Smart Home DLink

Smart Home Solutions with D-Link

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There have been various gadgets offered in the market during the last years that aimed at making homes smart. D-link, too, has offered a series of smart home devices under mydlink brand and Connected Home series to the market to make homes smart. In this post we’re going to review Wi-Fi Smart Plug, Wi-Fi Motion Sensor and 180° WIDE EYE Camera as well as evaluate their performance and effect on making homes smart. Stay with us…

Wi-Fi Motion Sensor

Motion Sensor is a small device that can detect motions in the maximum of 8 meters distance. This sensor has a cubic form and very simple design. There are only a PIR sensor placed on the front and WPS button on the right side which is used for connecting to the network.

Wi-Fi Motion Sensor

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Other Features

  • High Security Support (WPA/WPA2 and WPS)
  • Mydlink Home app Support
  • Double Internal Antenna
  • Reset Button
  • WPS Button

Setup Process

That`s pretty easy to setup D-Link Motion Sensor. You just need a router for that which acts as a connector between your smartphone and the device.

First, install mydlink app on your phone. You can get it from Google Play or App Store.

When you run mydlink, it requires QR code (Printed on the device box). You can scan QR code or enter it manually. Next, plug in the motion sensor. If the router supports WPS, you only need to press WPS button on the sensor, then mydlink Home app will detect the motion sensor, otherwise, you will need to setup manually for what you will need to follow several simple steps.

Setup Process Mydlink

Features

After the motion sensor has been setup, it will be shown in mydlink Home detection devices list. There are sections such as Enable/Disable sensor, List of the latest detected motions, Change sensor sensitivity, Schedule and Device information in the Settings menu of the motion sensor.

Setup Process 2

You can set different time periods (during the day or the week) to set a working schedule for your device and choose between basic and advanced modes. In the basic mode, you are able to set 15, 30, 60, 120 cycles for device during the day. These cycles can be set for different week days. But in the advanced mode, you’re able to set different cycles for each day of the week separately.

Setup Schedule

D-link also gives an opportunity to connect the motion sensor to other devices from Connected Home series such as Smart Plug Socket and Wide-Eye Camera. You can do it in My Actions in mydlink Home app. In this way connected devices will turn on together. For example, as soon as the motion sensor detects motion, the lamp plugged in the smart plug socket will turn on or Wide-Eye Camera will start recording video.

Actions

D-Link has also added IFTTT service support to all Connected Home devices, including the motion sensor. With the help of this service it`s possible to send a text, publish a post in Slack, enable the alarm, adjust home lighting system and change lights colors when a motion is detected. With the help of IFTTT you can even have an email or notification sent to you in case the sensor detects a motion, when you’re not at home or workplace. In this case, you can even get help from Wide-Eye Camera (another product of D-Link) and watch recorded video on your smartphone.

Smart Motion Sensor Deal

Wi-Fi Smart Plug

Smart Plug is the name of another product of Connected Home series which has been offered to the market by D-Link with the aim of making homes smart. Wi-Fi Smart Plug is a smart plug socket which is customizable and lets you turn on or off its electricity at different periods of time. Like Motion Sensor, Smart Plug has simple design, too. You can see a socket and a power button in the front of the device. There is also a WPS button on the side which is used to connect to the network.

Wi-Fi SmartPlug Socket

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Other Features

  • Thermal Protection (Overheat)
  • Electricity schedule
  • Energy consumption statistics
  • Push Notification support
  • Smart Remote Control support
  • Mydlink Home app Support

Setup Process

The Smart Plug setup process is the same as for Motion Sensor. When the device is detected after scanning the QR code (printed on the device box), you just need to push WPS button on the right side of Smart Plug to finish the setup and the detection process of the device.

Features

The Settings menu of Smart Plug has the following options: Power Button (to enable/disable the device), Meter, Thermal, Device Activity Schedule and finally, Information.

Smart Plug Setup Process

You can manage electricity consumption of the connected device in Meter section. First, enter monthly electricity consumption, and then set a maximum for it. Then you`ll get an alarm if electricity consumption breaks maximum, also there is a chart which lets you control daily electricity consumption.

There is a thermal sensor embedded into Smart Plug which controls the temperature of the plug of the connected device. This temperature is shown in Thermal section. Also, a safety limit can be set and electricity power will shut down if the plug temperature reaches this safety limit. And finally, Schedule section functions just like Motion Sensor Schedule. Different periods of time can be set to enable or disable device during the day or week.

Like Motion Sensor, Smart Plug is also compatible with IFTTT. So it can handle tasks such as turning outdoor lights on whenever someone rings the doorbell, turning the coffee maker on at sunrise, activating home lighting system when Nest is set in HOME mode, turning the lights off whenever you go out, using Alexa to turn the lights on with Smart Plug and turning the lights on whenever you come home.

In addition, you can use more than 100 other IFTTT services and use many different modes. For example, you can adjust the device to turn on the lights in your room when you want to wake up; or if you prefer, to turn the lights on or off at a specific time on a regular basis when you’re not at home and when you want others to think that you’re at home.

Smart Plug Deal

WIDE EYE Camera

D-Link has released WIDE EYE security camera with such features as recording video in 360p and 720p resolution, Micro SD memory card support (up to 128 Gigabytes), motion detection sensor and two infrared LED to record clear videos at night. In addition to many features and capabilities that are included in WIDE EYE camera, it has small dimensions and compact design.

WIDE EYE Camera

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Other Features

  • Mydlink Home app Support
  • 1-Megapixel CMOS sensor (1/2.7 inch)
  • Infrared LED with the range of 5 meters at night
  • 8X Digital Zoom
  • Built-in Microphone
  • 1.2 mm Focal length
  • F/1.8 AF-D
  • 180-degree viewing angle
  • Maximum resolution of 720p for recording video with 30fps
  • Simultaneous H.264/MJPEG compression
  • Memory card support (up to 128 Gigabytes)

Setup Process

Setup process of the camera is the same as for other devices of Connected Home D-Link series. First, detection process must be done by scanning QR code on the device’s box, then, with the help of WPS button, the smartphone connects to the camera through the router after what the device will be added to the devices list of mydlink Home app.

Features

After setting up and choosing the camera in mydlink Home app, you will be directed to the camera app interface and have access to selecting video quality, capturing an image or turning the sound on and off. Also, such options as Motion Detection, Sound Detection, Image Settings and Device Information are available in the Settings menu.

Wide EYE camera

You can select an area which you would like to be monitored in Motion Detection menu. You can as well set volume for sound detection in Sound Detection menu (by default it`s set to 80 decibels (dB)). You can choose between 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90 dB. In the Image Settings, you can only rotate the image.

Wide EYE Camera Feature

Like other devices of Connected Home series, WIDE EYE Security Camera is compatible with IFTTT service, so it can handle such tasks as activating Wemo Insight Switch device whenever motion is detected, activating Philips Hue lights whenever it detects high sound, starting recording whenever someone rings the doorbell, capture an image whenever WeMo Insight Switch device turns on, recording video when Nest is set to Away mode and sending a notification when a sound is detected.

Conclusion

D-Link has offered many opportunities to its users by releasing Connected Home series which can strongly increase home security as well as make some routines easier. For example, you can automate many tasks using IFTTT service or control home lighting with your cell phone.

Motion Sensor, Smart Plug and WIDE EYE Security Camera showed high performance in our review, but like in any other devices, there were also some downsides. There were some issues with detection and connecting to the router, when we wanted to setup the device manually. Sometimes we even had to repeat the setup process several times. But as soon as the device was detected and connected to the internal network, there was no longer any issue with it. The next problem was some delay in performance. For example, sometimes Motion Sensor recorded and sent detected motions within several minutes. However, taking into account the variety of features included in Connected Home series, these issues can be disregarded.

Wide EYE Camera Deal

2 comments

  1. Man has technology changed our lives over the years. This stuff is simply amazing and mindblowing. They truly make our lives better and easier. It helps to give us a piece of mind and gives us an leg up on the bad guy criminals.

    I think I read somewhere that criminals target people who do not have safety precautions vs people who do. I think this is a very good investment for that reason

    1. Thanks for your comment and I totally agree with you ) That’s why we need take care of ourselves more 😉

      Best,
      Ali

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