I’m excited to share that Sense Labs now offers expanded support for additional smart plugs! This update gives you early access to new integrations, but please keep in mind that Sense Labs features are experimental and may not be as reliable as features in the main app. While I continue working to improve these integrations, you may experience occasional issues or interruptions. If you need maximum reliability for your energy monitoring, I recommend waiting until these features graduate from Labs.
What’s New?
TP-Link has released several newer smart plugs that require authentication for monitoring and control. To use these plugs with Sense, you’ll need to provide your TP-Link username and password. This allows your Sense monitor to communicate directly with your TP-Link smart plugs and display their data in your Sense app.
Newly Supported Smart Plugs:
Kasa KP125M (Energy Monitoring)
Kasa EP25 (v2.6)
Tapo P115M
Tapo P110M
Previously Supported Smart Plugs:
Kasa HS300 (smart 6 Prong Powerstrip)
Kasa EP25 (v1.6) (now unavailable as it has been updated to v2.6)
Kasa KP125
Kasa KP115
Note: The Kasa HS110 may technically work with Sense integration, but it is not officially supported. It is end-of-life and no longer supported by Kasa, so functionality may be limited.
How to Get Started with the New Smart Plug Integrations:
Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Sense app.
If you haven’t enabled integrations for TP-Link plugs in the Sense app:
Go to Settings > Connected Devices and enable integration for TP-Link Kasa or Tapo smart plugs.
When prompted, enter your TP-Link account credentials.
Wait a few minutes while Sense discovers your new smart plugs.
Manage and control your smart plugs directly from the Sense app.
Once this step is completed, go to Dashboard > Labs > under TP-Link Smart Plugs > Configure TP-Link integration.
Notice under Help We even added a shoutout to the community!
Go to Devices and check if your previously undetected devices using the new smart plugs appear.
If they do not appear, double-check your credentials and try entering them again.
Matter-enabled TP-Link smart plugs—such as the Kasa KP125M (with energy monitoring), Tapo P115M, and Tapo P110M—require association with the TP-Link Tapo app to function. Plugs with model numbers ending in “M” (like Tapo P115M) are Matter-compatible and can operate in a decentralized way. This means you do not need a TP-Link account or login to use them. You can connect the plug directly to any Matter-compatible home hub. For example, with an iPhone and the Apple Home app, simply scan the QR code on the Matter plug to add it directly to the Home app, without needing to download or log in to the TP-Link app.
However, if a TP-Link Matter plug is not linked to the Tapo/TP-Link app, it will not be recognized by the Sense App.
To ensure your smart plug appears in the Sense app:
Download the Tapo App and log in or create an account.
Make sure your phone and the plug are on the same WiFi network.
Make sure the Tapo App is associated with the correct WiFi Network as your Matter plugs.
The Tapo App should detect your smart plugs and prompt you to add them.
Add the plugs in the app, and then check that the devices associated with the smart plug show up in your Sense app.
Important Reminders:
Sense Labs features are experimental previews and may break or be unavailable at times.
If I can I will work to help you though these features are not fully supported so by all means play with them - but manage your expectations.
While this feature is live, it may not work perfectly or may, in some situations, not work at all.
Not all smart plugs listed here may support energy monitoring—they may only work as switches, if at all.
All supported plugs are required to monitor energy; however, there may be some confusion around this.
For example, some early Tapo 125M devices do not support energy monitoring but will still show up in the Devices list in the Sense app. The switch function in Sense may appear responsive but does not actually trigger the switch or reflect changes in the Tapo app.
Although quickly identified in initial testing, similar issues may arise with other plugs if they lack energy monitoring capabilities.
The best way to check if your device monitors energy is to open the Tapo app > Home > Click on a device > Look for a category > Energy Usage.
KP125M plugs arrive today. Looking forward to testing them out.
@JamesDrewAtSense is the integration working more or less the same, just with auth for the plugs that need it? Or are there other benefits (like better scale, potentially more devices) with Matter plugs, etc?
The integration, I believe, is working more or less the same as with previous smart plugs. The team mostly just built the integration for them and didn’t add any new functionality.
I don’t think there are more changes in how your data is being measured. If possible, can you specify “better scale” and “more devices”? I can guess, but I want to make sure to be precise.
Right, Sense generally only supports up to 25-ish smart plugs at a time—at least with the traditional setup.
With the current expanded plugs, I do not know how many smart plugs will be supported or work. At this point, I would still focus on only having about 25 smart plugs for support purposes—especially since the newly expanded plugs are still a Labs-only feature—but I will keep an eye on how well many more plugs work.
Gotcha, good idea! The truth is that it probably will help, but I cannot say for certain—the 25 limit is a self-imposed limit for support purposes, because we can’t account for all factors of someone’s home network and sometimes just need to advise folks to cut down on smart plug use if they also report that Sense or the plugs are not working as they should.
I currently have some KP125s and 2 HS300s. My questions is will you be supporting additional models to those listed above? I am looking at the new P210M outlet and the S515 switch. Both have energy monitoring.
Currently, I am not aware of any plans to support additional smart plugs beyond those currently listed. While this could change or be considered in the future, if you want to ensure compatibility with Sense, I recommend using the plugs that are officially supported.
This is great! I still use Emulated Kasa via Home Assistant, and that’s working great, but it’s good to know Sense is supporting newer hardware.
@JamesDrewAtSense Do you know if there’s been any update on duplicated devices? It seems that if an entity is removed from Kasa, rogue devices still show up in the Sense device list, even if the integration is totally removed and added back. You would think it would remove all devices once the integration is unregistered, and then add back only the devices. This is how almost all IoT works with other integrations (Google Home, Alexa etc)
The non-working duplicates do not have the option to power toggle and they’re essentially orphaned:
Does the TP-Link Matter Plug, in my case the KP-125M, need to be in One or the other? Or does it have to be in the Tapo App in addition to the KASA app?
I’ve added two TP-Link KP-125M’s to my Kasa app, and went ahead and installed the Tapo app on My iPhone, and Sense still does not see either plug after about an hour.
@JamesDrewAtSense ,
I bought a 4 pack of EP25’s the other day to experiment with and to start swapping out HS110s. So far I have installed 2, on a laser printer and one on my upstairs furnace air handler. Initially Sense couldn’t see them. I tried a little poking and prodding with the ‘kasa’ app here and eventually it started seeing them. I when back to the Sense app, and suddenly they were both visible ! ‘Furnace Up 2’ is one of the new EP25 on v2.6 firmware.
The fix was for adding smart plugs—currently, smart plug-added devices cannot be deleted on Sense’s end. So, if they are removed in the other app and still show up here, they cannot be removed.
If possible, please send me a private message with all the devices you want removed and that are already removed in the other app. I will write to engineering as an example of how this is an issue. I am requesting a PM because I may have some follow-up questions and need to be specific about some issues.
Those plugs are not listed as working. But if you choose to purchase those plugs and see anything different, let me know and I’ll alert the team so we can look into it.
I believe the Tapo App is the app TP-Link is focusing on most—especially after they added compatibility from Kasa plugs to Tapo.
The component you may be missing is that you need to sign in and make sure those new smart plugs are detected and appearing in the Tapo app. I don’t think this happens automatically; instead, when you are on the same network and the app is open, it will observe these plugs and ask if you want to add them. Once you add them, I would try going to Sense Labs, signing in again, and seeing if they appear now.
This just happened to me when I opened the Tapo App today with one plug.
Also, I would make sure your 125M actually is an energy monitoring plug. I bought an early Tapo 125M plug and it does not monitor energy. This can be found by opening the Tapo app, going to the plug, clicking on it, and seeing if there is a banner that says “Runtime” versus “Energy Usage.” If you see “Runtime,” then it will not work with Sense. I’m just trying to make sure because I specifically ran into this issue with the KP125M (though it was Tapo KP125M, so if it’s Kasa or monitors energy, it may be a different story).
