You can press the button to toggle on/off. But the button is not touch nor clickable and sometimes you have to click another time to really push the button.
Because the plug has a Type 1 power plug you can do 2 things: Use a travel plug or replace the connector with another plug.
mi home app
The mi home app is really good but after included this power strip I saw that not the whole app is translated well. the section for the Xiaomi Chingmi Powerstrip is definitely not. But the use of you can see the usage, toggle on/off and set a timer.
Integration in Smart Home
Because we are a huge fan of integrating devices into our own home automation platform we checked whether the device could be integrated into our smart home setup. Unfortunately we found nothing useful to integrate it in Domoticz but we found a solution to add it into A.
In the configuration.yaml you add a few lines of code. But one line includes a token, so you need to obtain a token first:
During setup of Mi Home devices the device tokens an
be retrieved by sending a ping command to the device. This method uses a tool called Packet Sender which you will need to download. Choose the portable version which does not require installation.
Download the portable version of Packet Sender.
Reset the device following the instructions from the device manual, this usually means holding one or two buttons for 10 seconds. This will reset all device settings including the Wi-Fi settings.
After the device will create own Wi-Fi network. This network will have a name related to the device and is used for configuring the device but will also allow us to retrieve the token. Connect to this Wi-Fi network with your computer which has Packet Sender running.
source: https://github.com/jghaanstra/com.xiaomi-miio/blob/master/docs/obtain_token.md
Open Packet Sender and enter the following details.HEX: 21310020ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
IP: 192.168.8.1 <this must be the first of the range you connected to
Port: 54321
Protocol : UDP
Click send and the device will respond with an answer which contains the unique device token. In the last 16 bytes (32 characters) of is the device token. Copy and save it somewhere.
Disconnect your computer from , you can now use the Mi Home app to the device and connect it to your Wi-Fi network.
Now You have your token you can add the config to home assistant. Change the host to the IP of the power strip. G it a static IP in your router so it will never change.
- platform: xiaomi_miio
name: Original Xiaomi Mi Smart WiFi Socket
host: 192.168.0.143
token: your token
model: qmi.powerstrip.v1
Now you are able to control and monitor the Xiaomi powerstrip from your own favorite home automation platform.
Build Quality & Design
The Xiaomi power strip is small, but feels solid and has a thick cable. It comes with a type I power plug.
Home automation compatible?
it is!! So it is smart and usable in the Xiaomi of smart things. Next to the mi home app, you can also use it into H Assistant. But you cannot use it in Domoticz (yet).
Complementary Products / Alternatives
The Xiaomi 5 port strip with USB ports can be an good alternative, but that one is not smart.
Pro / cons
Pros
- Smart
- Small
- Price quality
Cons
- N power plug.
- App not fully translated
Verdict
So as you might already noticed I’m really impressed by the Xiaomi Power strip. Because of the good design, smart features and different types compatible made that it’s worth the extra money.
Where to buy?
We bought this product on banggood and asked for a coupon for you! Here it is:
Xiaomi 5 Outlet Smart Power Strip
in the review we show how to integrate into Home-assistant
Review
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Design
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Quality
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Usability
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Home-Automation compatibility
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Price