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Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?

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Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-15 10:59:42
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I have successfully set up a smart bulb LB120. I can turn it on or off using Kasa, and it follows the schedule that I've set. I'm writing to ask about manually turning the lamp on or off. I've asked this in a tech support chat, and also in a tech support call, and so far I can't get a useful response. They've suggested that I remove Kasa and reinstall. I've done that, but nothing has changed. Here's the scenario.


- The lamp is set by Kasa's schedule to be be turned off until 8pm.
- I walk into the room at 4pm without my handheld device (i.e., without Kasa), and I want to turn on the lamp manually.
- I twist the power switch once. That sets the power to the lamp to the Off position. I then twist the power switch again to enable power to the lamp. The bulb turns on.
- Now, I'm going to leave the room. So, I manually turn the lamp off (because I don't have my handheld with me to use Kasa to turn it off).
- Now, Kasa can no longer control the bulb, presumably because the power switch on the lamp is in the off position.


My question is this. It appears that the only way to turn a bulb on or off outside the normal schedule would be to use Kasa on your handhelf device. You can't manually use the switch on the lamp any longer without disabling Kasa if you turn the lamp off manually.


Is this the expected behavior? Tech support has said, "you should reinstall the app", which didn't help.
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#1
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-19 19:25:57
The "Remote Control" slider only affects the ability to switch the devices on and off from the Kasa app. To stop them from responding to schedules which have been set up, one has to disable every scheduled event, either by deleting the event or by switching it "off" using the slider switch that's on every schedule line in Kasa.
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#2
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-19 23:03:06
Thanks for your reply, but you're not understanding the question. This has nothing to do with schedules. I have only one bulb, and I can delete the schedule altogether. If I walk into the room and I manually turn the bulb on, and then manually turn the bulb off when I leave the room, then Kasa can no longer control the bulb in any manner (forget any scheduling altogether). Is this expected behavior, or should I expect Kasa to be able to control the bulb, even if the switch on the lamp is in the Off position?
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#3
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-20 02:28:23
Yes that's the expected behavior, as you realized (and support failed to realize!) if the bulb is powered off it can only be turned on by re-applying power. Because of course without power it can't produce any light! In fact it won't even be visible on your network wifi and would not be reachable/controllable with kasa no matter how many times you reinstalled it :) until you powered it back on.
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#4
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-20 02:38:23
Thanks for the confirmation. That helps in my planning with respect to deploying additional Smart Bulbs. It means that I have to be aware that the only way to effectively maintain the ability for Kasa to manage the lighting is if I use a handheld device with Kasa installed to turn the Smart Bulbs on or off. To do otherwise (i.e., to manually turn the switch on a lamp) puts the schedule at risk of not functioning.
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#5
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-20 21:13:09
You might want to prepare yourself for complaints from others that using these bulbs is really annoying, that life was so much easier when they could use a regular wall switch :).

There's a few things you can do to make it easier - using voice with alexa or google home works well if you don't mind needing to speak to turn the lights on/off.

With my app (AutomationManager) or similar you can set up a spare device (e,g, an old phone or tablet) as an always on console that would let you control lights from a central location. My app will also let you centralize your schedules as well as add timed auto off features to your bulbs and switches, and will continue to work even when the internet is down (unlike voice control for example).
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#6
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-21 03:25:41
I think is possible to turn off the bulb
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#7
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Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2018-10-22 12:19:34
Smart bulbs are SO much more valuable if you use a smart speaker. I use the voice feature so much more than the programmed timer on/off function.
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#8
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Re:Re:Can you manually turn a Smart Bulb on and off?
2019-03-08 07:09:54

One thought might be smart Amazon buttons to launch a scene. I currently just use an Amazon Dot and Spot to turn the lights on or off outside schedule time. Not sure if the buttons are available right now. 

 

Another possibility is to use Gideon to monitor another bulb's state. I haven't gotten this to work but using a switch to turn on a smart bulb and have that state determine the state of the other smart bulb. Gideon has an option that watches the state of another bulb. 

 

The target bulb needs power for the wifi connection. 

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#10
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