Here’s my experience with 5 cheap gadgets I bought from Aliexpress

If you are shopping online, you may have noticed TEMU and Aliexpress products often appear in shopping search. These items are so cheap that you can wonder if it’s really theft or you should stay away. I was also in this boat. And I love a good video on YouTube, where the host tests cheap technologies from low -priced retailers.

So, curious as I was, I decided to try my hand when testing cheap home products from the popular discount market, Aliexpress. Now that you are shopping for a new piece of home hardware, gaming facilities or audio technologies, cheap technologies are usually equal to low quality performance. But as I came to learn, it’s not always The case.

Rules for the experiment

• The products should cost less than $ 15.
• The devices must be more expensive than the main equivalent.
• Strange devices are more likely to make the list.

I am happy to announce that it was an authentic experience with a combination of products with good products and some really bad. From the best to the worst, here’s how my order of AliExpress plays.

The best: Tuya Zigbee Smart USB Adapter switch

USB lighting and small devices take up too much space in my smart plugs, so I was always wondering if I could get a USB Smart Plug. I have received Tuya Zigbee Smart USB Adapter switch -which includes three USB ports for dead $ 5.02. Tuya devices like these are hidden gems for smart home lovers, although they are not always the easiest to work with. I’m glad it was easy to contact my SmartThings Home Automation System.

This is not much more than a switch to turn on/off, but I like the fact that I do not need a bulky USB multiport charger to launch the few small USB devices on my nightstand. You cannot control the ports independently and the power output is too low to load most devices, but it is a good option for portable speakers or headsets to load knitwear. Plus, it can be connected to virtually any USB power supply, including blank ports on my computer.

The Smart USB adapter switch earns A for value and functionality. As a zigbee device, this is also less than the responsibility for cybersecurity than any Wi-Fi device from AliExpress and Temu.

Better: Ceiling fan with USB power

The ceiling fans have always been inaccessible as I live in an archaic apartment without them. This means relying on a fleet of air circulators in my bedroom and office. But what if tenants can add a ceiling fan without quitting the real estate manager to install it? Enter The small ceiling fan I got for $ 14.

I like the design of this fan, especially the 12-foot USB cable, which is long enough to reach a hook on the ceiling without much effort. The fan is surprisingly quiet and uses three power settings. However, it is not particularly powerful, with the highest adjustment producing a light breeze of a few meters. Speed ​​and timer controls are easy to learn, which is great because the whole guide is written in Chinese. You can get the essence of the guide by using a Google lens to translate the text, but this is largely unnecessary.

I give this product B+ for being useful, albeit in niche settings where normal ceiling fans are not practical.

Good: Tuya Zigbee Water Sensor

Unlike the TUYA smart USB switch, the Tuya Zigbee water sensor does not connect properly to my SmartThings system at the first attempt. SmartThings classified it as a Zigbee generic device – he couldn’t see when the sensor found water. This is an example of a textbook for Tuya devices that do not always play well with Smart Home Hubs.

So, I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the SmartThings Edge driver builder, a tool for developers to assign a Smart Home device driver. After choosing my Tuya leakage sensor from the device list in my intelligent home, I chose the Zigbee water leakage sensor and configured it as a water sensor. Like magic, the sensor began to work. This is quite responsive and I like that it uses common AAA batteries.

The extra effort can cost $ 4.59, which I paid for the Tuya Zigbee water sensor, but I can’t give it more than C+ for someone who wants to be out of the smart home home with SmartThings. I can’t judge if it’s great for other intelligent home platforms, but I suspect it’s even better at home assistant.

Worse: An intelligent Wi-Fi motion mechanism

Recently, I started passing the biggest part of the analog watches in my home to impersonal clock movements that are less annoying than second -hand ticking when trying to fall asleep Intelligent mechanism for moving Wi-Fi clock To set the time automatically as the digital clock on my Google Nest Hub. What followed was one of my most deriving experiences for years.

Outside the box, the clock I bought did not come with any hands in seconds, minutes or hours. I spent too long trying to respond to some residual hands from the previous do -it -yourself project, just to find that the watch is not working.

The instructions included that came on a piece of printer paper were not helpful. They do not say that you should remove the gray « local needle » from the back of the clock before working. This pin locks the gears on the spot at noon, it will probably keep the clock aligned during delivery and when putting on the hands, which makes sense of a Wi-Fi clock that is set. It took two hours before I made it work.

I am even more scaled by the Wi-Fi connection, which is not even close to protection. Anyone can open a Wi-Fi clock connection to see your network name and password. I am so glad that I used the hot spot on my phone for a temporary network. I give this product that costs $ 14.01, D- for work, as it is advertised, even if it takes some time and comes with a great vulnerability to Wi-Fi. However, this is not the oldest product of a long shot.

The worst: a smart portable clothes dryer

I received the Smart for Smart Beauty for only $ 12.32. I will not waste your time: this is the most dangerous product of my order Aliexpress. How do I understand this? It literally melted about 2 hours in my first drying session. The plastic in this product is not heat resistant in any way. It doesn’t even completely dry a shirt, so there is no reason to buy a cheap portable clothing dryer when the washing machines can handle much larger loads for drying for a part of the price.

When I went online to see if other customers were experiencing this problem, I noticed that the product page was no longer available. With confirmed suspicions, it will not even deepen the characteristics of this horrible product. Instead, I will use it as an example of reinforcing why buying generic electronics from Aliexpress, Temu, Wish and other cheap retailers is risky. With certain categories of technology, you rely on your safety and confidentiality. As you can imagine, this device earns F for being dangerous.

Now, excuse me as I navigate the 90-day Aliexpress Return Policy, which is a bright place. Let’s hope he is doing better than the last two products.