WiZ Hero Smart Wi-Fi Table Lamp Review

Reviewed by Claire Giles

Nowadays smart technology is everywhere and used in daily life. As a family we are quite tech savvy, the kids especially. We have looked at smart lighting before to use alongside the alexa’s we have in every room in the house but have never been completely convinced that it would be worth the money or would be something we would really use. WiZ led Hero light is described as “smart lighting for your daily living”. It works through Wi-Fi and is bluetooth enabled. It is controlled by using the downloadable app from Apple Store or Google Play or by using Hey Google, Alexa and Siri Shortcuts for voice control. It has 16 million colours and warm to cool white colours from 2,200 – 6,500K to create the perfect ambience.

First impression on taking the light out of the box is that it looks smart and sleek. It’s made of plastic but doesn’t look cheap and is heavier than I expected. I plugged in the light and read through the quick setup guide that was inside the box. Quick set up is a three step process. 1.Download free WiZ app, 2.Install and pair light or device, 3.Enjoy being connected. This all sounded very quick and simple but actually was a lot more complicated than that. First I downloaded the app on my phone. The app then gave me further instructions on how to pair the light. I started to pair it with my Wi-Fi but the light kept flashing red which apparently meant it couldn’t connect with my Wi-Fi. The app informed me to check that my phone was connected to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi on my home router. The light uses this Wi-Fi band as it covers more distance than 5 GHz. To check this you need to log into your router settings and change it if necessary. Again this sounds simple apart from the fact I had no idea how to log into my router settings (I have never needed to). I had to do some googling on the internet to find out how. I did manage to figure this out and change it to 2.4 GHz but the light would still not pair. After discovering the app has a FAQ section and reading the getting started section I realised that the router also needs to be set on WPA2 – Personal Security so I logged back into the router again and changed this setting and finally managed to get the light to pair. Once paired you can control it from anywhere through the cloud and don’t need to stay connected to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. So once the lamp was paired I logged back into my router and changed all my settings back to what they were originally and the light still worked fine. It was definitely more complex to pair then I originally envisioned but haven’t had any issues since. The FAQ on the app was extremely helpful once I found it. There is also an in-app chat support facility though I never needed to use it. Other family members using their own tablets / phones can be invited to join as guests and don’t have to go through this process.

There are two ways to control the light either through the WiZ app or by voice control. To control the light using the app you simply press the relevant button or light mode on the app to turn on, turn off, select the preset light modes which are in categories whites, simple, dynamic, progressive and celebrations or you can create your own custom light mode. A lot of thought and creativity has gone into creating these light modes. If you go into the rhythms option in the app it gives you helpful lighting tips and explains a bit more about the light modes and when each one is best used for such as: movie nights – dim blue with a hint of warm white, TV Time light mode reduces the stress on your eyes, Instagram Friendly – warm lights create a comfortable and cozy atmosphere. Best of all, your skin looks better in portraits and Productivity Boost – The best light temperature for work is 3,500 – 5,500 Kelvin. Try our Focus light mode to boost your productivity. Most of the light modes have a slider at the bottom that easily allows you to adjust the brightness. When using any of the dynamic light modes there is a slider to adjust the mode to run faster or slower. If you choose any of the 3 simple white modes ( warm, daylight or cool white ) a slider allows you to quickly switch between these three white modes.

Only from browsing in the WiZ app do you realise that the WiZ light is more than just a lamp. On the app you can create schedules that turn the light on and off. In each scheduled event you can set start time, room, days of week, light mode and end time if wanted (or can revert to previous mode). There is a vacation mode which automatically does simple scheduled events to stimulate presence in the morning and evening whilst you are not there. There is a circadian rhythm option that provides the best suited lighting throughout the day once you set your wake up and bedtime. Or you can create your own circadian rhythm adding up to 5 light points throughout the day with times. This could include light modes such as wake up light mode which gradually brightens the light for 30 minutes, Tv time light mode, Daylight light mode, Cozy light mode which is bright enough to read by but not too stimulating on your eyes so you can still sleep well afterwards and Night light light modes. The lamp will then automatically transition between these light modes once set. The app also has many other features such as Scenes to create the perfect atmosphere in one tap, energy consumption breakdown and much more.

A really useful feature is the ability to control the lamp using voice control. On the WiZ app under settings I enabled alexa. Once the Hero light is paired with alexa I could use it to turn the light on / off, change light mode, adjust brightness and dim the light. Simply say alexa plus command and name of device.

The Hero light is much more than it seems. It really is smart lighting. It even has light modes for parties, halloween and christmas. We use it everyday and the older kids are already asking for one for their bedrooms as well. I often come home to find it has disappeared from the living room into one of the kids rooms! My only negative would be how long it took me to set up and pair the light with my Wi-Fi. I would have liked a bit more guidance in the quick setup guide on pairing or at least a note stating more guidance on set up was available in the FAQ in the app.

At £49.99 this is more expensive than an ordinary lamp but worth every penny for all the additional features and light modes. I am already considering buying more for the bedrooms or another of the Wiz smart light products. More details of the full smart light range is available on their website www.wizconnected.com.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

RRP: £49.99

This product can be purchased from John Lewis here.