Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug Setup – Fool Proof Guide

How does the Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug setup work? If you’ve been looking for a guide, you have just found the perfect one.

Setting up a Merkury outdoor smart plug requires ensuring the device is connected to a 2.4GHz network. Moreover, it utilizes the Geeni app to connect, and then you can activate AP mode to use the smart plug as a signal repeater for other devices.

As you can see, the Merkury outdoor smart plug requires many tiny details to work correctly.

However, putting it online within a few minutes is not hard.

The guide below will cover all the necessary info, and you will have the smart plug set up swiftly.

Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug Setup – All You Need To Know

The Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug is among the best smart plugs on the market, and it offers many options when you are setting it up.

As you can imagine, it works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and can serve as a hotspot, meaning it can deliver Wi-Fi signals to farther devices.

Also the Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug is also readily compatible with a few smart hubs, such as Amazon’s Echo family.

That means you can integrate voice commands to control the plug quickly and easily.

How To Setup The Merkury Smart Plug

Merkury Smart Plug setup has a few steps you must follow accordingly. In addition, a few tips also help achieve a more robust connection for your entire house, such as AP mode or Amazon Sidewalk.

In the end, you will see there is nothing to worry about.

We will only give you the necessary instructions to make the whole process as swift as possible.

Step #1: Check Your Phone’s Wi-Fi

Since you will use your phone to set up the Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug, you must connect it to the same Wi-Fi as the Merkury Smart Plug.

A few phones already connect to 5GHz Wi-Fi. If that is the case with your phone, do the following:

1. Find the Wi-Fi settings
2. Disconnect from the current network
3. Connect to the 2.4GHz network

The Merkury Smart Plug, like any smart device nowadays, operates solely on 2.4GHz.

That is because such a frequency has a broader range, allowing you to position smart devices more freely.

Note: A few routers don't split frequencies into two networks. If that is the case, then there is nothing to do here.

Step #2: Download The Geeni App

The Merkury products are compatible with the Geeni app, meaning you can control various devices from the same app.

If this is your first time dealing with a product from the Merkury/Geeni family, do the following:

1. Head to the PlayStore/AppStore
2. Download the Geeni app
3. Create an account with your phone or email

Note: If you already have a Geeni account and apps connected to it, you can create integrations between them and your new Merkury smart plug.

Step #3: Connect The Smart Plug

Now comes the most critical part of this guide, configuring your smart plug correctly.

It is not hard, but it will determine if all its features will work properly afterward.

Here is what you must do:

1. Plug the smart hub into a power outlet
2. Hold its power button for 5 seconds
3. It will enter Easy Mode (blue flashing light)

Some Merkury plugs to turn on automatically. On the other hand, some don’t enter pairing mode automatically.

If the device doesn’t enter Easy Mode automatically, press its button for 3 seconds.

On To The Geeni App

Now open the Geeni app and do the following:

1. Tap the “+” button
2. Choose the option “Smart Power”
3. Click “Next Step”
4. Provide the Wi-Fi password

That’s it! Now your Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug is ready for use.

Step #4: Activate AP Mode

Access Point allows the smart plug to act as a signal repeater for your primary router.

Such an option is excellent if you put the smart plug on the edge of your Wi-Fi coverage. That way, it will help other devices get a stronger connection.

Put The Merkury Smart Plug Into AP Mode

To make the Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug enter AP mode, you must do the following:

1. Plug it into the wall
2. Hold the power button and release
3. A flashing blue light should show up
4. Hold the power button and release it again
5. The blue light will flash slower

So that’s it: the slowly blinking blue light indicates AP mode. 

Set Up AP Mode On The App

And here is how you will set it up on the Geeni app:

1. Tap the “+” button
2. Choose the option “Smart Power”
3. Select “AP mode.”
4. Enter the Wi-Fi credentials

Next, you can check on your phone’s Wi-Fi settings that a new Wi-Fi source is showing up.

It will probably appear as "Merkury-XXXX," where the XXXX will be some number. 

The password for that network is the same as your regular Wi-Fi.

Connect Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug To Smart Assistants

A possible extended setup for Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug includes setting it up with smart assistants.

Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug is readily compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Option #1: Connect To Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa is one of the most popular smart assistants, so it makes perfect sense if you want to connect your new Merkury smart plug to it.

Here is how:

1. Open the Alexa app
2. Click the three lines button
3. Tap “Skills and Games”
4. Search for “Geeni”
5. Tap Geeni 
6. Click “Enable to Use”
7. Provide your Geeni credentials
8. Click on “Done”
9. Tap on “Discover devices”

After that, your Merkury smart plug should be discovered and connected automatically.

Option #2: Connect To Google Assistant

If you have a Google smart hub in your house, you might want to consider connecting your Merkury Smart Plug.

Here are the steps for doing that:

1. Open the Google Home app 
2. Tap on the “+” icon 
3. Select “Set up device”
4. Tap on “Have something already set up?”
5. Search for “Geeni” 
6. Link your Geeni account to Google Home
7. Google Home will automatically discover the Merkury smart plug

Use Amazon Sidewalk To Enhance Connection

Using Amazon Sidewalk is an alternative method when placing your Merkury smart plug where your router’s reach is weak. 

Amazon Sidewalk is a feature developed for Echo devices that enhances your network’s range.

To work correctly, your Echo device must be closer to the sidewalk than the router. 

Check If Your Smart Plug Is Compatible

Sometimes it is not clear if all smart plug models on the Merkury line are compatible with Amazon Sidewalk.

To have 100% certainty your model is, do the following:

1. Open the Geeni app
2. Find the already paired Merkury smart plug
3. Find the “Device info”
4. Check if there is anything about Amazon Sidewalk

Even if the device info doesn’t say anything about Amazon Sidewalk, it is worth setting the feature up.

Perhaps your smart plug will pick up the Sidewalk signal anyway because it is simply broadband designed to work with small gadgets such as it.

How To Enable Amazon Sidewalk

To use Amazon Sidewalk, you must own an Echo device, such as the Dot or the Show.

Moreover, the Sidewalk is controlled through Alexa:

1. Open the Alexa app 
2. Go to the Devices section 
3. Select the Echo device
4. Choose “Settings” on your Echo device
5. Scroll down until you find the Amazon Sidewalk option
6. Toggle it to “on.”
7. Confirm

As long as the Merkury smart plug is connected to Alexa, it will benefit from Sidewalk automatically.

All the devices you’ve positioned further from the main router may benefit from a more robust connection thanks to the redistribution of some of your Wi-Fi signal by your Amazon Echo. 

Tip: Remember that you can use Sidewalk to redistribute from the house to the outdoor devices. Then, you can activate Merkury smart plug's AP mode to deliver bandwidth to even other devices.

What We Learned

Performing the Merkury Outdoor Smart Plug setup is no challenging task when you know what is necessary.

Fortunately, you need to pay attention to only a few minor details. Further, the setup will take only a few minutes.