TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip Review

TP-Link brings today’s review offering with the KL430 Kasa Smart Light Strip, coming with a controller and 2m of LED light strip. Let’s see whether the KL430 shines bright or gets left in the dark by the competition.

TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip: Specifications and Features

Product page: Click Here

TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip: Unboxing and Closer Look

Let’s start with the box, and it’s a fairly standard offering which includes a picture of the light strip itself, the energy rating, an impressive A+ and some info on the rear about the features and the mobile app, Kasa.

It was disappointing to open it up and see the contents sat in a moulded plastic clamshell. Play3r is actively promoting the non-use of plastic wherever possible regardless of whether or not those plastics have been (or can be recycled), so here it gets a thumbs down from us.

Here we can see the power adapter with a 50cm length cord, and one of the two 1m LED light strips included in the box. The light strips easily connect together and can be cut to size on the indicated areas, every 5 inches apart.

The smart controller is next up with a 1.5m cable length. The front of the controller has an on/off switch above the Kasa logo and the rear has 2 double-sided tape pads to conveniently stick it to almost any surface.

I plugged it in to test the brightness, and it’s clear that the 1400 lumens are working to full effect. the photo made it looks like it was dark outside, but I can assure you it was taken during the daytime.

TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip: Installation

Unfortunately, the power cable length is just too short. I was planning on installing the smart controller on the front underside of my desk but due to the length, I had to settle on it being at the rear. Disappointing to say the least.

I planned on installing one 1m strip on the back of my desk for now and it went without a hitch. I left some room on the left side of the desk as my PC sits in that corner and it’s not needed. Everywhere else, the light would reflect off the wall the desk is up against, but not quite touching.

Overall, the entire installation was pain-free and incredibly simple. The smart connector attaches to the strip using the tried and tested 4-pin connector and the power adapter connects to the adapter with a barrel plug, about as easy as it gets, and the results speak for themselves.

TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip: Setup

Setup is done via the Kasa smartphone app, available on iOS and Android. We’ve discussed this software in previous TP-Link smart home gadget reviews, but like any software it’s subject to change.

Here you choose the item you want to set up, follow the easy to understand instructions and connect the device, in this case, the KL430, to your WiFi network.

After it’s connected to your WiFi network, you configure it by assigning it a name and giving it a customised icon.
Finally, let the device check to see if a firmware update is available.

Once the firmware update is complete, the device will show up in your devices list, as you can see I do already have a few other smart plugs and bulbs connected.

Finally, the Effects menu allows you to choose lots of colour options, including cool to warm white shades.
Predefined Effects are also available such as Aurora, Christmas, Flicker (candle), Lightning and Rainbow to list but a few of them.

TP-Link Kasa Smart KL430 LED Light Strip: Final Thoughts

Let’s start with the box. At this point in time, it’s fairly obvious that TP-Link’s theme is white and blue and the marketing material overall is clear and concise. Inside we find the contents sat on a clamshell. Again, it’s disappointing to see it’s plastic and not a moulded eggbox style paper insert that TP-Link could and should have used, having done it many times before.

Otherwise, the overall package is excellent. The KL430 doesn’t need a bridge (like Philips Hue for example), it uses WiFi connectivity instead and the Kasa smartphone app.

You’ll be able to hook it up to your smart assistant and control it by voice, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant/Home. Something I can first-hand say works flawlessly.

It also supports IFTTT apps, smart devices and services from different developers to all work with one another. Unfortunately, Homekit isn’t supported.

Remember the KL430 is intended to be used as accent lighting, but when used as that it works brilliantly. I choose to use it to light up the rear of my desk, but the installation options are vast. It could easily be mounted on the back of a TV, in the kitchen under a cabinet, on a shelf where accent lighting is wanted, around the edge of a bed, the list goes on…

The two 1m long strips are covered with a durable flexible silicone lined with tiny LED lights, each grouping a pair of RGB and white LEDs with 48 pairs per 1m strip (96 pairs total) and in total there are 16 colour zones to play with out of the box.

The LEDs themselves can reach a peak brightness of 1,400 lumens over 6.6ft length and are able to produce up to 16 million colours.
Colour temperature ranges from 2500K-9000K and the strip should last up to 25,000 hours, on par with the competition.
It’s also dimmable, ranging from 1-100% which is another nice touch depending on the use case, and situation/mood you’re going for.
Finally, the lighting mode options and pre-programmed effects are more neat additions which add to the overall package, as well as the option to create your own if you so wish.

So, is it worth the £50 asking price?

Absolutely, if you are after a package that works seamlessly with your existing home assistant devices like Alexa and Google Home, as well as IFTTT apps and devices. Another win is that it works without a separate control box, unlike some competitors’ products. Just remember that the Kasa smartphone app is needed for setup.

Also when you consider the fact that at the time of writing, the KL430 can be found for as low as £35, it makes it all the more compelling!

I mentioned earlier in the review that the KL430 can be expanded up to 10m total length. TP-Link also offer 1m extension strips for around the £20 price mark, so it’ll be a small chunk of change to get the full 10m length, but it’s certainly attainable.

Big thanks to TP-Link for sending the KL430 Kasa Smart LED Light Strip in for today’s review.

What’s hot:

• Looks good.
• LEDs are capable of 1400 lumen brightness.
• Works out of the box.
• Kasa app works well, is easy to use, and performs product setup with ease.

What’s not:

• The 50cm power cable length is far too short!
• 1m extension light strip kits are expensive.