Product Library / Plugs & Outlets
Research profile · last verified 2026-08-14THIRDREALITY Smart Plug Gen2 (Power Metering)
⚠ Similar names, different products: Third Reality sells several plugs whose names differ by one token and whose capabilities differ by more: this Gen2 power-metering plug (SKU P1SPB1Z single, P1SPB4Z four-pack), a 'Smart Plug M1 (Power Metering)' at the same $12.99, and a 'Smart Wall Outlet ZW1' at $29.99. The vendor's own description states what Gen2 added — 'After the update, Smart Plug Gen2 keeps all former features and upgrade with real-time power monitoring and restore status' — so an older Gen1 unit bought secondhand under the same product name has neither. Buy by SKU.
Exactly which product this is[1]
- Model number
- P1SPB1Z
- Generation
- Gen2
- Region this page covers
- US
- Also sold or listed as
- THIRDREALITY Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring · P1SPB4Z
“Not established” means we have not sourced that detail yet — not that the product has no model number, generation or regional variant. We publish the gap rather than filling it.
Compatibility
| Ecosystem | Support | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Alexa | PartialPartial support — see the catch[3] | 🔴 THE FEATURE IN THE PRODUCT'S NAME IS NOT AVAILABLE ON EVERY HUB THE SAME PAGE CALLS COMPATIBLE. Alexa hosting works and is easy — pair to an Echo with a built-in Zigbee hub and 'just plug the Smart Plug in the wall outlet and say "Alexa, discover my devices"'. But the vendor scopes the energy monitoring separately: 'This function supported by Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY smart hub Gen2' — Echo devices are not in that list. So an Alexa-hosted buyer gets a switch, not a power meter. Recorded partial for exactly that reason.In Amazon Alexa you also need: a Zigbee hub |
| Google Home | PartialPartial support — see the catch[4] | There is no direct Google route — this is a Zigbee device with no radio Google speaks. The vendor names two indirect paths: a hub that itself works with Google ('other ZigBee hubs that can work with Alexa or Google Home'), or its own bridge — 'Enabled by Smart Bridge MZ1 (Sold Separately), integrates with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa (Smart Speaker required) and SmartThings'. Either way the reach depends on the intermediary, and the energy-monitoring limitation above still applies unless that intermediary is one of the four hubs named for it.In Google Home you also need: a Zigbee hub |
| Apple Home | PartialPartial support — see the catch[4] | Apple Home is reachable but only through a separately-sold box: 'Enabled by Smart Bridge MZ1 (Sold Separately), integrates with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa (Smart Speaker required) and SmartThings.' The MZ1 is $29.99 on the vendor's own storefront — more than twice the price of the plug — which is the number that decides whether this is a cheap Apple Home plug or an expensive one. ⚠ Worth knowing before generalising: the vendor names NO Apple route for its Smart Presence Sensor R2, so this bridge path is stated per product rather than brand-wide.In Apple Home you also need: a Zigbee hub |
| SmartThings | WorksWorks with this ecosystem[3] | One of the four platforms the vendor names for the full feature set, energy monitoring included: 'This function supported by Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY smart hub Gen2.' Requires a SmartThings hub with a Zigbee radio — the vendor names the 2015 and 2018 hub generations and Aeotec's.In SmartThings you also need: a Zigbee hub |
| Home Assistant | WorksWorks with this ecosystem[3] | The vendor documents this platform in the most detail, and is specific about which stacks: energy monitoring is supported on Home Assistant, and the restore-after-power-loss setting is scoped tighter still — 'Currently THIRDREALITY Hub Gen2 and Home Assistant (ZHA and ZigBee2MQTT) support this function.' A standard Zigbee device on a local coordinator, with no vendor cloud in the path.In Home Assistant you also need: a Zigbee hub |
Protocols: ZIGBEE[2]
Needs before it works: A Zigbee hub or coordinator is REQUIRED — the vendor says so in the product title itself ('ZigBee Hub Required'). It names the ones it works with: 'Echo (4th Gen), Echo Plus (1st Gen and 2nd Gen), Echo Studio, Eero 6, Eero Pro 6, Home Assistant, SmartThings 2015/2018, Aeotec, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY Hub'. Which hub you pick decides which FEATURES you get — see the catch.[2]
What it can do[6]
You can tell it to
- On/off
- Energy monitoring
It reports
- Energy reading
Whether each platform's automations and routines can use it — not just whether its app shows it.
| What it does | Apple Home | Google Home | Alexa | SmartThings | Home Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On/off | ✓ routines can use it | ✓ routines can use it | ? not stated | ✓ routines can use it | ✓ routines can use it |
| Energy monitoring | ✗ app only | ✗ app only | ? not stated | ✓ routines can use it | ✓ routines can use it |
| Energy reading | ✗ app only | ✗ app only | ? not stated | ✓ routines can use it | ✓ routines can use it |
Platform documentation: Amazon Alexa — automation engine ceiling (eight terms observed; residue inconclusive by refusal) (2026-09-01), Apple Home — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01), Google Home — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01), Home Assistant — automation engine ceiling (2026-08-29), SmartThings — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01)
- Home Assistant: Third Reality names Home Assistant specifically as a platform where the power figure is available: "REAL-TIME POWER MONITORING: Monitor current consumption of your plug-in devices… This function supported by Home Assistant".
Listed capabilities are what we could establish from vendor documentation. An ability missing here is unestablished — not necessarily absent.
Subscription reality[2]
✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.
Vendor account required: Not established — we have not sourced this yet.
No subscription, plan or fee appears anywhere in the vendor's product copy. A Zigbee accessory has no vendor cloud in the path once a hub owns it — whatever recurring cost exists belongs to the hub's ecosystem, not to this plug.
Maintenance reality[2]
- Batteries: none — mains powered
- Works without the internet: Inconclusive — we read the vendor's own material and it does not answer this either way. It does not mean the product fails without the internet.
- 15 A, ETL certified, and it doubles as a Zigbee repeater — a mains-powered Zigbee device extends the mesh for the battery-powered ones, which is a real reason to buy the cheap plug first when building out a Zigbee network. Physically designed not to block the neighbouring socket. Firmware is updatable: the vendor states it 'supports software OTA (Over-The-Air) updates'. Two behaviours are hub-dependent rather than universal — see the integration catches.
- Security updates: THIRDREALITY publishes no security-update support date for this model. That is a gap in what the manufacturer has published, not evidence either way — some makers declare a support period and some say nothing at all.[2]
The catch
It is a $12.99 plug that also repeats your Zigbee mesh, which is genuinely good value — provided you already own the right hub, because the plug is useless without one and the vendor says so in the title. The trap is subtler than the hub requirement: which hub you own decides which features you get. The energy monitoring this product is named for is stated as supported on Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat and Third Reality's own hub — and NOT on the Echo devices listed one sentence earlier as compatible hosts. Restore-state after a power cut is narrower again: Third Reality's Hub Gen2 and Home Assistant only. And Apple Home needs a $29.99 bridge, more than double the plug's price.
Who it's for
Home Assistant, SmartThings or Hubitat households buying cheap Zigbee plugs by the four-pack — they get the metering, the repeater and the restore-state behaviour, and this is about as cheap as an energy-monitoring plug gets. Alexa-only households can use it as a plain smart switch, but should not pay for the metering they will not see. An Apple household should price the MZ1 bridge into the decision before buying the plug.
Sources & method
Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →
10 numbered sources· read them in the source's own words
- [1] https://www.3reality.com/products.json (301-redirects to thirdreality.com; read 2026-08-14) — product 'Smart Plug Gen2 (Power Metering)', product_type 'Smart Plugs', tags including 'family_plug' and 'protocol_zigbee', published 2026-03-27. Variants: 'Single Pack' SKU P1SPB1Z at 12.99, ' 4-Pack' SKU P1SPB4Z at 38.99, both available:true, both with compare_at_price equal to price (so neither is discounted). — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-14Backs: Product identity, Price, Market availability
- [2] Vendor product copy, read 2026-08-14, verbatim: 'THIRDREALITY Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, 15A Smart Outlet, Zigbee Repeater, ETL Certified, ZigBee Hub Required, Work with Home Assistant, Compatible Echo Devices and SmartThing'. 'ZIGBEE 3.0 STANDARD: Works with compatible Zigbee hubs or Echo devices with Zigbee hub built-in, such as Echo (4th Gen), Echo Plus (1st Gen and 2nd Gen), Echo Studio, Eero 6, Eero Pro 6, Home Assistant, SmartThings 2015/2018, Aeotec, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY Hub. Zigbee Hub Required.' 'space-saving design that won't occupy the adjacent socket'. 'Additionally, it supports software OTA (Over-The-Air) updates, allowing for effortless firmware upgrades'. 'After the update, Smart Plug Gen2 keeps all former features and upgrade with real-time power monitoring and restore status.' Zigbee is the only radio published; per our protocols rule the array lists it alone. No subscription, plan or fee appears anywhere in the copy; no warranty term was located. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-14Backs: Protocols, Required hub or bridge, Power source, Installation, Maintenance, Subscription, Security-update support period
- [3] Vendor product copy, read 2026-08-14, verbatim: 'REAL-TIME POWER MONITORING: Monitor current consumption of your plug-in devices... This function supported by Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY smart hub Gen2.' And: 'SAFETY SETTING: ...users can customize on/off state after powered on again. Currently THIRDREALITY Hub Gen2 and Home Assistant (ZHA and ZigBee2MQTT) support this function.' Read against the same page's compatibility sentence, which lists Echo (4th Gen), Echo Plus, Echo Studio, Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 as compatible hosts — none of which appears in either feature list. Alexa is therefore recorded 'partial' (hosting works, the named feature does not), while Home Assistant and SmartThings are 'full'. Alexa setup verbatim: 'just plug the Smart Plug in the wall outlet and say "Alexa, discover my devices", then it will automatically find the plug.' — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-14Backs: Amazon Alexa compatibility, SmartThings compatibility, Home Assistant compatibility
- [4] Vendor product copy, read 2026-08-14, verbatim: 'More Smart Assistant Supported: Enabled by Smart Bridge MZ1 (Sold Separately), integrates with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa (Smart Speaker required) and SmartThings, to achieve easy control and monitoring.' And, on the indirect route: 'When Smart Plugs connect with compatible Amazon Alexa Echo Devices or other ZigBee hubs that can work with Alexa or Google Home, then you can free your hands.' The MZ1's price is from the same storefront's structured data: 'Smart Bridge MZ1', $29.99, available. ⚠ Recorded as a per-product fact: the vendor's Smart Presence Sensor R2 page names no Apple route at all, so this bridge path must not be carried across the brand. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-14Backs: Apple Home compatibility, Google Home compatibility
- [5] Listed and available in both pack sizes on the vendor's own storefront on 2026-08-14, with published OTA firmware updates and a current product page. Nothing marks it end-of-life. Researched 2026-08-14 from THIRDREALITY's own storefront (structured product data and product copy) only; no third-party retailer or review site was used as evidence. Gaps stated rather than filled: app platforms are unrecorded, account requirement unknown and offline operation unknown — a Zigbee accessory's account and local-control story belongs to whichever hub adopts it, and the vendor makes no claim about either here. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-14Backs: Service status, Research status
- [6] Third Reality's own product copy, already cited on this record and read 2026-08-14, verbatim: "THIRDREALITY Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, 15A Smart Outlet, Zigbee Repeater, ETL Certified, ZigBee Hub Required" and "REAL-TIME POWER MONITORING: Monitor current consumption of your plug-in devices… This function supported by Home Assistant". — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20Backs: Capabilities
- [7] www.3reality.com/products/smart-plug-gen2-power-metering, re-read 2026-09-02, carrying both sentences the capabilities entry quotes — the "ZigBee Hub Required" product line and "REAL-TIME POWER MONITORING ... This function supported by Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY smart hub Gen2.", verified 2026-09-02
- [8] the record's own customer-facing prose fields as they stood before 2026-09-10 (no new external read), verified 2026-09-10
- [9] ThirdReality's own product page for the Smart Plug Gen2 (Power Metering) (and its structured product data), re-read 2026-09-12 — 'ZIGBEE 3.0 STANDARD: Works with compatible Zigbee hubs or Echo devices with Zigbee hub built-in, such as Echo (4th Gen), Echo Plus (1st Gen and 2nd Gen), Echo Studio, Eero 6, Eero Pro 6, Home Assistant, SmartThings 2015/2018, Aeotec, Hubitat and THIRDREALITY Hub. Zigbee Hub Required.'; 'More Smart Assistant Supported: Enabled by Smart Bridge MZ1 (Sold Separately)'. Also re-read: www.3reality.com/products.json. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-12
- [10] Plugs into a wall outlet — nothing to wire or mount., verified 2026-09-16Backs: Installation
Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.