TP-Link Tapo L530E Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulb

I have had these in use now for a couple of years and recently bought some more. When I first looked a something by TP Link years ago their app was clunky as was their web interface, so when I bought these initially I expected things to be the same. Refreshingly, the Tapo interface on iOS is clean, simple and intuitive.I love the fact that you can have 1 or 100 of the Tapo smart products, and you don't need a hub and they can be controlled either by the Tapo app or as I do, via Alexa.I have one of these in each of my kids celing lights and have them set on a schedule so that once they are on and dimmed before going to sleep, they then auto switch off at midnight. Having these on at 1 percent is using next to no electric and gives of something akin to moonlight - ... MoreI have had these in use now for a couple of years and recently bought some more. When I first looked a something by TP Link years ago their app was clunky as was their web interface, so when I bought these initially I expected things to be the same. Refreshingly, the Tapo interface on iOS is clean, simple and intuitive.I love the fact that you can have 1 or 100 of the Tapo smart products, and you don't need a hub and they can be controlled either by the Tapo app or as I do, via Alexa.I have one of these in each of my kids celing lights and have them set on a schedule so that once they are on and dimmed before going to sleep, they then auto switch off at midnight. Having these on at 1 percent is using next to no electric and gives of something akin to moonlight - the kids love it and definitely sleep happier.We have them in our loung floor lamps, and have them set up for various scenarios such as "Alexa, it's movie time" and the lamps all change to blue and dim to 25 percent". "Alexa it's Christmas" has them change to green and Buble plays on the Echo in the room, "Alexa I'm home" has all the Tapo lights downstairs come on and Alexa says, "Welcome home gorgeous!".Alexa integration is superb.Superb bulbs, they even tell you how much power the have used over weeks/months/years etc. Regular firmware updates as well.Probably my favourite thing about these RBG ones, is that unlike the white ones which are warm white, the can do a range of whites and we have them default to a very cool white - it's the main reason we bought them over the white ones for downstairs.Superb bulbs, just buy some and enjoy.

Dan's got Smart Bulbs

Now you don't see me now you do and I wasn't even standing next to the lamp switch. You like hanving ample light where ever you are but are less inclined to use your two feet to get to this switch. Gosh! These smart bulbs are for you. Give the burglars some light from anywhere in the world. You simply use your smart phone and you can control these lights instantly. Get this kids; they change colour. Give your tinder thumb some exercise and throw a rave on the spot straight from your smart phone. Worried sunrise isn't enough for you? These lights can be timed to turn on and off at any time of the day. If the cave man and women could see us now. You like instantaneous light? Buy four boxes and here's 8 bulbs shinning at the same time. Get these bulbs or stumble in to ... MoreNow you don't see me now you do and I wasn't even standing next to the lamp switch. You like hanving ample light where ever you are but are less inclined to use your two feet to get to this switch. Gosh! These smart bulbs are for you. Give the burglars some light from anywhere in the world. You simply use your smart phone and you can control these lights instantly. Get this kids; they change colour. Give your tinder thumb some exercise and throw a rave on the spot straight from your smart phone. Worried sunrise isn't enough for you? These lights can be timed to turn on and off at any time of the day. If the cave man and women could see us now. You like instantaneous light? Buy four boxes and here's 8 bulbs shinning at the same time. Get these bulbs or stumble in to things in the dark trying.

Decent Bulbs, but Beware Vendor Lock

Summary: These bulbs are just fine as far as RGB bulbs, but TP-Link aims to vendor lock you, so it's hard to use these bulbs alongside products from other brands or open protocol apps. The price is decent, but the limited options for control is a serious dealbreaker for me.These are some decent RGB bulbs. They're decently bright. The color production offers good saturation. They run cooler than some of the cheaper RGB bulbs that I've used. I didn't find anything outstanding about these bulbs, good or bad.Where this product really falls short is the ways in which you can connect to it and control it.These larger brands keep introducing custom protocols and apps for their IoT devices. It convinces me that they're more interested in locking consumers into their line ... MoreSummary: These bulbs are just fine as far as RGB bulbs, but TP-Link aims to vendor lock you, so it's hard to use these bulbs alongside products from other brands or open protocol apps. The price is decent, but the limited options for control is a serious dealbreaker for me.These are some decent RGB bulbs. They're decently bright. The color production offers good saturation. They run cooler than some of the cheaper RGB bulbs that I've used. I didn't find anything outstanding about these bulbs, good or bad.Where this product really falls short is the ways in which you can connect to it and control it.These larger brands keep introducing custom protocols and apps for their IoT devices. It convinces me that they're more interested in locking consumers into their line of products than offering a flexible solution that plays nice with the rest of the market. Nobody wants to learn three different apps to control their lights.The incompatibility with the popular open protocol control software isn't a problem if you're willing to accept the vendor lock. The app isn't bad; it can do just about everything the large open protocol apps can. Just be prepared to exclusively purchase TP-Link IoT products unless you want to jump through a handful of apps to control everything.Home assistants like Google Home or Amazon Alexa provide a layer of abstraction that can give you a single interface to control bulbs from multiple brands, but you shouldn't be forced into using it. Moreover you have to seek out IoT devices that support those home assistants.At the time of writing this review the price for four bulbs was $39.99. This price is okay if not a tad high. I think in part you're paying for the TP-Link brand name. In a way this is reasonable considering the increase in compromised IoT devices; the TP-Link name comes with some assurances of security. Ultimately, though, the vendor lock with these bulbs is a dealbreaker for me.

Excellent product

I recently purchased this Smart Bulb, and it has been a fantastic addition to my home. The setup was incredibly easy, and I had it connected to my Wi-Fi and controlled via the app within minutes. The range of colors and brightness levels is impressive, allowing me to create the perfect ambiance for any occasion. The voice control integration with Alexa Home works seamlessly, making it convenient to adjust the lighting without lifting a finger. Overall, this smart bulb offers excellent value for its price and has significantly enhanced my home’s lighting experience. Highly recommended!

Fun Lighting

This is my first experience with smart bulbs, so I have nothing to compare these to. That said, I think the TP-Link Smart Light Bulbs are really fun and add some unique possibilities to the home. When my son saw the box, he got excited and convinced me to put these in his room.Set up was a little tedious since you have to pair each bulb separately, but that's to be expected since the bulbs aren't necessarily going to be in the same place, and they all need to have an individual connection to the Wi-Fi. However, you can use advanced settings with shortcuts and automation that allow you to control them all at once (after setup is completed, of course). So, if you have 3 bulbs in a room, and 1 bulb in another room, you can assign them to different rooms and commands ... MoreThis is my first experience with smart bulbs, so I have nothing to compare these to. That said, I think the TP-Link Smart Light Bulbs are really fun and add some unique possibilities to the home. When my son saw the box, he got excited and convinced me to put these in his room.Set up was a little tedious since you have to pair each bulb separately, but that's to be expected since the bulbs aren't necessarily going to be in the same place, and they all need to have an individual connection to the Wi-Fi. However, you can use advanced settings with shortcuts and automation that allow you to control them all at once (after setup is completed, of course). So, if you have 3 bulbs in a room, and 1 bulb in another room, you can assign them to different rooms and commands to activate them.The ability to control with voice is nice, but our experience using Alexa has been hit and miss. It works seamlessly about 80% of the time, but for the other 20%, the lights either don't respond or have a long delay with turning on/off. I don't know if this is an issue with Alexa or the bulbs. It's faster and much more responsive when controlling directly through the app, but sometimes it's more convenient to use voice controls if you have the option to do so.All of the different color options are pretty neat. It took us a bit to figure out how to get to the larger color spectrum within the app, but once we did, we had a lot of fun checking out the different options. I find that I enjoy the different shades of blue and green the best, but you can also make some cool-looking combinations if you have multiple bulbs connected to one fixture as we do. For example, we watched one of the Captain America movies and set up the lights to be red, white, and blue. We're nerds... I know, but it was fun.You can adjust the brightness from 1% - 100%, which allows for a wide range, and if you want 1 color to stand out more than the others, you can set that one higher. This is all really easy to do in the app (or with voice controls, though I prefer the app for this). I do wish the max brightness level was a little higher. I don't think they get as bright as a typical lightbulb, but they definitely still deliver enough brightness to light up a small room without issue.Overall, I recommend trying these out. I think they're a good entry point for those new to smart lighting, and they're less expensive than some other options I've seen. The setup might be a bit tedious, but the app is easy to use (mostly), which makes the process feel smoother. Make sure to play with the automation and shortcuts 'cause that really opens up more possibilities.

Pairs with google home and can set widgets on my iPhone

I received the 4 pack and I've been using these lights for roughly two months now and they are really great. I can adjust the brightness and color or even set it to auto white for either indoors or outdoors. The colors can be chosen off a color wheel so it seems like all possible colors are selectable, and they work well. All the lights can be placed in a group in the app so they can all be changed at the same time or changed individually. You can also set different groups for the light bulbs like living room & bedroom, etc.There are also some fun modes like party (changes colors at a fast pace) or relax (changes brightness and colors gradually). I can also set a schedule for the lights, a timer, or even an away mode (lights will randomly turn on and off so it ... MoreI received the 4 pack and I've been using these lights for roughly two months now and they are really great. I can adjust the brightness and color or even set it to auto white for either indoors or outdoors. The colors can be chosen off a color wheel so it seems like all possible colors are selectable, and they work well. All the lights can be placed in a group in the app so they can all be changed at the same time or changed individually. You can also set different groups for the light bulbs like living room & bedroom, etc.There are also some fun modes like party (changes colors at a fast pace) or relax (changes brightness and colors gradually). I can also set a schedule for the lights, a timer, or even an away mode (lights will randomly turn on and off so it seems like someone is home).These lights are compatible with my google home, which has worked flawlessly for me to turn on/off, change to simple colors, and set brightness. Although it is a function of my google home rather than these lights directly, I am able to set a routine like a sleep routine, where my google home sets the lights to 50% for 20 minutes then 5% for 10 minutes before turning it off, etc.The phone application works well and supports other Tapo devices you may have. I also have a Tapo camera and its great to be able to have one application where I can control several types of devices. I can also set iPhone widgets so I can quickly control power and one of my custom settings with one button.Cons: I haven't seen an easy way to trigger the Theme, Schedule, Away, Timer, Party, or Relax modes when viewing my bulbs as a group, they seem to only appear when looking at each bulb individually in the application. I also own some KASA smart bulbs and although TP-Link made KASA and Tapo bulbs, they can't really connect to this application and seem to only run off the KASA app. It would be nice if I can pair them all together or at least use one less app.Value: Great value! No hub needed like some other bulbs, just run straight off wifi. You get four smart bulbs for a really affordable price. Unlike bulbs where you can only control brightness or daylight to night colors... you can choose any color you want on these. I primarily use these bulbs to control brightness and daylight/night colors but these are such a good price that the additional colors are super fun. I love being able to set away modes when I am away from the house, dim and yellow the lights near bedtime so I can get ready for sleep, and voice control my lights using google home. My favorite which always surprises people is that I set routines using other applications like IFTTT that check my google calendar and turn my lights on 20 minutes after I get off of work.