Plugged out

We have a couple of smart-ish plugs downstairs. They’ve been installed for approximately 3 years and they work pretty well. I’ve hooked them up to the Alexa app in the Sonos One.

Alexa, turn on Doris, will switch on the table light. Alexa, turn on Dennis, will switch on the standing light by the window. But at this time of year we have an additional requirement because we want to say Alexa, turn on the tree.

Unfortunately the smartish plug we use for the Christmas Tree lights loses its memory in the 48 weeks it sits in the drawer. It has to be reprogrammed every time. But this year it wasn’t playing ball with me.

I had pulled it out of the drawer, plugged it in, fired up the app and reprogrammed the old/new plug using the same tried and trusted technique as previous years. Then I plugged the Christmas Tree lights in and set about testing the plug.

Alexa, turn on the tree and the Christmas Tree lights didn’t illuminate but Doris turned itself on. Well that’s not right, I thought to myself. Alexa, turn Doris off and she did as commanded. So then I did a factory reset on the plug, fired up the app and reprogrammed it again.

Alexa, turn on the tree and once more the Christmas Tree lights remained dark but Doris turned itself on again. Alexa, turn the tree off and she did.

This time I unplugged it from the socket, tried a mains outlet right next to the Sonos One where I did another factory reset and tried to pair to the plug through the Internet settings rather than the Bluetooth. Then I set it up again in the app and plugged in a phone charger.

Alexa, turn on the tree. The phone plugged into the charger remained being uncharged but the good news is Doris remained unilluminated too.

I couldn’t figure it out. Something was seriously wrong and I hadn’t encountered this problem in previous years. To get us rolling I plugged a remote plug (less smart) and that worked. I could switch the Christmas Tree lights on and off via an tapswitch on my phone. I went to bed puzzling.

The next day I tried all manner of combinations and found myself completely unable to pair the plug whilst Dennis and Doris continued to work in the time-honoured fashion. I went to bed that evening equally puzzled.

The next morning my brain waved. After post-dogwalk breakfast I unplugged the smartish plugs wich operate Dennis and Doris then plugged in the 3rd plug. Straight away the app recognised it as a new device and invited me to pair with it. I tried Bluetooth but that failed repeatedly. So I paired via the WiFi and that worked. Then I configured the plug to the name ‘the tree’, plugged in Dennis and Doris, moved the new plug over to the actual tree where I plugged it in and connected the lights, held my breath for a moment and then…

Alexa, turn on the tree. And the Christmas Tree lights came on. Neither Dennis nor Doris did. Alexa, turn on Doris and she did. Alexa, turn on Dennis and that worked too. Alexa, turn off the tree and only the Christmas Tree lights went out.

So, for some reason or other – this year – I couldn’t set up the new smartish plug in the same way I had for the last couple of years because either Dennis or Doris (or maybe both) were interfering somehow. Oh well, that’s progress, I guess.