TP-Link Tapo Matter Smart Light Switch: Voice Control w/Siri, Alexa & Google Home | UL Certified | Timer & Schedule | Easy Guided Install | Neutral Wire Required | Single Pole | Tapo S505(2-Pack)

I had started on my smart home journey many years ago and had initially used Belkin Wemo switches for my light fixtures. The Wemos never worked well, and I had switched them all out a number of years ago, replacing them with TP-Link Kasa switches, which have been trouble free and worked great with both Alexa and the Kasa app. I have 5 Kasa dimmer smart switches and I recently decided to add another one. In my search on Amazon I did find the Kasa switch but also saw that there was a newer model, which is this Tapo model. It looks to be the same as my Kasa switch, but also supported Matter.The Tapo switch looks and installs just like the older Kasa model. With installation, it's straight forward, but key is having the neutral wiring as not all homes have them. You will also need to be a distinguish between the line and load wires (not important in older switches), so having a non-contact voltage tester would be helpful. The hardest part of the installation is tucking away the wires to get the switch to fit inside the wall box. The snap on cover plate gives the switch a nice clean look.With the switch installed, the next step is adding it to the app. It does not work with the old Kasa app, but the good news for me was that the Tapo app will work with my older Kasa smart devices. I downloaded the Tapo app and signed in with my TP-Link account, and it immediately populated all of my Kasa devices. Adding this switch was easy, just clicking on the "+" button and selecting the product. It found it right away and only took a few minutes. I have always liked the Kasa app and the Tapo app looks to be even better, as it's intuitive, though I will need some time to try out the features. On my Alexa, I did unlink my Kasa skill and then linked the Tapo skill, though not sure if I really had to do that. Alexa found the Tapo switch right away and works as expected in controlling it.As Tapo supports Matter, I did also add it to Apple Home Kit. None of my older switches support Home Kit, so this is the only smart switch on Home Kit. To add to Home Kit, it just requires the QR code from the device, which I did not find in or on the box, so I initially thought it's probably on the back of the switch, which didn't make much sense to me. However, in looking at the device in the Tapo app, there was an option to show the QR code, so problem solved. Adding to Home Kit was also quick and easy once I had the QR code.I have over 2 dozen TP-Link smart devices in my home setup. All of them are in the Kasa line except for this new Tapo switch. I can attest to the quality of their devices and am happy that TP-Link is continuing to bring new functionality to their line.

These switches are great! Setup was simple with the guided install, and they work perfectly with Alexa, Siri, and Google Home. Scheduling and timers are super convenient — my lights are now completely automated!

The love I have for Tapo and tp-link is too much to describe with words. These switches ARE AMAZING. Matter connectivity is AMAZING and you don’t have to pair them to the Tapo app to use them with other platforms like Apple Home. Response time is literally like not even a second. It was super easy to replace my old dumb switches for these! Love how you don’t have to identify which black wire is load or line, the switch does it FOR YOU! It’s truly the BEST smart switch and the price is crazy good. If my dad didn’t stop me, every single switch in the house would be these. Don’t hesitate to buy them!

FYI this is a switch, not a dimmer! This needs to be made more clear. It's just on or off and uses an internal relay so it can handle more power than a dimmer. This is exactly what I was looking for to control my outdoor floods. When it switches on or off, you hear a little click, which is the relay. You actually want to hear this click! It lets you know it's working. Connected immediately, no problems, found the 2.4 signal that was mixed in with the 5 signal. Not everyone can do that. They even give you a switch plate. Very good value, well priced. Would buy again. As an aside, don't let the matter thing throw you off. It's merely the latest telecomm protocol and invisible to the user. As an aside, what is unusual about these switches is that the paddle lights when the switch if OFF! Second, the connections for load and line are the same (two blacks which can be used for either.) This is a "good" but different than other switches. I would recommend that they change the color of one of the black wires to maybe blue or red.

Although this device can be setup over Matter, in my case over Home Assistant, you can't disable the gradual on/off, only change its duration. At least this was the case when I added this device in Home Assistant, either as a matter device or through the TP-Link integration. The solution I found to this problem is to add the device to the Tapo app (before or after you've already set it up in Home Assistant as a Matter device), change the setting, and then never use the app again if you don't want to.Also, you cannot disable the little ring LED that's intended to help you find the switch in the dark if you solely set this up over Matter. This setting must also be changed inside of the Tapo app. However, if you first set this device up over the Tapo app, you can then add it through the TP-Link integration in Home Assistant and disable/enable that LED light through Home Assistant.Additionally, there is a longer delay when controlling this device over Matter. Not enough for me to detract a star, but it is noticeable. In my opinion, it is better to add this device first to Tapo and then to Home Assistant through the TP-Link integration, rather than adding this device straight to Home Assistant as a Matter device. Additionally, by adding it through the TP-Link integration, you can also use the brightness presets. Although you can't change these brightness presets through Home Assistant, the default values are perfectly fine. Given the option, I don't even think I would change these values at all.Overall, this switch is fine but the Matter integration is lacking. Yes, you can totally set this device up over Matter straight into your Google Home, Home Assistant, or even Alexa if you'd like, but some of the settings -- namely disabling gradual on/off and disabling the LED that is supposed to help you find the switch in the dark -- are absent, but the switch will retain these settings after you've set them in the Tapo app if you'd like to continue to solely use Matter.