Do Wi-Fi Smart Plugs Work When the Internet is Down? Here’s What Happens

A common question when you are starting to build your smart home is, Will Wi-Fi plugs work when the internet is down?  The answer is kind-of, Wi-Fi plugs depend on a link to the cloud via you home or office’s internet connection.  If that link is broken many of their functions will not work.

If the Wi-Fi plug or switch has a physical button or switch that should continue to work if there is power.  Read on to see what happens to everything else.

How do Wi-Fi Smart Devices Communicate?

There are 2 different ways your Wi-Fi plugs and switches function.  Most devices communicate by using your internet connection to talk directly to the cloud.  Some brands like Philips Hue use a hub, these devices talk to the hub and then the hub connects to the cloud.  Hub based plugs and switches may have more functionality when you internet is down.

Wi-Fi Device communication path

1. You give a command to a virtual assistant like Alexa or Google Home
2. The virtual assistant sends the command to their server in the cloud via your internet connection
3. The command gets sent to the device manufacturer’s server in the cloud
4. The device manufacturer’s server sends the command to the device via your internet connection and Wi-Fi network

As you can see there are 2 points in that process where the command needs your internet connection (step 2 and 4).  If your internet connection is down the path is broken and the device won’t respond.  This also applies if you have scheduled routines on your virtual assistant.

What about using the device’s app instead of a virtual assistant?

You should be able to use the app and send a command directly to the device, right?  The answer to this one is a definite maybe.  Each device manufacturer decides if their app communicates directly through your Wi-Fi network to the devices, or if it sends commands to the cloud and back. 

Two brands that I know will continue to work with their respective apps are Philips Hue and Kasa.  If your Wi-Fi network is up, you can control your lights via the app.  For other brands you will have to check their FAQ pages or search online forums to find out.

If you are not on your home Wi-Fi network, you cannot use the app.

Do Schedules Work on Wi-Fi Switches When the Internet is Down?

There are a few different ways you can create schedules for your smart devices.  Depending on which way you create your schedules your results will vary.

Schedules created in device apps

Schedules created for name brand devices, like Hue WeMo and Kasa will continue to work if the internet goes down.  This is because the schedule gets saved to the device (or hub for hue).  If the internet is down for too long the devices may lose their time and then the schedule will stop working.

Schedules created in a hub or virtual assistant

Hubs and Virtual Assistants schedules send the commands through the cloud to your devices.  That means that they will stop working if your internet connection is down.

Can you Control Your Lights When You’re Away and the Internet is Down?

If you are away from home and your internet is down, you will be unable to control your Wi-Fi devices.  Without a connection to the internet there isn’t a way to communicate.

How to Make Smart Home Devices Work When the Internet is Down

If you want more functionality out of your smart home when your internet is down, you need to change the way they communicate.  Wi-Fi is great when you are just getting started because it’s easy to get setup and the cost is low.  A pair TP-Link Smart plugs costs less than dinner for 2 at Panera or Chipotle.

Once you start expanding your smart home you should probably look at some other options though.  The 2 most common are Z-Wave and Zigbee.

The reason I don’t suggest starting with these communication protocols is they are more complicated.  Unlike Wi-Fi, which is in most homes already, products using Z-Wave and Zigbee need a hub to work.  A Smart Home Hub allows you to communicate between apps over Wi-Fi or a virtual assistant like Alexa and your switches and plugs.  Hubs also allow more integration with other devices via IFTTT.

With a Smart Home Hub and Z-Wave or Zigbee you have several advantages:

• More advanced routines and schedules
• Ability to link products from different brands and make them work together
• Mesh network with longer range than a single Wi-Fi router
• Schedules and interactions between devices work without internet

Which protocol should you use?  The best way to answer that question is to decide what brand of products you want to use.  Different brands support different protocols, for example, Philips Hue and WeMo use Zigbee while Logitech and Kwikset Smart locks use Z-Wave.  The big-name hubs like Wink and Samsung Smart Things can talk on both protocols so they are great options if you can’t decide.  I wrote another article comparing the best smart hubs to use with Alexa if you need more help deciding, click here to check it out.

Wrap-Up

As you can see a lot of the functions that make our smart homes “smart” depends on an internet connection.  Without an internet connection many Wi-Fi based plugs and switches will continue to operate, but some of the advanced options like voice control won’t work.

I hope you found this article helpful, If you would like to be notified when I post new articles and videos on the Living High Tech YouTube Channel make sure you subscribe to the mailing list.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, leave a comment below.

Jason