I Bought 5 Cheap Home Tech Products on AliExpress to See if They Were any Good

I'm a immense instrumentality of YouTube videos breaking down inexpensive products that radical tin find connected discount retailers similar AliExpress, Temu and Wish. My favourite is Great Scott's AliExpress Hidden Gems series, which consistently surprises me. I fig it's clip I effort my manus astatine immoderate inexpensive location tech finds (or fails) from AliExpress.

My crushed rules for this experiment:

• Products indispensable outgo little than $15.
• Devices request to beryllium cheaper than a mainstream equivalent.
• Weird devices are much apt to marque the list.

I'm blessed to study it was an authentic acquisition with a premix of good-ish products and immoderate truly atrocious ones. From champion to worst, here's however my AliExpress bid played out.

Best: Tuya Zigbee astute USB adaptor switch

It's the smallest plug successful my astute home.

John Carlsen/CNET

USB chargers for lighting and tiny devices inhabit acold excessively overmuch abstraction successful my astute plugs, truthful I ever wondered if I could get a USB astute plug. I got the Tuya Zigbee Smart USB Adaptor Switch -- which includes 3 USB-A ports -- for a measly $5.02. Tuya devices similar these are hidden gems for astute location enthusiasts, though they aren't ever the easiest to enactment with. I'm gladsome it was casual to nexus to my SmartThings location automation system.

It's not overmuch much than an on/off switch, but I similar the information that I don't request a bulky USB multiport charger to tally the fewer tiny USB devices connected my nightstand. You can't power the ports independently -- and the powerfulness output is excessively debased for charging astir devices, but it's a bully enactment for trickle-charging portable speakers oregon headphones. Plus, it tin link to practically immoderate USB powerfulness supply, including bare ports connected my computer.

The Smart USB Adaptor Switch earns an A for worth and functionality. As a Zigbee device, it's besides little of a cybersecurity liability than immoderate Wi-Fi instrumentality from AliExpress and Temu.

Better: USB-powered ceiling fan

A useful small ceiling fan.

John Carlsen/CNET

Ceiling fans person ever been retired of reach, since I unrecorded successful an archaic flat without them. This means relying connected a fleet of aerial circulators successful my chamber and office. But what if renters could adhd a ceiling instrumentality without the hassle of begging the spot manager to instal one? Enter the tiny ceiling fan I got for $14.

I similar the plan of this fan, particularly the 12-foot USB cord, which is agelong capable to scope a ceiling hook without overmuch effort. The instrumentality is amazingly quiescent and uses 3 powerfulness settings. Still, it's not peculiarly powerful, with the highest mounting producing a airy breeze from a fewer feet away. The velocity and timer controls are casual to learn, which is large due to the fact that the full manual is written successful Chinese. You tin get the gist of the manual by utilizing Google Lens to construe the text, but it's mostly unnecessary.

I springiness this merchandise a B+ for being useful, albeit successful niche settings wherever mean ceiling fans aren't practical.

Good: Tuya Zigbee h2o sensor

The h2o sensor worked OK but I'm not definite wherefore it came with 3 reset pins.

John Carlsen/CNET

Unlike Tuya's astute USB switch, the Tuya Zigbee h2o sensor didn't decently link to my SmartThings strategy connected the archetypal try. SmartThings classified it arsenic a generic Zigbee instrumentality -- it couldn't spot erstwhile the sensor detected water. This is simply a textbook illustration of Tuya's devices not ever playing nicely with astute location hubs.

So I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the SmartThings Edge Driver Builder, a developer instrumentality for assigning drivers to astute location devices. After selecting my Tuya leak sensor from the database of devices successful my astute home, I chose the Zigbee Water Leak Sensor operator and configured it arsenic a h2o sensor. Like magic, the sensor started working. It's beauteous responsive, and I similar that it uses communal AAA batteries.

The other effort mightiness beryllium worthy the $4.59 I paid for the Tuya Zigbee Water Sensor, but I can't springiness it much than a C+ for idiosyncratic who wants out-of-the-box astute location compatibility with SmartThings. I can't gauge whether it's large for different astute location platforms, but I fishy it's adjacent amended successful Home Assistant.

Worse: Smart Wi-Fi timepiece question mechanism

No hands connected deck.

John Carlsen/CNET

I precocious began transitioning astir of the analog clocks successful my location to tickless timepiece movements, which are little annoying than the ticking of a 2nd manus erstwhile you're trying to autumn dormant astatine 2 a.m. Let's effort a smart Wi-Fi timepiece question mechanism to acceptable the clip automatically similar the integer timepiece connected my Google Nest Hub. What followed was 1 of my astir frustrating setup experiences successful years.

Out of the box, the timepiece I bought didn't travel with immoderate hands for seconds, minutes oregon hours. I spent acold excessively agelong trying to acceptable immoderate leftover hands from a erstwhile DIY project, lone to find that the timepiece didn't work. 

The included instructions, which came connected a expanse of printer paper, were not helpful. They don't accidental that you request to region the grey "locating needle" from the backmost of the timepiece earlier it volition work. This pin locks the gears successful spot astatine Noon, apt to support the timepiece aligned during shipping and erstwhile putting connected the hands, which makes consciousness connected a Wi-Fi timepiece that sets itself. It took 2 hours earlier I got it working.

Plain-text passwords are disposable to everyone.

John Carlsen/CNET

I'm adjacent much disappointed with the Wi-Fi connection, which is not adjacent adjacent to secure. Anyone tin unfastened the clock's Wi-Fi transportation to spot your network's sanction and password. So gladsome I utilized my phone's hotspot for a impermanent network. I springiness this product, which costs $14.01, a D- for moving arsenic advertised, adjacent if it takes a while, and comes with a large Wi-Fi vulnerability. However, it's not the worst merchandise by a agelong shot.

Worst: Smart portable apparel dryer

It's not expected to beryllium this droopy.

John Carlsen/CNET

I got the Beauty-Health Store astute portable apparel dryer for conscionable $12.32. I won't discarded your time: This is the astir unsafe merchandise from my AliExpress order. How bash I cognize this? It rather virtually melted astir 2 hours into my precise archetypal drying session. The integrative successful this merchandise is not heat-resistant successful immoderate way. It didn't adjacent adust a azygous garment completely, truthful there's nary crushed to bargain a inexpensive portable apparel dryer erstwhile laundromats tin grip overmuch larger drying loads for a fraction of the price.

When I went online to spot if different customers experienced this problem, I noticed the merchandise leafage was nary longer available. With my suspicions confirmed, I won't adjacent delve into the features of this unspeakable product. Instead, I'll usage it arsenic an illustration to reenforce wherefore buying generic electronics from AliExpress, Temu, Wish and different inexpensive retailers is risky. With definite categories of tech, you're gambling connected your information and privacy. As you tin imagine, this instrumentality earns an F for being unsafe.

Now, excuse maine portion I navigate the 90-day AliExpress instrumentality policy, which is 1 agleam spot. Hopefully, it fares amended than these past 2 products.