Shelly Plug Gen4 Brings Helpful Extra Features to the Humble Smart Plug

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John Carlsen has more than a decade of experience testing and reviewing home tech products, with a major focus on smart home security. He earned his BS in journalism from Utah Valley University. In addition to his CNET contributions, John has written for Android Police, TWICE, Home Theater Review, SafeWise, ASecureLife and Top Ten Reviews.

Expertise Smart Home | Home Security | Home Tech | Internet Security | Product Testing

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The Shelly Plug Gen4 has an LED indicator on the back of the device that casts a glow onto the wall and makes it easy to see from a distance.

John Carlsen/CNET

• Shelly Plug Gen4 Brings Helpful Extra Features to the Humble Smart Plug
• Deep features are a delight and a deluge
• Shelly's extensive compatibility offers outstanding flexibility
• Is the Shelly Plug Gen4 worth it?

Very few smart home devices are as versatile as smart plugs. In addition to working with almost anything that uses a wall plug, they're easy to set up and move to any outlet in your home. Still, smart plugs don't typically do much more than act as simple on/off switches with occasional energy monitoring features. But the Shelly Plug Gen4 stands out as an exception by offering compatibility with a number of smart home platforms, an illuminance sensor and deep settings options for power users.

I spent a few days testing the Shelly Plug Gen4 and found it to be a capable smart plug, even if some of its more advanced features are beyond my skill level. Let's dig into the three features I liked best, and what I disliked about it.

Deep features are a delight and a deluge

I can't say if these features are truly necessary or game-changing, but they demonstrate how thoughtful Shelly was to provide extra tools beyond the standard remote access, schedules and automation you get from other smart plugs.

John Carlsen/CNET

Many aspects of Shelly smart devices are more than most people will need, and some are probably more suitable for technically advanced folks or those with an IT background. But that doesn't mean regular users won’t be able to take advantage of and appreciate some of their unique features. There are three in particular that I think anyone could benefit from: the customizable indicator light, power management tools and the ability to turn off the on-device button.

Customizable indicator light

Unlike the small indicator light on the front of most smart plugs, the Shelly Plug Gen4 has a large LED indicator that's easy to see from a distance because it casts a glow from the back of the plug onto the wall. You can disable the light, but I think the Power and Switch modes can be very helpful. In the Power mode, the light turns on when the smart plug is on, and the light turns off when the plug is off. In Switch mode, the light toggles between two different colors to indicate whether the device is on or off.

Shelly provides night mode options that use a built-in light sensor to adjust the light's brightness -- or turn it off entirely -- depending on the brightness of the room.

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This might not seem like a big deal, but it's easy to imagine how it could be useful. For example, imagine seeing a red light when someone accidentally turns off a plug running your internet router or home security hub. Since you can adjust the brightness as well as the color, you also have the option to use the Shelly plug as a small nightlight when turning off a lamp for the night.

Power management

The plug's next notable feature is power management. Like many smart plugs with energy tracking, the Shelly Plug Gen4 monitors power consumption in watt-hours, but it ups the ante with voltage, current (amps) and frequency readings. While it's a nice way to see if an appliance works properly, the real benefit is that you can set the smart plug to turn off when a device pulls too much wattage, voltage or current. For example, you can set the smart plug to work only with low-current devices such as lamps instead of high-draw vacuum cleaners and air conditioners. I also like that Shelly provides an energy dashboard to see the real-time power consumption by device and appliance type, which is great for spotting potential energy vampires boosting your power bill unreasonably.

The Shelly app is very customizable, and I like that there's a web browser version. But the settings menu for each device can be a little overwhelming to navigate.

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The button you can turn off

Lastly, I'm a huge fan of the option that lets you disable the switch on the front of the plug, which Shelly labels as the "Detach Switch." My thoughts immediately went to curious kids pushing random buttons or people who forget to turn plugs back on. This setting makes it harder for them to mess with your devices by removing the physical option altogether. You can also set a PIN code in the app to lock down access even more. I haven't even gotten into the script library that enables more sophisticated customization, but that's most definitely something for power users.

Shelly's extensive compatibility offers outstanding flexibility

While most of the advanced connectivity features are excessive for the average person, Home Assistant power users and IT departments managing smart devices for businesses and schools will find plenty to love with Shelly devices, not just the smart plug.

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Normally, when I say that a smart plug is compatible with many platforms, I'm talking about which system APIs it supports over a Wi-Fi internet connection. (This is how many devices communicate with the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Home.) But the Shelly Plug Gen4 is unique in that it offers even more extensive hardware and software compatibility. It has built-in Zigbee and Matter compatibility, which isn't too unusual since that mostly relies on Zigbee's native cross-compatibility with Matter's Thread radio frequency. From there, a Zigbee device only needs to get a Matter certification.

On top of that, it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. While I can't speak to the Bluetooth features, the Wi-Fi compatibility extends well beyond what you might expect, including support for two Wi-Fi networks and local Wi-Fi control.

Is the Shelly Plug Gen4 worth it?

I feel like the Shelly Plug Gen4, like most Shelly devices, is a better fit for tech-savvy users and small businesses, such as Airbnb rentals, than for the average home.

John Carlsen/CNET

I'll be upfront: Paying $25 for a single Shelly Plug Gen4 smart plug is rather steep, considering you can often buy four-packs of similar products from Govee, Tapo and Amazon Basics for about the same price. There's also the matter of the Shelly Premium service, which locks some features -- such as offline notifications, weather forecasts, in-depth monthly energy reports and more customization options -- behind a 4-euro monthly fee (36 euros annually). I don't think the subscription is necessary or worth it unless Shelly makes up a majority of your smart home system -- and even then, it's a stretch.

Its indicator light and extensive settings options probably make it a better option for local smart home control on Home Assistant and as a helpful night light, or if you need a specific feature such as power management for a crucial appliance. Power users will likely love it, but most people are better off using the occasional Shelly Plug Gen4 to supplement other smart plugs -- or choosing a more affordable option, such as Tapo, instead.