Ross of OttawaJun 26, 2024

A little more time on #HomeAssistant today.

I acquired a Sonoff #eWeLink series WiFi lightbulb with mixed success.

Non-functional initially, but a firmware update and then it worked okay w Android App (in guest mode).

Turns out to use with HA you need the AddOn plus an account. I really don't want to have an account to use a lightbulb.

Might remove the add-on and give up on the bulb. Looks like they want to recreate a redundant mini-HA within their HA AddOn.

Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
I've blocked the bulb from the WAN to isolate it, and can use it as a regular bulb I suppose.
Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024

A thin tendril of possibility - sounds like there's something called #SonoffLAN that might control #eWeLink stuff without their bloated addOn.

Might be my first use of HACS - looking into it.

#HomeAssistant

Show threadRoss of Ottawa

Aw drat - looks like it still uses an #eWeLink account. I don't want some account in the cloud to run stuff. Deleted the HACS integration.

So that's a bust. Glad the bulb wasn't very expensive.

Jun 26, 2024 at 8:37pmWeb
Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
Once again Zigbee > WiFi
Show threadrag. Gustavino BevilacquaJun 26, 2024

@ottaross

Isn't possible to flash those sonoff with something else like Tasmota?

Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
@GustavinoBevilacqua Most things probably, but a light bulb doesn't seem to have any point of entry to get at the chip inside.
Show threadrag. Gustavino BevilacquaJun 26, 2024

@ottaross

Now that's difficult!

Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
@GustavinoBevilacqua I suppose it's not like an old incandescent bulb, if I cracked it open there's no vacuum to worry about. But reassembling cleanly might be a mess.
Show threadkaybeeque 🍁💪💪🍁Jun 26, 2024
@ottaross @GustavinoBevilacqua most of the WiFi light bulbs allow you to twist/pop off the diffuser portion which will expose the PCB. You should get sufficient access to flash it once you have done this. Search for details for your particular bulb model. I did a quick search and found a number of videos for various bulbs.
Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
@kaybee335 @GustavinoBevilacqua interesting, will look into it. Not much to lose there.
Show threadjumbliesJun 26, 2024
@ottaross @kaybee335 @GustavinoBevilacqua if you give up, consider the Shelly bulb. Wi-Fi, local control, esp based so flashable
Show threadRoss of OttawaJun 26, 2024
@jumblies @kaybee335 @GustavinoBevilacqua good to know! Thanks!
Show threadkaybeeque 🍁💪💪🍁Jun 26, 2024
@ottaross @jumblies @GustavinoBevilacqua 👍
Show threadkaybeeque 🍁💪💪🍁Jun 26, 2024
@ottaross @GustavinoBevilacqua one 'quirk' is that you will have to provide appropriate voltage power to the board to perform the initial flash. After that you should be good with OTA updates (at least for ESPHome).