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Y**M
Easy to flash for use with open source Tasmota or Espurna firmware. Watch for printed defects!
First off, this is a review of the switch as used with Home Assistant/Tasmota. I did not use the stock firmware or app so I cannot comment on those. The switch seems to be of decent quality with one exception. Out of the (4) switches I ordered, one had a printing defect where the power icon printed on the button was off center and different than the others. Of course, I had installed and wired everything up when I just noticed this. I even was going to keep it for use separately, however being off center would drive me crazy every time I looked at the switch.See pictures for misprinted icon!Like many others, I wanted to run open source firmware on this for many reasons but most importantly:- I don't trust strange devices on my home network (especially the ones that come with the bulb - botnet anyone?)- Sketchy software from China you must install on your network or phone is not cool- I like the flexibility of having complete control over the hardware- I have an existing Home Assistant (HASSio) setup and wanted this to be a part of it- I wanted MQTT functionality- I support open sourceTherefore, my main goal was to flash this bulb (like many of my other ESP8266 based devices, including Wemos D1 Mini and Sonoff S31 outlet switches). I use both Tasmota and ESPurna (both free firmware devices) for this. With these switches, I chose to use Tasmota.FLASHING:You will need a FTDI programmer (or other serial programmer) like this:https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-FT232RL-Converter-Adapter-Breakout/dp/B00IJXZQ7C/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JM95177T9XJ10VW112CHYou will be glad to know that there are (4) 2.54 headers inside the unit which are clearly labeled (3.3v, GND, TX, RX). The switch also disassembles easily with four Phillips screws. Completely hacker friendly.To put the switch in programming mode you will make all your connections except the VCC and then connect VCC while holding down the actual switch button. You could also do this with GND too. Hold down for at least 2 seconds before letting go.Using Atom (free text editor) and PlatformIO (program which runs inside Atom), I was easily able to flash the Tasmota firmware on the switches. There are many tutorials on the web on how to do this, so I won't go into full detail.After the FW is on the bulb, you can point your browser at the IP address and get setup. This switch seems to work best when set to Tasmota "Sonoff Touch" setting although will work with standard Sonoff Generic. When placed in Sonoff Touch mode, the led indicator is GREEN when the power is OFF and RED when the light is on. If you use Generic it will be GREEN when on and dark when OFF.So far so good. I have two outside lights connected to these switches and it is great to be able to shut them off remotely or anywhere in the world. Just dinging a star for the poor quality control, however Amazon is making this right and sending me another two switches which I will promptly flash upon receipt.
H**R
Turned my house into a in Movie home
Really cool. I am not too much of a electrical guy, but I was able to figure the wiring out. Took me about 30 minutes. I had to make sure to turn my switch main breaker off. And wire everything correctly, which I did NOT do right the first time. For some reason all of the wire in my house Switch were all black. I had to figure out which was black and which was red. I had everything right except the red and black wire mixed up. I was worried about this when I turned on the breaker to test. But nothing happened, just no power or light at all. So I turned the breaker off again, swapped the red and black wire, and BAM! Turned on be breaker and it worked immediately. So I loved the fact The this Switch has clear indication of wires colors. Easy enough for me.
J**N
So very cool and simple to install
I don't usually review products and was a bit nervous when I ordered these then went back and read the one star reviews. I think that some of the issues are with the technical sophistication needed to resolve issues when there are problems. I turned the power off and installed the first switch. I needed a wire nut and ran to two different stores to get one. I completed the installation and had a bit of trouble getting it to sync up in the "easy mode". I switched to the app mode and it connected right up. Alexa found it and now we can control the lights by voice.Today I installed the second one and what did I find in the box beneath the second switch? The wire nuts I ran out for, and the screws to mount it, so I didn't have to re-use the ones from the switch I removed.The second switch set up almost immediately in the "Easy Mode". It remembered the wireless password and was on line in no time. It took Alexa a few minutes to recognize it, but she finally got it on the third try. Based on this performance, I have ordered more of these and will be installing them in more rooms.I'm super pleased with the whole process. If only I'd have looked in the box and seen the wire nuts, I would have saved even more time (and maybe installed both switches last night!)
C**N
Works perfectly with Google home mini
This is honestly a four star product, but given the price I think it deserves the extra star. Even on sale none of the other smart switches come down to the same price as these.Pros-Despite what other people have said, you can connect multiple units and control them with google home.-Installation was very easy. If you have concerns there are multiple youtube videos showing how to install smart switches, and most of them are almost the exact same.-Once you get everything installed and configured properly they work with no issue. The app itself is fairly straightforward and user friendly.Cons.-Connecting these for the first time is a little finicky. It took most of them multiple attempts to connect, but once they did I had no issues.-No smartthings or other hub support. This isn't a huge deal for me, but if I was using more than four of these I would want some sort of hub so I didn't have too many devices pinging my router constantly.-Google home doesn't recognize them as lights on it's own. An easy problem to fix by renaming them what you want to say for google to interact with them. I named mine "Kitchen lights" and "Living room lights". When I didn't have lights in the name google didn't recognize them as such. But again, not a big deal.
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