If you are shopping online, you may have noticed that Temu and Aliexpress products often appear in shopping searches. These items are cheap, you might be wondering if it’s really a steal, or if you should stay away from it. I’m on that boat, too. I love a good YouTube video where the host tests cheap technology from low-cost retailers.
So, I was curious that I decided to try testing cheap home products from the popular discount market Aliexpress. Now, when buying new home hardware, gaming gear or audio technology, cheap technology often equals low-quality performance. But, as I’m going to learn, that’s not always case.
Experimental rules
- The price of the product must be less than $15.
- Equipment needs to be cheaper than mainstream equivalents.
- Weird devices are more likely to list.
I’m happy to report that it was a real experience, which included multiple products and some really bad ones. From best to worst, this is how my Aliexpress orders play.
Best: Tuya Zigbee Smart USB Adapter Switch
This is the smallest plug in my smart home.
USB chargers and small devices for lighting take up too much space in the smart plug, so I always wonder if I can get a USB smart plug. I got it Tuya Zigbee Smart USB Adapter Switch – Three USB-A ports included – Price is $5.02. Tuya devices like this are hidden gems for smart home enthusiasts, although they are not always the easiest to use. I’m glad that linking to my smart home automation system is easy.
It’s not just an on/off switch, but I like the fact that I don’t need a bulky USB multi-terminal charger to run several small USB devices on a bedside table. You can’t control the port independently – the power output is too low to charge most devices, but it’s a good choice for a portable speaker or headset that’s trick-wrapped. Plus, it can be connected to almost any USB power supply, including an empty port on your computer.
Smart USB adapter switches get the value and functionality of A. As a Zigbee device, it also has less cybersecurity liability than any Wi-Fi device from Aliexpress and Temu.
Better: USB-powered ceiling fan
Convenient small ceiling fan.
The ceiling fans were always out of reach because I lived in an old apartment without them. This means relying on my fleet of air circulators in my bedroom and office. But what if the tenant can add a ceiling fan without begging the property manager to install a ceiling fan? enter Tiny ceiling fan I bought $14.
I like the design of this fan, especially the 12-foot USB cable, which is long enough to reach the ceiling hook effortlessly. The fan is surprisingly quiet and uses three power settings. Still, it’s not particularly powerful, with the highest setting creating a breeze from a few feet away. The speed and timer controls are easy to learn, which is great because the entire manual is written in Chinese. You can get the gist of the manual by translating text with Google Lens, but this is largely unnecessary.
I gave the product a B+ because it works, although in a niche where normal ceiling fans are not practical.
Good: Tuya Zigbee water sensor
The water sensor works fine, but I’m not sure why I need to be equipped with three reset pins.
Unlike Tuya’s Smart USB switch, the Tuya Zigbee water sensor was not properly connected to my smart system on the first try. SmartThings classifies it as a universal Zigbee device – it doesn’t see when the sensor detects water. Here is a textbook example of Tuya devices that doesn’t always work with a smart home hub.
So I rolled my sleeves up and digged into the Smartthings Edge driver builder, a developer tool for assigning drivers to smart home devices. After selecting my Tuya Leak Sensor from the list of devices in the smart home, I selected the Zigbee Leak Sensor Driver and configured it as a water sensor. Like magic, the sensor starts working. It responds quickly and I like it using common AAA batteries.
The extra effort I paid for the Tuya Zigbee water sensor might be worth it, but for someone who wants an out-of-the-box Smart Home compatible with Smart Things, I can’t give it more C+. I can’t evaluate if this is suitable for other smart home platforms, but I suspect it’s even better in the home assistant.
Watch the following: Test Temu Tech so you don’t have to
What’s worse is: Smart Wi-Fi clock motion mechanism
No hands on the deck.
Recently, I started to turn most of my simulated clocks in my home into a ticking-free action, which is less annoying than the second-hand ticking you try to fall asleep at 2 a.m. Intelligent Wi-Fi clock motion mechanism To set the time automatically like the digital clock on my Google Nest Hub. With it comes one of my most frustrating set-up experiences in years.
Out of the box, I bought the clock without using any hand in seconds, minutes or hours. I spent a long time trying to fit some of the remaining hands in previous DIY projects only to find that the clock was not working.
The accompanying instructions appear on a sheet of printer paper to no avail. They didn’t say you need to remove the grey “positioning pin” from the back of the clock before it can work. The pin locks the gear at noon and may keep the clock aligned during transportation and when worn, which makes sense when setting up the Wi-Fi clock itself. It took me two hours to work.
The flat password can be seen by everyone.
I’m even more disappointed with the Wi-Fi connection, which isn’t even secure yet. Anyone can turn on the clock’s Wi-Fi connection to see the name and password of your network. I’m glad I’m using my phone’s hotspot for temporary networks. I offer this product for $14.01 and can work on advertising even if it takes a while, with major Wi-Fi vulnerabilities. However, this is not the worst product in a long time.
Worst: Smart Portable Clothing Dryer
This shouldn’t be the sagging.
I got the Beauty-Health Store Smart Portable Dryer for $12.32. I won’t waste your time: This is the most dangerous product in my Aliexpress order. How do I know? In my first drying class it actually melted for about 2 hours. The plastics in this product are not heat resistant in any way. It doesn’t even completely dry a shirt, so there’s no reason to buy a cheap portable clothing dryer, while self-service laundry can handle larger drying loads for a fraction of the price.
When I went online to see if other customers were experiencing this issue, I noticed that the product page is no longer available. With my doubts, I won’t even dig into the features of this horrible product. Instead, I will use it as an example to reinforce why buying universal electronics from Aliexpress, Temu, Wish and other cheap retailers is risky. With certain categories of technology, you can gamble on security and privacy. As you can imagine, the device gets an F because it is not safe.
Now, sorry, this is a highlight when I browse the 90-day Aliexpress back to policy. Hopefully it’s better than the last two products.
