Ikea's affordable Trådfri smart plugs that first debuted in November are now able to connect to HomeKit after an update to the Trådfri firmware that was released yesterday.

After installing new firmware, Trådfri outlets can be added to the Home app and controlled alongside the rest of your ‌HomeKit‌ products.

ikea smart plug image
Ikea sells the Trådfri smart plugs for just $9.99, which is much cheaper than other HomeKit-enabled smart plug options on the market. You will, however, need the accompanying Trådfri Gateway, a $30 hub that is required for all of Ikea's affordable smart home solutions including light bulbs, dimmers, motion sensors, and more.

The Trådfri outlets are larger than some other HomeKit-based outlets, but can be used sideways and will only take up a single socket. Multiple Trådfri accessories can be connected to the Trådfri Gateway.

You can get the Trådfri smart plugs and the Trådfri Gateway from Ikea. Ikea is rolling out its new software update and it should be available to customers in the U.S. now before expanding to other countries in the near future.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

Top Rated Comments

Krayzkat Avatar
65 months ago
I wouldn't mind a few smart plugs, but i have no idea what i would actually plug into them
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dsraj Avatar
65 months ago
Finally! Apple relaxing the HomeKit specifications and making it a software protocol instead of requiring a hardware chip is paying off. It is making it cheaper and easier for manufacturers to add HomeKit support, especially retroactively via a firmware update.

I don’t mind how big they are, given the cost savings compared to other switches out there that cost at least $25 each.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hortod1 Avatar
65 months ago
I think they should come disassembled with bags of tiny screws and cartoon-like directions just to make it fun
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
65 months ago
Hopefully they're able to launch their smart shades soon; that's the smart Ikea product I'm most interested in.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BillyBobBongo Avatar
65 months ago
I wouldn't mind a few smart plugs, but i have no idea what i would actually plug into them
We have a lamp that requires you to reach behind a cupboard to turn it on...that lamp is getting one of these babies when it arrives in NL.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jocamero Avatar
65 months ago
They use Zigbee (not WiFi or Bluetooth). Thus, you need something to get these devices to talk to your other network equipment. Zigbee can also create a mesh so wireless signals can hop from one device to another when range would be an issue with Bluetooth or WiFi.

Sooooo, technically, you don't need a hub since there are Zigbee remotes that can directly control the lights (Lutron). However, if you want HomeKit, you need a Zigbee bridge/hub of some sort that connects to your network.

Lots of folks over at /r/HomeKit are reporting that the IKEA bulbs and plugs are working with their Hue hubs too.

why the gateway is needed for these to work?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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