Here’s My Experience With 5 Cheap Gadgets I Bought From AliExpress

If you shop online, you may have noticed that TEMU and Aliexpress products often appear in your shopping search. These items are so cheap that you may be wondering if it’s really a flight or if you have to stay away. I was also in this boat. And I like a good YouTube video where the host tests cheap technology for low -cost retailers.

So, curious that I decided to try to test cheap domestic products from the popular discount market, Aliexpress. Now when you buy a new piece of domestic material,, game equipment Or audio technologyCheap technology is generally equivalent to low -quality performance. But as I came to learn, it is not always The case.

Rules for experience

• Products must cost less than $ 15.
• The devices must be cheaper than a consumer equivalent.
• Strange devices are more likely to list.

I am happy to announce that it was an authentic experience with a mixture of good products and very bad. From the best to the worst, here is how my aliexpress order took place.

Best: USB adapter switch Smart Zigbee Tuya Zigbee

USB chargers for lighting and small devices occupy much too much space in my smart traffic jams, so I always wondered if I could get a USB smart jack. I have the Smart zigbee zigbee USB adapter switch – which includes three USB -A ports – for a meager $ 5.02. Tuya devices like these are hidden jewels for lovers of smart houses, although they are not always the easiest to work. I’m glad it is easy to create a link to my SmartThings domain system.

It is not much more than a on / off switch, but I like the fact that I don’t need a bulky USB multiform charger to execute the few small USB devices on my bedside table. You cannot control the ports independently – and the output power is too low to load most devices, but this is a good option for speakers or portable headphones. In addition, it can connect to practically any USB power supply, including empty ports on my computer.

The intelligent USB adapter switch wins an A for value and functionality. As a zigbee device, it is also less cybersecurity responsibility than any Wi-Fi device of Aliexpress and Temu.

Better: ceiling fan powered by USB

The ceiling fans have always been out of reach, because I live in an archaic apartment without them. This means counting on a fleet of air circulators in my room and my office. But what happens if the tenants could add a ceiling fan without the trafficking in the real estate manager to install one? Enter small ceiling fan I had $ 14.

I like the design of this fan, in particular the 12 -foot USB cord, which is long enough to reach a ceiling hook without too much effort. The fan is surprisingly silent and uses three power parameters. However, it is not particularly powerful, with the highest setting producing a light breeze a few meters away. Speed ​​and timer controls are easy to learn, which is great because the whole manual is written in Chinese. You can get most of the manual using Google Lens to translate the text, but it is largely useless.

I give this product a B + to be useful, although in niche environments where normal ceiling fans are not practical.

Good: Tuya zigbee water sensor

Unlike the Tuya intelligent USB switch, the You a zigbee water sensor I did not connect properly to my SmartThings system during the first try. SmartTHings classified it as a generic zigbee device – he could not see when the sensor detected water. This is an example of a manual of Tuya devices that not always play well with smart house hubs.

So I wrapped my sleeves and I dug in the SmartThings Edge Driver BuilderA developer tool to assign drivers to intelligent domestic devices. After selecting my Tuya leakage sensor from the list of devices in my smart house, I chose the ZigBee water leak sensor driver and I configured it as a water sensor. Like magic, the sensor began to operate. It is quite reactive and I like that he uses common AAA batteries.

The additional effort can be worth the value of the $ 4.59 that I paid for the water sensor Tuya Zigbee, but I cannot give it more than C + for someone who wants intelligent home compatibility with smartthings. I cannot assess if it is great for other intelligent house platforms, but I suspect that it is even better with the assistant at home.

Worse: Smart Wi-Fi Clock Movement Mechanism

I recently started to transition from most analog clocks from my house to clock -free clock movements, which are less boring than the ticks of a second hand when you try to fall asleep at 2 am, let’s try a Smart Wi-Fi clock mechanism To define the time automatically as the digital clock of my Google Nest Hub. What followed was one of my most frustrating installation experiences for years.

Outside the box, the clock I bought did not come with hands for seconds, minutes or hours. I have spent much too long trying to adapt to remaining hands of a previous DIY project, only to note that the clock did not work.

The instructions included, which came to a sheet of printer paper, were not useful. They do not say that you should remove the gray “location” needle from the back of the clock before it works. This pin locks the gears in place at noon, likely to keep the clock aligned during shipping and when putting on the hands, which makes sense on a wi-fi clock that is fixed. It took two hours before making it work.

I am even more disappointed with the Wi-Fi connection, which is not even close to securing. Everyone can open the Wi-Fi connection of the clock to see your network’s name and password. So happy to have used my phone’s hotspot for a temporary network. I give this product, which costs $ 14.01, a D- to work as announced, even if it takes some time, and comes with major Wi-Fi vulnerability. However, this is not the worst long -term product.

Worse: smart portable dryer

I obtained the Smart Portable Smart Light Store Store Beauty for only $ 12.32. I will not waste your time: this is the most dangerous product of my Aliexpress order. How can I know? He literally melted about 2 hours after my first drying session. The plastic of this product is in no way resistant to heat. It did not even dry a single shirt completely, so there is no reason to buy a cheap portable dryer when the laundromats can manage much larger drying loads for a fraction of the price.

When I went online to see if other customers encountered this problem, I noticed that the product page was no longer available. With my confirmed suspicions, I will not even dive into the characteristics of this terrible product. Instead, I will use it as an example to strengthen why the purchase of generic electronics in Aliexpress, TEMU, WISH and other cheap retailers is risky. With certain technology categories, you play on your safety and privacy. As you can imagine, this device wins an F to be dangerous.

Now excuse me while I navigate the 90-day Aliexpress return policy, which is a bright point. Hopefully this is better than these last two products.