I got some of these TP-Link wifi smart plugs on Amazon (US version / EU version), primarily to try out their Amazon Alexa integration. They work well enough and thanks to their terrible security, I was also able to rig up a Raspberry Pi script to control them with Amazon Dash buttons.
But since my wife and I both have iPhones, i was also keen to see if I could get them to work with HomeKit.
Enter Homebridge: it’s an open-source platform that uses NodeJS and lets you add unsupported devices to HomeKit. You run Homebridge on a Raspberry Pi (or Mac or other suitable server on your local network) and it appears as an accessory bridge in the Home app:
There are hundreds of ready-made plugins for a variety of devices out there, so I was able to use this plugin to add the TP-Link plugs.
In addition to the smart plugs, I was also able to add my FritzBox router and Synology server to the Home app (bit pointless, but hey why not).
If you want to play around with HomeKit, it’s fairly straightforward to set up – check it out!
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