Meross Smart Plug Mini review: A good addition to your smart home
Not everything has to be Matter-compatible. One version of the Meross Smart Plug Mini isn't, and still allows you to control nearly any appliance in your HomeKit setup within a small and light design.

With a compact design, unchallenging setup, and easy controls, the Meross Smart Plug is a great addition to start turning any home into a smart home that works best for you.
The Meross Smart Plug Mini is designed like many others of its kind by being built within a rectangular box that plugs right into the wall and then has a three-pronged socket facing outward. The current rating for the Smart Plug Mini is 15A with operating voltage of 125 volts.
The side of the plug includes a button that acts as the physical control. Pressing it toggles power to the attached appliance.

Power button and indication light on the side of the Meross Smart Plug Mini
The plugs currently only come in white and does not include Matter support.
The HomeKit code can be found on the bottom of the smart plug, and you pair it to the app like you would any other HomeKit-compatible device.
Once you set it up, you can name the plug, set what room it is in, and if any other smart devices -- like a smart lightbulb -- are connected to it so you can control them simultaneously. It will also ask if the smart plug is operating a fan, light, or just an outlet, which -- once you choose -- will have a corresponding icon next to the device while in the control panel. And, that icon can be changed within the app.

Left: Power switch for smart plug. Middle: How the accessory is displayed. Right: Accessory icon choices.
Any updates to the smart plug will come from the Meross app, but will also be performed through the Home app as well.
Siri can control your smart plug by telling them to turn it on or off from any of your Apple devices that have Siri enabled on it.
Through the Home app, you can set a schedule for the Smart Plug Mini through Automations. This will allow you to decide when the plug either turns on or off. It also works with Siri Shortcuts as well.
Automations and Siri Shortcuts require a Home Hub when operating outside the house. A modern Apple TV or a HomePod of some sort will do.

The small rectangular design allows you to be able to stack one on top of one another in a wall electrical outlet, and positions the power button on the side of it so you can easily access it if you do not have your phone around. The light on top of the button also indicates power and active pairing.
There is a little-to-no lag when commanding the smart plug to turn on and off which results in fast responses.
In a strange design choice, the HomeKit code to pair it to your Home app is on the bottom of the smart plug, so it may be difficult to set it up once plugged in. To solve this, you can take a picture of the code beforehand and scan it from the picture from a separate device.
You can also purchase the app HomePass for $2.99 that allows you to store HomeKit device codes on it and be able to view them on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
If you are looking for a small smart plug that works well with HomeKit and other devices around your home, and don't need Matter support, then the Meross Smart Plug Mini may be the right choice for you and is worth checking out.
Read on AppleInsider

With a compact design, unchallenging setup, and easy controls, the Meross Smart Plug is a great addition to start turning any home into a smart home that works best for you.
The Meross Smart Plug Mini is designed like many others of its kind by being built within a rectangular box that plugs right into the wall and then has a three-pronged socket facing outward. The current rating for the Smart Plug Mini is 15A with operating voltage of 125 volts.
The side of the plug includes a button that acts as the physical control. Pressing it toggles power to the attached appliance.

Power button and indication light on the side of the Meross Smart Plug Mini
The plugs currently only come in white and does not include Matter support.
Meross Smart Plug Mini and HomeKit
The Meross Smart Plug Mini is compatible with HomeKit, allowing you to control the smart plug through the Home app instead of only through the Meross app. You can also control it through the physical button on the side and with your voice with Siri.The HomeKit code can be found on the bottom of the smart plug, and you pair it to the app like you would any other HomeKit-compatible device.
Once you set it up, you can name the plug, set what room it is in, and if any other smart devices -- like a smart lightbulb -- are connected to it so you can control them simultaneously. It will also ask if the smart plug is operating a fan, light, or just an outlet, which -- once you choose -- will have a corresponding icon next to the device while in the control panel. And, that icon can be changed within the app.

Left: Power switch for smart plug. Middle: How the accessory is displayed. Right: Accessory icon choices.
Any updates to the smart plug will come from the Meross app, but will also be performed through the Home app as well.
Siri can control your smart plug by telling them to turn it on or off from any of your Apple devices that have Siri enabled on it.
Through the Home app, you can set a schedule for the Smart Plug Mini through Automations. This will allow you to decide when the plug either turns on or off. It also works with Siri Shortcuts as well.
Automations and Siri Shortcuts require a Home Hub when operating outside the house. A modern Apple TV or a HomePod of some sort will do.
Control the power
The Meross Smart Plug Mini does what it is intended to do -- make any of your appliances rated up to 15A that have a sustaining, non-solid state on-and-off switch able to be controlled via your iPhone.
The small rectangular design allows you to be able to stack one on top of one another in a wall electrical outlet, and positions the power button on the side of it so you can easily access it if you do not have your phone around. The light on top of the button also indicates power and active pairing.
There is a little-to-no lag when commanding the smart plug to turn on and off which results in fast responses.
In a strange design choice, the HomeKit code to pair it to your Home app is on the bottom of the smart plug, so it may be difficult to set it up once plugged in. To solve this, you can take a picture of the code beforehand and scan it from the picture from a separate device.
You can also purchase the app HomePass for $2.99 that allows you to store HomeKit device codes on it and be able to view them on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
If you are looking for a small smart plug that works well with HomeKit and other devices around your home, and don't need Matter support, then the Meross Smart Plug Mini may be the right choice for you and is worth checking out.
Meross Smart Plug Mini pros
- Small design
- Little-to-no lag when performing commands
- Easy to control
- Customizable through the Home app
Meross Smart Plug Mini cons
- HomeKit code hard to access when plugged in
- Not Matter supported
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy
You can buy the Meross Smart Plug Mini on Amazon for $23.99 -- where two come in one package. You can also get a pack of three for $29.99, and a pack of four for $34.99.Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I like that they remember their last power state if the power goes out.
For the most part, they work well, with one caveat. They leak more current than my other smart plugs so I've had issues with LED panels glowing when off. I tried adding a load capacitor, but that did not help. I finally switched these devices to one of my other brand smart plugs.
Also, I had one go bad after a few months.
The bigger issue for me is that every couple of weeks to months, they stop working, and I have to unplug them for a few seconds and plug it back in to power cycle them. It’s not a huge deal, but the whole point of having a smart plug is to have reliable access to turn them on and off when you’re not in the same room or house, and setting things such as timers.
maybe I just bought them during a time when they were some bad batches, but I definitely wouldn’t buy this product again.
Word of warning: don't buy these plugs from the Meross store - what a terrible experience I've had with them: I ordered the Matter Mini plugs (a pair) November 16th. When the product still hadn't arrived more than a month later, I contacted their customer support and was told that I ordered a "pre-sell" and that I'd get it by end of month (December) or in January. I had no idea that this was a "pre-sell" when I ordered. But I waited. February came and still no plugs. Contacted them again and was told that due to Covide, there was a delay and they're expected to ship in 3 days. Who knows when/if they ever arrive. Anyway, the moral of the story is: don't buy these from Meross directly - get them from Amazon or other place where you have some leverage as a customer.
Unfortunately they cannot select a single set of snubber components that will work for every possible load that can attached to the plug without compromising the operation of the relay. The worst case scenario from a switching standpoint is an electric motor. I’m sure if you attach a motor to the “deactivated” plug it will not work.
LEDs on the other hand have very small current requirements and they can still emit light at the very low current the snubber circuit allows through. I experienced a total blackout in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and my LED nightlights were still glowing faintly for quite a while, until the physical disconnects were opened.
If you’re concerned about current leakage buy smart plugs that have mechanical relays.
Do they not use a relay to make and break the circuit? If they are leaking substantial current AND using a relay, that seems crazy bad.
Just to be clear, the fact that solid state relays leak a very small amount of current in the OFF state is not a negative assessment of their worthiness or quality. It’s simply a characteristic of the technology they use. The leakage is observable in this particular case because LEDs have very low current requirements so you get to observe the leakage in this very specific case.
Solid state relays have many advantages over mechanical relays (or more accurately described, electromagnetic relays) especially for switching or controlling AC loads, including having no switching latency, no contact wear, no contact arcing, insensitivity to mechanical vibration, and greater operational energy efficiency. The main disadvantages are the leakage, a small load voltage drop (~0.5V to 0.7V) due to the semiconductor junctions, and lower suitability for low voltage applications.
My Meross MSS115s make a clicking sound when they open or close. To me that says relay, but maybe not? I measured 0.5 volts across the terminals when in the off state.
My main point here is that seeing low voltage/current leakage on the output in the OFF state is not an indication of a product failure. It’s also not a big concern when it comes to energy consumption because any smart plug, power strip, or switch type of device will consume energy regardless of whether it’s supplying power to the load. The network interface, sensing circuitry, i.e., being able to tell what state the plug is in from your smartphone or computer, status lights, etc., are always consuming energy and always ON.