ukoke ac review

UKOKE AC Review 2024: Do You Need a Smart Air Conditioner?

In Heating & Cooling by Tim Brennan

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

In this UKOKE AC review, I’ll give you my non-expert thoughts and buying guide on this smart portable air conditioner by a company with a funny-sounding name.

Chill Time

ukoke ac review

Last year, I bought the UKOKE Smart Portable AC unit over at Amazon, and I have wanted to write this review ever since.

Let me start by saying that UKOKE does not sponsor this review. Next, I will say with 100% honesty that I absolutely love this AC.

In fact, it is one of my favorite “smart” devices in my home.

I bought the 12,000 BTU model to replace my old window AC unit, and it does a phenomenal job at cooling down my 450 sq. ft bedroom, even when not on the coolest setting. I’m sure it would also cover small rooms, medium-sized living rooms, or even large rooms nicely. My gushing, however, doesn’t stop there. The design of the AC is outstanding, it is surprisingly quiet, and it has some really cool (no pun intended) “smart” features, all of which I will go into in detail below. For example, it works with both Alexa & mobile devices for voice control, making it the right air conditioner for any smart home enthusiast.


The Good

  • Cools my large bedroom down fast.
  • Low noise levels
  • Low profile (thin) window kit attachment.
  • Zero condensation, even in very hot weather.
  • Adjustable fan speed and vent oscillates cool air using the “swing” feature.
  • Mobile app control using your smart phone
  • Simple remote control and alexa commands for on/off and setting temperature.

The Bad

  • It’s heavy and large (not a compact air conditioner).
  • The exhaust hose detached from the ring and took some doing to get it back into place.
  • Few users complain about getting it connected to Wi-Fi. (I have not experienced this at all.)
  • Heat and dehumidification options require frequent draining.

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Physical Design

The first thing you’ll notice about the UKOKE is its sleek, minimalist design. The unit is encased in a smooth white plastic and it has a very modern look to it. The bright display in the top center of the unit gives a real-time status of your UKOKE AC.

Here’s what it looks like next to my stand-up desk:

UKOKE AC Review

My UKOKE AC

Portability

Next, let’s talk about portability. This AC unit has four caster wheels that make it super easy to move around. Additionally, the cord wrap system is really well designed and makes it a breeze to store the power cord when you’re not using the AC.


Window Attachment and Exhaust Hose

Window Sealing Plate

UKOKE AC EXHAUST HOSE: VIEW 1

Best of all, the vent and its window attachment have a very narrow profile, which is ideal for me. I live on the ocean, and I was concerned that the window attachment doo-hickey would partially block my ocean view. I did run into an issue where the vent hose slipped off the ring attached to the back of the unit. After a good deal of finagling, I got it back on with a pair of players, and it has stayed in place since.

UKOKE AC Review Vent tube sealing plate

UKOKE AC EXHAUST HOSE: VIEW 2

Noise

I was surprised at how quiet the UKOKE AC is-‎just 53 dB. I would compare the noise level to a window air conditioner. While you know it is running, I actually find the white noise to be soothing, and it helps me sleep at night.

The UKOKE has all of the features you would expect from a portable air conditioner, including a physical remote control, an adjustable thermostat, three different fan speeds, and a 24-hour timer.

📚 Related: 7 Best Smart Window Air Conditioners

If you want to buy the AC, I’ll include a link below.


Smart Features

Next up in this UKOKE AC review, let’s look at the fun stuff: smart features.

In addition to being a great performing and well-designed air conditioner, the UKOKE also has some really “cool” smart features.

What makes this unit “smart” are its Wi-Fi capabilities. Once you connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi network, you can use voice commands to turn it on/off and adjust the temperature. You can also set a sleep mode. I have mine connected to my Amazon Echo, and I absolutely love it. I’ll include the Alexa commands I use below.

In addition to using voice commands, you can also operate the AC using the UKOKE app. The app is available for both iOS and Android, and it allows you to do everything that the physical remote does.


Control Panel

UKOKE AC Front Panel

The control panel is located on the top of the unit, and it has a large LED display that shows you the current room temperature when the unit is off and the target temperature when it is on.

Controls across the top from left to right are TIMER, MODE, mode indicator panel, status display, temperature controls (up and down arrows), SPEED, SWING, WIFI indicator light, and of course, the Power button.

If you are wondering what the “Swing” feature does (I sure was), it is used to toggle the oscillating vent on the front of the unit on and off.

The buttons have a nice solid click to them.


UKOKE App

The UKOKE app is well-designed and lets you track multiple UKOKE products via the same familiar interface.

The AC controls mimic the Control Panel and also the remote. The Timer can also be set using the App.

UKOKE App

 Download for iOS: Apple App Store

 Download for Android: Google Play

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Connectivity Features

A few people wrote on YouTube that they struggled to get their ACs on Wi-Fi, and I can see why. The process of connecting the UKOKE smart app up to my Wi-Fi was not intuitive. It took me a while to figure out that you need to scan a QR code and long-press the SPEED button on the front of the unit in order to get it to connect.

I cover this in the following YouTube video. You might want to save this page if you haven’t yet purchased the unit but plan to do so.

You can also download the latest Product User Manual from UKOKE.


Remote Control

The full-function remote controller that comes with the UKOKE is very comprehensive as far as air conditioner remotes go. It has all of the same buttons that are on the control panel, plus a few extras.


Timer

Another handy feature of the UKOKE Smart Portable air conditioner is the 24-hour timer function. This allows you to set the AC to turn on or off at a specific time.

I have yet to use this as I have too much fun controlling my AC with Alexa, but it is nice to know it is there.

You select the number corresponding to the time you want the A/C to turn on and off. I would recommend doing this via the UKOKE app, as it looks very straightforward there.


UKOKE AC Alexa Commands

Next up in my UKOKE AC review is one of my favorite features of this device: the ability to operate it using the Amazon Alexa voice assistant.

While you can’t control the fan speed using Alexa, you control the power and temperature settings.

Here are the commands that I used all summer:

  • “Alexa, turn off the AC.”
  • “Alexa, turn on the AC”.
  • “Alexa, set AC temperature to 61 degrees (range is between 60 and 80).”
  • “Alexa, increase the thermostat.” (increases temperature by 1 degree)
  • “Alexa, decrease the thermostat.”(decreases temperature by 1 degree)

If you have an Echo Show, the current AC setpoint temperature and the ability to adjust it both appear on the screen.n.

UKOKE Screen on Echo Show

UKOKE Screen on My Echo Show 8

This is super cool. Press the up and down arrows on the Echo Show screen to adjust the temperature further.

📚 Related: 5 Best Smart Portable Wi-fi Air Conditioners


Maintenance

So far, the only thing I have done to maintain the unit is empty it when it gets full of water.

Draining the unit is super simple. I place a large Tupperware tray along the back of the unit and release the stopper plug. The water then flows out into the pan, typically draining fully in about 30 seconds or so.

I used to wheel the unit into the bathtub to drain it there, but that is overkill. Here’s a video that I created over on my YouTube channel documenting this. Using a pan or a Tupperware tray is a more efficient way to do this. You really don’t have to drag it into the bathroom. The water doesn’t drip and flows right into my catch tray.

It is unclear whether I need to clean the washable filter or buy replacement filters. I will check on that soon and report back here.


What’s in the Box

Finally, I’ll wrap up my UKOKE AC review with a review of what you get when you buy this smart portable air conditioner.

In the UKOKE box, you will find:

  • The new UKOKE base AC Unit
  • Vent hose
  • Window attachment
  • Small white remote control

Here is an unboxing video that I did over on my YouTube channel.


Warranty

UKOKE offers a one-year warranty on the unit, which is standard for portable air conditioners.

I found it odd that it says to “request the warranty from the manufacturer” over at Amazon on the UKOKE product page (affiliate link), but I suppose that is par for the course for some companies.


UKOKE AC Review: Final Thoughts

I absolutely love my UKOKE air conditioner. Packed with high-end technology, an efficient compressor, energy efficiency, and plenty of eco-friendly features, I think it’s one of the best new AC units (portable or window units!) I’ve ever owned. While it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of some of the more expensive units, the UKOKE technology does everything that I need it to do and then some. It has numerous positive customer reviews, plus it is a super easy order from Amazon.

The smart features are awesome, especially, and the build quality is very good. If you’re looking for a good choice in a great-performing and well-priced portable air conditioner, I would highly recommend the UKOKE Smart Portable Air Conditioner.

Thanks for reading my UKOKE AC review until the end. Hope you found this helpful!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Brennan

Tim Brennan, a tech blogger and host of the @TecTimmy YouTube channel, writes about smart homes at oneSmartcrib, home theaters at UniversalRemoteReviews, and AI in writing at Writeinteractive. He holds a Journalism degree from Northeastern University and has covered technology for three decades. He lives on the ocean in Nahant, Massachusetts.


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