So, I had my Espresso maker plugged into the HS110 for a couple of months, but now that I have the information, I wanted to use it for something else, or even nothing at the moment. The HS110 has been sitting on the shelf for a week and is not even plugged in, but it still shows in the “devices”:
In the app, I can try to configure the smart plug and answer “what’s plugged into that smart plug”. For some reason “nothing” is not an option. Why not?
Similarly, on the web app, I can still find the Espresso machine, but since it is no longer on the smart plug, it no longer shows any activity under that device.
There is no obvious way to remove the device. The TPlink name is greyed out. If I click on the name and change from “smart plug” to something else and save changes, it reverts back to “smart plug” next time I look.
How Can I tell Sense that a different device (or even nothing!) is connected to the HS110???
(One of the more annoying things with my Espresso maker is that both Off and Standby uses about the same amount of power (~2w) and SENSE cannot tell the difference and confuses the two. According to Sense, it has be on for ~12000x this month, while I actually turn it only on once a day… :o. This should be tuned better)
You will have to plug it in and let it connect before it will be available in Kasa. After you reset in Kasa, then use it elsewhere for something else or nothing. I’ve done this many times to keep from buying them.
Thanks you. Could you clarify what you mean by “Reset in Kasa”. There is no obvious “reset” option for this device in the kasa app. Do I need to remove the device, then add it again? Seems convoluted, but if that’s what it takes …
It is not obvious why the sense app (or web interface) does not allow reassignment. Maybe this could be improved.
Welcome to some of the challenges of integrations and the simple act of adding a name. A few thoughts:
Sense maintains dual names for smartplug devices because you may want different names for the plug in the Kasa app and in Sense land. I haven’t played with it recently, but the Sense device may actually stay connected even if you change the Kasa name since there is an underlying Kasa Mac address that still links the two.
You have to think about Sense devices carefully - once a history gets created for a device, you can’t glibly switch names or assignments. Part of the issue is that even after you delete a device its history lives on: Behind the Scenes: Deleting a Device - Sense Blog
So when the time comes to reallocate the smartplug, you have to do more work than would seem necessary. Kasa Smartplug Stat Reset - #12 by RyanAtSense
I recommend that if you want to move a smartplug around, to look at the histories of lots of devices, you name it Traveller and don’t give it a dedicated device name or association… That way, you won’t have to spend time doing resets.
I use the setup process with the button on the plug itself. When you go to add it again, it will recognize the plug as whatever it was named last and ask you if you’d like to keep or change it. This is where you’ll want to change to another name. Then when Sense finds it again, it will import the new name.
You will still have some history of the device under the old name in “trends” tab. You’ll be able to see historical use but it won’t show up in your device list anymore.
Maybe will will be able to keep “inactive” devices on the device tab in the future.