Could you indicate the model of your new smart plugs? There are a lot of models that look the same, but not all report energy to Sense. For example, the new model KP125MP does not, even though the older KP125 model does.
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Hi guys - since yours are EP25s, I’m going to roll into the previous Topic about EP25 issues.
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One note for all folks. There are at least 3 hardware versions of the EP25, each with their own released firmware. Seems like V2.6 is the variant that is giving issues.
It would be helpful to post both the hardware version (V2.6, V1.60, V1.80) and firmware version of your EP25 when sharing your issue.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’re investigating the issues we’ve heard about with new EP25s and will provide an update when possible. In the meantime, we’ve updated the post to indicate the available smart plugs that we believe to be currently working well with Sense (TP-Link Kasa KP-115). Sense Connects with Smart Plugs - Sense Blog
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I was just about to buy a few more of these and now I’ll wait! I have 8 now and all work fine.
Hardware Version 1.0
Firmware Version 1.0.13
Most of mine are less than a year old. That is a lot of version changes in less than a year!
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Hi folks,
Just spotted some info that says the Kasa EP25 (V2.6) is definitively not compatible with TP-Link’s original communications protocol.
Some newer hardware versions of Kasa branded devices are now using the same protocol as Tapo branded devices. Support for these devices is currently limited as per TAPO branded devices:
- Kasa EP25 (plug) hw_version 2.6
- Kasa KP125M (plug)
I was going to try this diagnostic software and noticed the note about EP25s. I’m still going to try this code to see if it gives me hints about the occasional other Kasa plugs that fail to repose to Sense’s “emeter” commands.
UPDATE: I did try this utility on my Mac. Installed using ‘pip3’, Very useful for inventorying all Sense compatible smart plugs on my network.
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I’m experiencing the same issues, with the same mix of firmware on my EP25 plugs, and my Sense. Has anyone heard anything about a fix?
@expensive.wino,
My take is that there isn’t going to be a “fix” for the new V2.6 EP25’s. There’s nothing broken per se - Kasa moved to a completely new communications protocol and left users that rely on their 10 year old protocol in the dust (no backward compatibility) and didn’t tell users about the change. I would imagine that Sense might support the newish protocol Kasa and others are using, but that would be a completely new integration.
As I mentioned in this post, it’s fairly easy for a user that has a recent Mac computer to pull this utility, to see which devices should be visible to Sense. Ones that don’t show up are either non-compatible (V2.6) or impeded by your networking (maybe they are on another subnet ?).
Using the utility with this command pipe:
/Users/kevin/Library/Python/3.9/bin/kasa discover | grep '^==\|Hardware\|Software'
Gives a very useful inventory of the devices Sense should be able to see for my house. You can see I’m mostly “old school” with my Kasa smart plugs, but there is one of the original EP25’s (Hardware 1.0) in the mix, that works just fine with Sense.
== KP115 Roamer - KP115(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.0.20 Build 221125 Rel.092759
== Furnace Down - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== TP-LINK_Smart Plug_7FE0 - EP25(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.0.6 Build 210928 Rel.185924
== Recirculation Pump - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Traveling HS110 - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Office Always On - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Master Bedroom - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Downstairs - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== HP LaserJet - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Furnace Up - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Front Door Dragon - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Ford Energi Charger - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Playroom Cluster - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Yamaha - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Kids Bathroom - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Kyle’s PC - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== Washing Machine - HS110(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.2.6 Build 200727 Rel.121701
== TP-LINK_Power Strip_13D9 - HS300(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.0.21 Build 210524 Rel.161309
== TP-LINK_Power Strip_FA05 - HS300(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.0.21 Build 210524 Rel.161309
== TP-LINK_Power Strip_D4F6 - HS300(US) ==
Hardware: 1.0
Software: 1.0.21 Build 210524 Rel.161309
While I appreciate your response, it would be interesting to see some community participation from Sense employees. It’s just frustrating that Sense seems to be lacking in integration with other vendors, much less improving their product.
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Hopefully you saw @JuliaAtSense respond above. But as one who watches home automation stuff pretty closely, this major, unannounced change by Kasa is the big problem. And it should be embarrassing for them that a hobbyist had to pick up the difference, rather than them announcing the move to a new protocol and documenting.
I am someone that follows this space as well, and who bought EP25s for the sole purpose of using them with Sense. While I appreciate the perspective that TP-Link/Kasa did something unexpected here, they did this in order to patch some pretty serious security issues with their products. I don’t imagine them stopping with the EP25 and I suspect we might even see these protocol changes rolling out to existing devices as well, since they do mitigate a risk to existing owners. Labeling them “the problem” isn’t constructive.
If Sense has a partnership with TP-Link, they should leverage that partnership better. If they don’t, and this integration is just kind of a best-effort hack, I get that. But the new protocol has been worked out, there’s a good reference implementation in the python-kasa library, so it’s just a question of implementing and testing. If it’s on the road map, great. If it’s not being worked for lack of resources, e-mail me for my rates. If TP-Link is being abandoned as a partnership/integration (especially on the assumption that this protocol change will eventually make its way to other products), I’d love to know that as well so I can stop checking in once a month to see if my EP25 is supported yet and I can just bite the bullet and buy something else instead.
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@dn3st ,
As a fellow user, I understand where you are coming from. It’s a total bummer that the new EP25s don’t work for specific use case you bought them for, due to the unannounced change in the Kasa product. If I were you and I had purchased them Amazon or other, I would return the EP25s immediately and swap for the slightly more expensive KP125s which I have heard can be added via HomeKit or via the standard Kasa app addition process. I added mine via the HomeKit route.
I agree with you that the future for TP-Link and most other future home automation devices will eventually run through Matter, so the current Kasa-Sense integration is living on borrowed time for new users and new additions of smart plugs, since Kasa has shown a tendency to end of life products without any notice, as soon as they roll out newer product. But even if Sense had a new Matter integration on the roadmap for the second half of this year (completely mad up on my part), I would still be buying the KP125s right now for full compatibility with all my existing needs. I also agree that the migration to a more secure protocol is the way to go, though Kasa has 8 years of legacy hardware out there, that they are likely to have to support in the Kasa app for some time to come.
My 2c is that the Sense / Kasa relationship wasn’t anywhere close to a partnership. Kasa doesn’t really have a developers program, and SDK or a documented API. They have basically been a walled garden, that was poorly “protected” - a few folks reverse-engineered the protocol and that’s why we have various integrations. The Sense partnership with Schneider/SquareD/Wiser is a real one, though that makes users dependent on the Wiser walled-garden as Sense works with them to evolve (and requires the green variant of the Sense monitor).
There is also a KP125M that has Matter but not so sure it will also work with Sense.
$29.99 for a two pack of KP125M. They got so many versions now with similar names you have to be very careful when ordering.
@ron111157 , Kasa energy-monitoring smart plugs that use Matter (EP25 V2.6 and KP125M) DO NOT work via the Sense Integration. And from everything I read, people who want working home automation today, should invest in Matter sensors and devices only slowly and carefully today. It has a lot of promise as a standard, but adoption and implementation are still very weak and inconsistent.
Is Matter (and thread) mature enough now to go “all in” right now with it?
Basically no.
I wish I could say yes, but if you’re renovating and trying to buy a bunch of stuff, you won’t find much on the market and they’re not as mature. A few years from now, they might be there, but today I think you’ll be disappointed.
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@kevin1 Thanks! I had a strong feeling they would NOT work with Sense.
I totally agree about Matter.
I do have a few New Matter supported items from Hue and Leviton (decora) which work fine even though they did double add in Apple Home.
Several others have put out upgrades to Matter on existing devices but since they work fine now in Home I see no need. Like you said as it evolves it should be more reliable and less buggy.
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Just wanted to share that Home Assistant now supports the newer version of TPLink hardware, including the EP25 Plugs with the 2.6 firmware. I think it was this issue that had me really taking a second look at Home Assistant and since taking the plunge it has been a game changer.
I have not set it up yet, but Home Assistant has a “TP Link Emulator” built specifically for Sense to allow any energy monitoring device to report live data to Sense. If I get it setup and working for this application, I’ll share here.
Thanks for the update on Home Assistant supporting the new Matter variants of Kasa smartplugs. Home Assistant definitely opens up a whole new world of home awareness and Sense utility. Let us know how things go with with Emulated Kasa interface.
I also just bought Kasa smart plugs specifically for Sense. I was careful to choose Ep25 and the reviews all mentioned they worked with Sense. But, they are V2.6 and do not work. How could I have predicted that? Such a bummer.
@cassiepacenka , that’s a total bummer. No way to have prevented it with the EP25s because TP-Link totally changed their product functionality without changing model number or even packaging to reflect the change, so there’s no way to know what you are getting. With the KP125, TP-Link uses a different model designation, KP125M for the newer incompatible version. So my suggestion now would be to return the EP25s if possible and find some KP125s (not KP125Ms), KP115s or HS300s for your needs.