GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug Review: In Cync With Matter

While I am entrenched in the industry today, I will never forget my first experiences with smart home technology back in the 1980s. General Electric's little-known HomeMinder system fascinated me with its ability to control lamps and other appliances over the existing electrical wiring in our home all through a remote that you pointed at the TV.

Because of this seemingly magical experience during my childhood, I still find myself intrigued whenever I see the GE logo on devices even after all these years. So when I recently saw the GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug at an extremely low price, I knew I just had to try it out.

Does GE/Savant's offering have what it takes to put it amongst the best Matter-compatible smart plugs? Let's take a look.

GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug Unboxing and Design

Competitively priced at just $14.99, the GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug's unboxing experience was straight and to the point. Upon opening its packaging, you'll find GE's smart plug front and center along with a small setup/user manual and a product support card—that's it.

GE's plug sports your standard all-white rectangular plastic frame with a mixture of glossy and matte surfaces throughout. The compact plug measures 2.36 x 2.36 x 4.49 inches and weighs just 10.4 ounces, putting it squarely between the Tapo P125 and the Eve Energy in the smart plug size department.

On the front of GE's plug, you'll find minimal branding with a single outlet neatly positioned in the center and the only company logo located near the bottom right-hand corner. Off to the right of the outlet is a small LED status indicator light that illuminates an orangish shade when in pairing mode and solid green when the plug is powered on.

Around the side of the plug is a single on-device button used for quick toggles and to put it into the aforementioned pairing state. And finally, the back of the plug is home to regulatory information as well as a few basic specs and a printed Matter pairing code.

GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug Specs and Connectivity

Speaking of specs, GE's offering shares many of the same physical characteristics and electrical ratings as other non-energy monitoring Matter smart plugs. The most common of which is that GE's 120-volt plug supports up to 15 amp electrical loads and 1/3 HP motors, but is not for use with devices with dimmers.

As its name implies, the GC Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug lacks any form of weather resistance. The plug must remain indoors in temperatures below 104 degrees Fahrenheit and away from wet environments for safe operation.

Where GE's plug differs from similarly priced alternatives is that it features the all-important UL safety certification. GE provides a two-year limited warranty for the plug and it is also Energy Star Qualified but that is only for the device itself and not any appliances connected to it.

GE's plug connects to the various smart home ecosystems and Matter directly without a hub via 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The plug also features a Bluetooth radio onboard, but it is only used during the initial Matter pairing process as it then relies on Wi-Fi thereafter.

GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug Setup and Matter Multi-Admin

With a Matter QR code in the box and without the need for an account or app download, I expected smooth sailing when it came time to pair GE's plug to my smart home. However, the process didn't go quite as planned as I was met with a "Pairing with accessory failed" error message about halfway through setup in the Apple Home app.

Thankfully, I was able to get it up and running on the second attempt without having to restart my Wi-Fi router, Apple Home hub, or Matter Controllers. Upon completion of setup, I was surprised to see Apple Home offer an accessory update for the plug as I had only seen this occur for Matter-over-Thread devices previously.

While updating Matter devices in the Apple Home app usually is quick and easy, tapping the Install Update button resulted in the plug instantly going into "Requested" status. Unfortunately, the plug remains stuck in this status as it has not downloaded or applied the new firmware to this day, but this could be a fault with Apple Home and not GE's device.

Despite the initial pairing and updating issues, sharing the Cync plug with other smart home ecosystems via Matter's Multi-Admin capabilities went smoothly. After generating a new pairing code in Apple Home, both Alexa and Google Home spotted the plug quickly and made it available in their respective ecosystems without fail.

GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug Performance, Reliability, and Controls

Being a simple on-and-off outlet, testing the plug's performance, reliability, and controls was rather straightforward. Performance-wise, GE's plug is fantastic with actions taking effect on the device as soon as I finish tapping its icon or as soon as one of the various voice assistants like Alexa recognizes the command.

The plug's Wi-Fi range has been solid as well, as it had no trouble connecting to my home network, regardless of location. And, even though it is rated for indoor use only, I can confirm that it picked up the signal just fine when plugged into a couple of the outdoor outlets in covered porch areas around my home.

The reliability of GE's plug has also been great— at least so far. The plug has responded to every automation or command thrown at it, and I haven't seen it drop off my Wi-Fi network as of yet, even with it being on stock firmware.

As good as the GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug has been, there are a few downsides worth nothing. One is that the plug's internal relay is louder than other Matter-compatible options when toggling it remotely. It's not horrible by any means, but it is noticeable in a silent room.

Another is that the plug is slow to boot after power failures or manually unplugging it—often taking three to four minutes to reconnect. And, last but not least is that I could not get it connected to the Cync iOS app after pairing it to Matter initially, so I haven't checked for additional settings like disabling the onboard LED light as I believe that it will require resetting the unit.

Should You Buy the GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug?

Although its price may give off cheap Wi-Fi accessory vibes, GE's Cync plug is indeed one of the best Matter-compatible smart plugs you can buy today. It doesn't have the latest and greatest networking technology inside like Thread, nor does it have energy monitoring, but what it does have is reliability and speedy performance.

And of course, that price. At just under $15 each—and often on sale for $10 or below—the GE Cync Matter Indoor Smart Plug is perfect for bringing automation and convenient remote controls to appliances and devices that might usually fall into the "nice-to-have but not quite worth the expense" category.