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PureGear PureSwitch Wireless Smart Plug Review

3.5
Good
By John R. Delaney
November 30, 2017

The Bottom Line

The $40 PureGear PureSwitch packs a USB port and lets you control small appliances with your iOS phone or Siri voice commands.

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Pros

  • Easy to install.
  • Siri voice support.
  • Built-in USB charger.

Cons

  • Doesn't support for IFTTT.
  • No Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands.
  • Lacks usage reporting.

The PureGear PureSwitch ($39.99) provides an easy way to automate household devices such as lamps, fans, and small kitchen appliances. It installs in seconds and uses Apple's HomeKit platform, which allows you to control it with Siri voice commands and integrate it with other HomeKit devices. It also doubles as a charging station thanks to a built-in USB charger. It only works with iOS devices, though, and it lacks some of the additional features that you get with other smart switches like our Editors' Choice, the Belkin WeMo Insight Plug.

Design and Features

The matte white PureSwitch has a unique shape that vaguely resembles a sideways snowman. It measures 2.0 by 3.0 by 1.5 inches (HWD) and has a three-prong outlet on its face along with Wi-Fi and power LED indicators. Oddly, there's no button for manually turning the switch on or off. It uses Wi-Fi to connect to iOS devices and has a 2.1-amp USB port on its right side for charging phones and other peripherals. The rear of the switch has a three-prong plug that is positioned to allow access to the second outlet on a two-outlet receptacle.

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PureGear PureSwitch Wireless Smart Plug

The PureSwitch app is only available for iOS devices and shares much of the same functionality as Apple's Home app. Tapping the home button takes you to a screen that displays a default room as well as all of the HomeKit rooms that you may have previously set up. Here you can control all of your HomeKit devices by tapping the room in which they are installed, and you can add new rooms. To turn the switch on and off, tap the room in which it is installed and tap the on/off button next to the switch name. You can also add new accessories and edit the room name while in this screen.

Back at the main menu, the Manage User button allows you to invite people with an iCloud account to share control of your HomeKit-enabled devices, and the Delete Home button removes the home from the app. There are five buttons along the bottom edge of the screen including Homes, Accessories, Scenes, Zones, and Rules.

PureGear PureSwitch Wireless Smart PlugThe Homes button takes you back to the main menu from wherever you are in the app, and the Accessories button displays a list of all installed devices and includes on/off buttons for each device. The Scenes button displays a list of all HomeKit scenes that have been created using the Home app and the PureSwitch app. Tap the scene name to see what actions are to take place and to add new accessories to the scene. The Zones button allows you to create zones that contain multiple rooms. For example, you can create a Downstairs zone that includes the kitchen, den, and living room, and create a scene that controls all or some of the devices in those rooms. Lastly, the Rules button takes you to a screen where you can create a rule based on your phone's location or by time. A timed rule is essentially an on/off schedule that you can set to specific days of the weeks at specific times of the day, while the location-based rule lets you set a location perimeter and assign a function (on or off) that is triggered when you enter or exit the perimeter.

The PureSwitch lacks the power usage monitoring feature that you get with other smart switches such as Belkin's WeMo Insight Switch and D-Link's mydlink Wi-Fi Smart Plug. Additionally, it lacks the support for If This Then That (IFTTT) applets and Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands that you get with the Belkin WeMo Mini Smart Plug.

Installation and Performance

PureGear PureSwitch Wireless Smart PlugTo install the PureSwitch, download the app and plug the sensor into an outlet. Tap Accessories, then Add, and scan the HomeKit ID when prompted to add the switch to your Apple Home. You can now add it to an existing room or create a new room in the app's My Home menu.

The PureSwitch worked perfectly in my tests. It reacted instantly when I turned it on and off with the Home app, and results were the same when using the PureSwitch app. Siri voice commands to turn the switch on and off also worked flawlessly. I created a Good Night scene to have the switch, a porch light, and a Hunter fan turn off all at the same time, and it reacted to the command every time. Likewise, the switch never failed to follow my location-based rule to turn on when I arrived home and followed my timed schedule to a tee.

Conclusions

If you're looking to control household appliances from your phone, the PureGear PureSwitch is a good choice for iOS-only households. The switch is HomeKit enabled so you can use Siri voice commands to turn things on and off, and you can add it to a Home scene to control it and other devices with a single command. You can also use your phone's location services to turn the switch on and off depending on your whereabouts, and use the embedded USB port to keep your phone charged. It works as advertised, but it doesn't offer energy usage reports or support IFTTT applets or Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands like our reigning Editors' Choice, Belkin's WeMo Insight Switch.

PureGear PureSwitch Wireless Smart Plug
3.5
Pros
  • Easy to install.
  • Siri voice support.
  • Built-in USB charger.
Cons
  • Doesn't support for IFTTT.
  • No Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands.
  • Lacks usage reporting.
The Bottom Line

The $40 PureGear PureSwitch packs a USB port and lets you control small appliances with your iOS phone or Siri voice commands.

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About John R. Delaney

Contributing Editor

John R. Delaney

I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor. 

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