#280

[@semicolontransistor]

In Chinese "刷机" is sometimes used to describe the process of flushing in firmware. although, if translated separately, "刷" could be translated as "brush", and "机" as "machine".

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for the professional explanation! It sounded very funny in my ears.

[@michaels3003]

I think, in Mandarin and in Japanese the word machine is used where in English words like apparatus, device, or machine are used (as appropriate). So, my imagination tells me that the Chinese term may be closer to something like "repaint device."

[@semicolontransistor]

@@michaels3003 The Character "刷" means ”painting“ in some contexts. However, it has many different meaning and translations in other contexts. I am not sure why the term "刷机” means "flushing firmware" but it is regularly used in Chinese to describe that processes. I am sure that flushing firmware is what the authors of the tool meant, and it was just some Google translate(or Baidu translate) mess up, we all know they are not great with specialized terms.

[@semicolontransistor]

​@@michaels3003​ I tried putting "刷机” into Google translate and it indeed translates it as "brush machine".

[@haajee1]

Jinyu Liu Interesting information. As you know a lot of manuals and GUI´s are ¨Chinglish¨ and gives western people a bad quality impression. But i need to say that i´am also very bad in Englisch. :)

[@ardufpv4373]

3:56 I can’t believe you said it 😂😂 you’re the best

[@mac_uk5464]

Try 5:15, pissed off by the Boss. LOL

[@AndreasSpiess]

Better than by the wife ;-)

[@mac_uk5464]

@@AndreasSpiess Yeh, you can walk away from the Boss at the end of the shift. I was going to say "You'd need to build a safe room", but I suppose your lab is the safe room, just got to put a key card on the door. LOL

[@Peter_S_]

@@AndreasSpiess I was disappointed at the lack of professionalism. Why don't you just make a video showing a Sonoff with you shouting "fuck, shit, piss" repeatedly? That is all you're doing but in a more subdued way.

[@ArcaneErudition]

Thumbs up for this line specifically.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The price of the Shelly1 shown in the video is wrong. I apologize for this mistake. If you purchase a Shelly1 on their homepage, today it costs 9.90 + 4.25 (EU) or 4.80 (US) shipping. In dollars, this is around 16 dollars. The Sonoff Mini today on Bangood is 7.49 $. This video is about flashing the Sonoff Mini, it is not a comparison of two devices. Its title is "Tutorial Sonoff Mini".

[@typxxilps]

I guess you did the screenshot of shelly price while making this video, right? Then Shelly must have lowered the price since making that screenshot ... most likely in reaction of a new competition cause why else should half the price. And boy, how happy must Shelly management have been back in the glorious, rich days of a 22,95$ era? Now it's simply just a half less - while still making profit otherwise business would not work out. Let's wait and see what Shelly will do with the prices of its other products. At least their reaction time was pretty quick. Great how to video and "pre comparison" with the Shelly Mini. ...

[@-TobsA-]

@@typxxilps The price wasn't lowered. He showed the prices for two Shelly's.

[@MarcoPaglioni]

@@typxxilps No, shelly price is 9.9€ even when i bought them more than one year ago. Shelly is not selling on Amazon. Someone else is doing that.

[@MeisterQ]

Yes, Shelly1 was about 10€ for month now

[@MohammedAnsariYaImAnsari]

the price of shelly1 shown in the above video is shelly1 2pack (23.99 for two nos shelly1) then how can you compare it with sonoff mini

[@AdamWelchUK]

I have two of the minis on order. You didn’t mention what I see as the main advantage over the basic... connectors for an external switch. This is perfect for lighting circuits in Europe. Interesting video. Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think I mentioned the switch in the beginning (on the comparison slide with the Shelly)

[@AdamWelchUK]

Andreas Spiess You did. I stand corrected! :-) 2:25

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

I'm thinking of getting some for the same reason, so far I have 6 or so old sonoff's running table lamps around the house. the UK wiring does not make it easy with no natural in the switch feed. upstairs lighting will be easy as I can just go up into the loft. downstairs might be harder depending on how they ran the wiring to the light socket. I think downstairs wall lights will be the hardest.

[@AdamWelchUK]

The Embedded Hobbyist If there’s a reasonable hole behind the ceiling rose then it should be easy with these new minis. The external antenna could be useful in this situation as well. Yeah - wall lights might be more challenging.

[@Magic-Smoke]

@@AdamWelchUK Good spot Adam. I've been wondering how best to do this for the house - although these days its more a matter of switching on and off 12V power supplies :)

[@Pinkywafer]

Regarding the relay specs: Going off the relay data sheet, the top line (10A 250VAC) is the switching capacity (ie. it can switch up to 10A without sustaining any damage) below the line (16A 250VAC) is the current carrying capacity. so if the relay is switched on with a current, and then the power draw increases to 16A, all will be fine, BUT, the current draw would have to drop below the switching capacity (10A) for safe switch off

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the explanation. So my guess was not wrong that it will not start to burn at 16A before the fuse trips.

[@Laberheinz]

The WIFI-Client makes sense, when you want to configure more than one Mini, eg. upgrade all light switches in a house. You only need the SSID and a small Phyton script to provision the devices. No need to configure them before mounting the Minis in the wall boxes. BTW: Have you tried to mount one in an european style wall box with "normal" and not double depth?

[@AndreasSpiess]

We have different installations in Switzerland

[@RistoNovik]

I still support Shelly :D, but good attempt from Sonoff.

[@emanuelmilani7976]

I like so much the Shelly software part. Can do almost all what you want without change official firmware This mini is an attempt to copy Shelly :(

[@AndreasSpiess]

No problem for me. Competition is good for the consumers ;-)

[@nonix3470]

Hi Andreas, I've jump onto this bandwagon a bit late as I had no need to do so far. When I saw your flashing instructions, I've just opened the box and soldered the wires of FTDI and pop the tasmota (9.2.0) in. It works like a charm. So for the others, if you are OK with fine solder tip, it is the faster way. (Sure do not plug to mains while flashing :-) just in case note ...) Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Soldering for sure is the fastest way for just one device!

[@SteveWrightNZ]

The AC current rating is higher than the DC currecnt, because an AC arc (when the switch opens) will self-extinguish because the volts drop to zero regularly. DC volts do not drop to zero of course, so when the relay opens under heavy load the arc will be drawn and held until the gap extinguishes the arc. HTH.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right with AC. But the 16A was also stated with 250 VAC, but with CQC

[@SteveWrightNZ]

@@AndreasSpiess I do not know. Perhaps CQC has a different rating system.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Meanwhile, I got a link to the datasheet of the relay. The German TüV also accepted 16A/250V. So my statement that the fuse trips before the switch starts to burn might be true.

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

The biggest problem with DC on relays is not the switching current but the breaking current. to get a better breaking current you have to go to magnetic arc breaking, or your contacts just weld shut after a time. had big issues with switching a 10A solenoid at 28V dc the arc on opening would after a time fuse the contacts together.in my opinion DC is best left to large fets to switch.

[@haajee1]

@@AndreasSpiess And it´s always good to have a litle bit reserve and run a relay or something not on the maximum capacity.

[@mradler]

Hi Andreas, nice video. For those who have issues with Win10 not showing the device - you need to give the DIY software access on your windows firewall to work on 'private' networks so it can connect. Once you set that tickbox the device shows up instantly. Next gotcha is getting stuck on 0% when updating the firmware. In that case first set the SSID / pw to your wifi credentials.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your tips!

[@Bill-v650]

My understanding when there are dual ratings on a relay is that the high value is for nearly purely resistive loads and the lower value is for inductive loads (like motors). The stored charge in the inductor will try to weld the contacts when they break, that is the reason for the lower rating with inductive loads.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is well possible. I do not know the assumptions behind the different test procedures. Maybe different labels use different assumptions.

[@VladimirErmakov]

Your phone NATting devices attached to hotspot. So only when you connect to same hotspot you can access the device.

[@mirceatanasovski366]

Highly respect your channel and I think that it is normal when comparing 2 devices, to get and present facts, to look the interest of the entire audience as a whole, facts and details, besides author selective points.

[@AndreasSpiess]

My selective point here was that I did not like how Sonoff implemented the flashing function. Maybe you watch the video again and look to it’s title. As I wrote in your comment before, I did not intend a comparison. Maybe this would have been a good idea and this is what you expected. But my intention was to show how to flash the Sonoff. Not more and not less. But I showed a price for two pieces. Which was a mistake.

[@haus_automation]

Thanks for sharing my video :) In my opinion, the DIY Mode is completely useless and shouldn't be used. As you mentioned in the beginning of the video, there are much easier ways to implement the DIY mode. They have chosen the most complicated way I could ever imagine... Not that smart

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome! Thank you for helping me out!

[@matneu27]

Thanks for this good conclusion. At least I run tasmota on the ordinary sonoffs after 15 - 20min, including soldering pins on the pcb. Independent of any network and operating system. Atom does the flash job easy. The "diy" mode looks like a mess and needs so many tasks that I ll rather spend a few euros more and live in peace. Also the single switch shellys get cheap since their successors with two relays where sold.

[@AndreasSpiess]

And maybe also because of competition?

[@hertzkot]

Once again, hats off to Andreas for keeping us in the loop :D

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@Thingstest-rl8xu]

8:06 When you connect 1 PC and many other things to 2 networks at same time the PC will ignore the second net unless it thinks that is "better" via TCP/IP Network Weight Value, I think also called Interface Metric now. Many times... Easiest is to disable the NIC in Windows for first network thru Control Panel/Network and sharing/Change adapter settings then Right Click to see popup box to disable a NIC. Do your Scan and etc. Then re-enable. Otherwise need to mess with TCP/IP V4 at minimum for one or more NIC's.

[@marsa74]

Things1000 test Usually it determines the NIC by applying an AND operation to the destination address with the net mask and the addresses of the NICs subsequently. But yes, if multiple NICs qualify it uses the one with the lowest metric value. So maybe that happened here if the different networks overlap.

[@cam_DA_Hawkdriver]

My friend told me the other day, I hope you “brushed your machine” and I knew exactly what he was talking about. 😂☺️

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-))

[@ChrisTopher-wl6pd]

Hey Mr Swiss Accent.... you should try using the mobile hotspot in Windows 10. Just search hotspot and it will take you to it. Set the SSID and Passwort and activate! ;)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe it would have been easier, you are right.

[@kasperbostrm7765]

this does not appear to solve the problem - the sonoff still does not appear in the DIY tool :(

[@underwoodblog]

for some access points, devices or protocols the password had to have a minimum length (mostly 8 letters)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Ok. Thanks for clarifying

[@mirceatanasovski366]

I have always thought reviews should to be impartial, but most likely sometimes I am wrong. It is strange that the obvious facts are silenced, for some reason, as: 1. Shelly 1 - 24-60 DC + 12V DC + 110 - 220V AC 2. Clean contacts allowing many more options 3. Displayed price over 2 times higher than the real price 4. The output of the switches must be from the relay, several buttons cannot be used. 5. Height 20mm meets 17mm where the place is most critical 6. PIN header on the shell

[@AndreasSpiess]

It was not a comparison. But I have to admit the Shelly price I showed was for two. I did not find it elsewhere on our usual sellers. And because my Shelly1 also was quite expensive (shipping included) I did not check good enough. The rest of your points I mentioned or showed I think. Except the DC stuff which is not important for me.

[@-TobsA-]

@@AndreasSpiess "It was not a comparison" But you are comparing both multiply times in the video.

[@efimovv]

From my point of view, this DIY mode much better than all those "connect to AP" ways, as it not interrupt your network. As usual, worst part of China devices is documentation, and I try to help you here. Benefit of this (pretty standard way in network world to auto-discover network devices and their info) It can be completely automated with small script (just Imagine about flashing 5-10 devices with Tasmota). And software provided on github only example, it is expected to create your own. This document at 9:30 tell (examples for Linux box): 1) get DNS names of all devices in network: nmap scan (or maybe mDNS query?) 2) get DNS name of device: nslookup 3) do DNS request of SRV type: dig SRV _ewelink._tcp. +short ( you got answer with port and name) 4) do DNS request of TXT type: dig TXT +short (you got everything else to create REST request ) 5) combine all info and do REST requests. As I can understand you can even auto-reflash to Tasmota if you want. As I have no such device at home, this is a theory but should work. And, seems we have way to query all devices via mDNS (or maybe this is the only way), but also I can't test it...

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think you should get one if you think, this is the right way to do it. And then you try Tasmota and compare.

[@efimovv]

@@AndreasSpiess OK, will order one and write details later. And yes, I already use ESPhome + Homeassiatant in "native" mode: much simpler for me. As a side note: I think, in near future we will see a lot of such scripts to auto-reflash Sonoffs to anything else.

[@falias4]

You can also create a Hotspot with Windows 10, if your PC has WiFi. Maybe this makes it easier.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe, at least a little.

[@cleberam]

Thanks @Andreas for saving troubleshooting time for the braves. Real challenge both doesn't resolve is that by regulation/safety, a good part of the world doesn't have mains in the switch boxes ;) cheers. -Cleber.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Then I assume it is even easier as you can use low voltage stuff

[@cleberam]

Only easy if you accept a pulse button to trigger the relay via RF, now, try to keep the toggle button and spend less than 8uA so a very small battery least few years. Wasn't easy at all.

[@cleberam]

Happy wife happy life, right? Here the idea of changing the user experience was not entertained...

[@smilespray]

There is zero chance of me running the device with the standard firmware, giving it my real Wi-Fi access details, installing a Chinese IoT app on my phone, or installing an unsigned Chinese Windows application.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are not alone

[@tengelgeer]

But you would if it was American?

[@wombat9999]

Great video, Andreas. I especially like how you give multiple options (Tasmota, Arduino IDE, etc). I think I need to throw more money your way... :-) FYI, Banggood recently had the Sonoff Mini for $6.50, but now it's back up to $7.49 (like you mentioned in your comment). The good news is that Banggood often runs specials (which is when I got mine). Again, great video. Cheers.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your support! Good to know that it is sometimes even cheaper.

[@kamilbystryk9509]

Miniature relays have max current specified for coś fi =1 condition (resistance output). When you connect eg. motor, max current for relay is lower - that's reason for 10A in specification.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. But this does not explain the 16A. They were also stated with 250 VAC, but with CQC. Or do I miss something?

[@kamilbystryk9509]

@@AndreasSpiess , my mistake - I listened to the movie on BT headphones. "CCC" have higher value than DC current at 30VDC. Normally, that value is the same on that relay's type (what can You se on "normal" value 10/250AC). In me opinion, CCC value is overstated and i am sure that this is due to the less stringent standards of contact durability (eg. number of switch).

[@AndreasSpiess]

According to the datasheet the German TüV also accepted 16A/250V

[@kamilbystryk9509]

@@AndreasSpiess Did you find the content of the TUV certificate (I did not find)? A few TUV cert. is a "the declaration of performance", not assessment of compliance with standards. I never rely on TUV statements (electronic components), because they can confirm, for example, that a pen can only write 1 sheet of paper. I didn't find UL too (which would be better for assess).

[@lg1115]

Hi! In my case it was necessary updating the firmware to 3.3 in order to make the sonoff connected to the hotspot. I tried at least 4 windows Pc (OS 10, 7pro, 7he) but with the 3.0 firmware on the sonoff it didn't connect to the hotspot. Maybe this could help someone..

[@TheMasterFrenchy]

7:43 Hotspot on your smartphone disables WIFI on your smartphone. When your Sonoff device connects to your hotspot, it's not connected to your LAN anymore. You need to connect to wifi from your router. 8:28 By connecting your laptop to also your hotspot, both your laptop and Sonoff device are on the same LAN. Cheers :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for the update. Maybe things changed since I made this video...

[@williammiller4143]

A very good video. You have confirmed what I read before about the complexity of diy and tasmota flashing. This has convinced me to abandon so off for Shelly. Sad because so off works so well with tasmota. Perhaps they will watch this video and change direction. Anyway, good analysis!

[@AndreasSpiess]

With this video it should not be difficult. And you only do It once ;-)

[@ping170]

Not only did you educate me, but you also loled me an awesome lot ! Thank you so much ;)

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@the_traveller6994]

You make the best tech videos. Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@Average_Geo]

Good overview of the sonoff mini. I will need to look at this again in the future after I get a couple of them.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you do not have to go this long way if they watch the video... I do not know why the do it. I was in contact with them, but the engineer does not speak English :-( And I do not speak Chinese.

[@chrisjc2k]

I should mention that the minimum password length for WPA is 8 characters and in regards to the problem of the program not finding the device on windows, you need to stop the program, disable ALL other network interfaces on the computer (including virtual ones for VMWare/Virtualbox/VPN etc) then you'll find after relaunching that it will magically work. This is a problem I come across frequently with programs that don't 'choose' a network adapter and just use the first interface they come across.

[@AndreasSpiess]

That is what I thought was the difference between my main PCV and the business PC. Thanks for the explanation.

[@northshorepx]

Thanks Andreas. You do have to wonder why they made it so hard. I suspect it's their marketing people. They probably want to have enough people on their cloud so that can ultimately charge them in some way. DIY mode seems like a "oh ok allow that but make it really hard so only the determined with try and rest probably just go back to default". I mean at the end the of the day what differentiated sonoff devices from other products based on ESP8266? Software features for the end user.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am not sure why they do it like that. I asked, but did not get a good answer. I do not think it is marketing.

[@1310up]

They probably thought that the less people try to flash it, the less people will ask for a refund because they accidently bricked it ? If you are willing to do all these steps, you probably not the type of person who care about warranty ? I don't know...

[@efimovv]

In my opinion this is very good way for automation. But maybe docs not too clear and lack of examples made it look so hard.

[@kentsehlin2469]

Hello, I have installed DIY tool on my PC and installed the jumper in the Sonoff MIni, created a gest network on my router, can see both the MIni and the PC on the gest network but the mini does not show in the DIY tool. What am i doing wrong?

[@thegoodhen]

3:53 Woah. :D I wasn't expecting to hear that and almost choked on my sunflower seeds.

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@76queen]

Superhouse has pcb that makes flashing the mini way as!

[@shix05]

Very good explanation. However, I would like to know if it can be used in a switch which does not have neutral. If so, how to proceed? Thank you

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know because we do not have such installations. But I read there are solutions for that (if I remember right for the UK)

[@shix05]

@@AndreasSpiess Thank you for your reply. What kind of solution have you read? A way to adapt this product to my configuration or another kind of product ? Thks

[@AndreasSpiess]

This one, for example: itead.cc/product/sonoff-t4eu1c-wi-fi-smart-single-wire-wall-switch/

[@StaxxxInMyJeans]

10:31 Did you try mayby to enter website :8081 then press F12 for developer tools, switch to console and try commands directly?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe this would also be a possibility. ARC is quite easy to use

[@3dgussner958]

Moin moin, very nice video... Made me laugh on a Sunday morning... Thanks for a good start of a day. And as always you provide great background information.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@mfkfx5807]

Also „brush machine“ ist einfach das beste, was ich seit langem in so einem Programm gesehen habe (und ich habe viel mit solchen asiatischen Übersetzungen zu tun)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Ich fand es auch lustig...

[@mfkfx5807]

Andreas Spiess Verdammt ich bekomme es einfach nicht mehr aus dem Kopf, den ganzen Tag schon nicht 😬

[@TheHellis]

Do you know if you can toggle this device from another arduino/ESP device? What I'm looking for is pretty much a wire that toggles the device, not S1/S2. They are already used. I was thinking of soldering on a wire to the pushbutton connection. Could that trigger the toggle?

[@AndreasSpiess]

You can use MQTT for that.

[@TheHellis]

@@AndreasSpiess yes of course, but I'm looking for a solution that works when there is no network at all.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Your proposal should be possible. My Sonoffs toggle the relay with the button.

[@whc2001]

LMAO as a native Chinese speaker I realized what it is immediately the moment I saw "brush machine". It is just a literal translation of "Flash a firmware". We mostly use this term for smartphones.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. There are a few other comments about that.

[@btouw8558]

Thankyou Andreas, this will save a lot of people a lot of time.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I hope so

[@albebert]

Hello, thanks for your video, just small things. I use sonoff.bin instead of basic in order to have domoticz configuration panel. all is working, except the button fonction of the sonoff mini :( do you know ho to configure it ? Thanks a lot

[@AndreasSpiess]

No.

[@sandmann86dd]

In the configuration GPIO4 and then use "Switch1(9)"

[@Arrowtake]

Thanks for your detective work on how to get this up and running. I use very neat IP-scanner called Fing on my iphone that does job very well on the ios.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I also heard about fing. But most of the network things are done here on my main PC...

[@MrJoeh1987]

Are the switch contacts for controlling the Sonoff mini under mains voltage or are they low voltage? I would like to use a switch, that is only low voltage rated. As much as I like Shelly, the switch input must have the same voltage as the power source.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I did not check. Maybe somebody else knows?

[@beanMosheen]

Some relays have a lower DC rating because of the need to break an arc. AC crosses zero sixty/fifty times a second and that helps a lot.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for this information!

[@CoolDude-vc2fl]

Hi, you might be the right person to ask. Plz help me out here. i have started learning c# and after that i have plans for WPF. Idea is to to make apps like gauges and stuff to show power consumption, water level, temperature etc and to display on big screen via Raspberry Pi 3. I am specifically talking about COMPILED WPF applications. But i have seen many forms in which people are saying UWP will only do it and its very limited. Mostly people are using Qt for it. Now i have gone through half of my C# course, i am really confused. Should i drop all this and start Qt? Please guide me in the right direction if you can,thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I cannot answer your question because I do not know QT nor C#

[@EvertZwevert]

Thanks for the video andreas ! I noticed the mini's before, but very recently went with shelly's and bought them directly from shelly.cloud. They are much cheaper than shown in your video you can have them shipped directly from Bulgaria.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your info. You are right. When I bought it, I had to pay additional postage. But I live outside the EU

[@EvertZwevert]

@@AndreasSpiess Ow yes, so easy to forget with switzerland

[@rodneybrown5461]

Thank you Andreas, I am going to buy some mini's and flash them with Tasmota very soon. I am fine with hardware connection and have flashed ESP8266 devices previously. Have you tried flashing a Sonoff S55 weatherproff power outlet switch ? I dont seem to be able to flash mine for some wierd reason it fails to flash. The device is working fine in EweLink but , like many of us I really like Tasmota and no cloud. Love your tutorials. Cheers from Rodoz

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not own an S55.

[@BR.]

Nice. Is there something like this for thermostats?

[@DougHanchard]

Use your existing thermostat and wire to it. You then simply program your controller (i.e. Arduino) with an alarm / timer schedule. But modern thermostats already have schedule programming features and are incredibly cheap.

[@haajee1]

Look for EQ3 MAX! thermostats or something :)

[@BR.]

I meant to ask if there is any wifi thermostat on which we can replace the firmware. That was the "something like this" part 😃

[@dirkrijckaert3719]

Thanks for the instructions to flash Tasmota to the Sonoff Mini. I have already used this successfully several times. In the meantime, the Sonoff D1 Dimmer has been released with the DIY v2. I see that a module version for the Sonoff D1 Dimmer already exists at Tasmota (# 74). However, I am unable to flash the firmware to the Sonoff D1 Dimmer. Maybe an idea for a new KZbin movie?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Here is a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaXEgnuAa8iXiac

[@AndersJackson]

mDNS is a protocol wich a device can expose its name and properties to the local network as a DNS service under the domain ".local" (but only to the Multicast address for mDNS). It works with Linux and with Mac OSX, and you can install software to the MS Windows. It is the way to add devices to an IPv6 (and convenient to IPv4). It is the same way you can reach a Raspberry Pi.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your explanation!

[@MikeySoft]

I was able to update the firmware on the mimi from 3.0.0 to 3.3.0. I also change the wifi to my home. I added the dyi jumper. Fing shows both the mini and by laptop connected to my home. However I get the below error when I ran the tool, "tool_01DIY85(3.3.0).exe". Any suggestions? Thanks. " Traceback (most recent call last): File "site-packages\PyInstaller\loader thooks\pyi_rth_qt5plugins.py", line 47, in ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'PyQt5' "

[@MikeySoft]

Is tool_01DIY85(v3.3.0).exe a stand alone program or does anything else needs to be installed such as Python?

[@AndreasSpiess]

It worked fine with me (I just checked it again). So I have no idea what is wrong on your side :-(

[@MikeySoft]

Long story short .... I was using an old slow laptop. Using a newer laptop solved the issue. I want to thank you and all the others such as The Hook Up, Dr Zzs, and digiblurDIY for your great videos. Thank you.

[@rajivdey1684]

In shelly 2.5 or 1 both uses live wire for switch which helps to connect two way switch (2 physical switch one bulb). Is there a way to do same with Sonoff mini without using an extra wire.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know, I newer had this use case.

[@youliantroyanov2941]

Funny as hell 👍Andreas you need to have your own standup comedy show 😎

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your nice words!

[@JohnnieHougaardNielsen]

It would have more DIY sense if they also followed Shelly in having a default MQTT interface. When I've installed Tasmota on my switches (Sonoff etc), it has mainly been to get the MQTT interface, which also works well for power monitoring switches.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Agreed. I also like MQTT much more than REST for these simple devices.

[@dennis8196]

I have had issues connecting some devices through mobile phones and dedicated hotspots because of the internal firewalls with no means to edit rules/open ports/DMZ.

[@AndreasSpiess]

That is well possible. Security always has its price.

[@felixh.7501]

Thank you Andreas, very good video. Do you think tx and rx can be used to connect sensors such as pir? Or is it impossible such as on the sonoff powr2?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I used them to look at Serial, so they seem to work normally. But they might be on live potential. I did not check that.

[@nigelprentice2084]

@@AndreasSpiessThe Itead Product description states: "The antenna has strong electricity inside, do not break the wire jacket. " so I would expect all the GPIOs including the switch contacts are "live potential" too. Proceed with great caution.

[@kennethlee3401]

will the sonoff mini be able to dimmer lights? or what should i get?

[@AndreasSpiess]

No. It only has a relay

[@tengelgeer]

With Tasmota, is it possible to separate the switch input from the relay? Aka, just have a general input to process (in Node Red or something) and maybe switch the relay as a result. Even better if it would support short press, long press, double press etc. Although, I'm still looking forward to dimmer versions!

[@AndreasSpiess]

I did not look too much into the Tasmota implementation. And so far I did not find a diagram. Maybe Sonoff will also publish it later.

[@aura-comms4633]

Have you checked TasmotaSlave? It's a very interesting idea since you can have an ESP with Tasmota and then attach any Arduino or MCU to it that talks to the ESP via UART. The cool thing is that you can upload firmware on the 2nd micro and have all the advantages of Tasmota with a second brain with many other pins and special sensors or programming without touching the Tasmota firmware. It would be great if you make a video about it.

[@AndreasSpiess]

No. Tasmota slave is new to me. I will check it.

[@aura-comms4633]

@@AndreasSpiess Also, combined with tasmocompiler, it makes it really easy to compile Tasmota as you wish

[@AkashSkylyn]

My Sonoff mini bricked after DIY installl of HAA. No LED after restarting. Please help

[@AndreasSpiess]

Unfortunately I cannot do remote debugging.

[@AkashSkylyn]

Thanks for the reply Andreas. Is there a way to restore the original firmware?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not think so.

[@MegaMario0007]

Is it possible to enable both authentication and ssl on the api calls? Would be nice security addition (necessity). Now everyone on your network can play with your lights. If not; what switch would support such features?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Tasmota seems to support SSL

[@AndreasSpiess]

Tasmota seems to support SSL

[@lmamakos]

Thank you for walking through the entire process. Even if I actually had a Windows computer, I think it would still be faster to solder some #30 wire-wrap wire on the pins and just flash it "the hard way" as usual. Is the DIY jumper pin usable as another GPIO pin?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Yes. It seems to be connected to GPIO16

[@marsa74]

Thanks for this review. I don‘t have a clue about these SONOFF thingis. Hence, I‘m wondering about it’s benefit over a simple relay, ESP, rectifier, and capacitor circuit that one can make for a few bucks and then design it to the particular needs. Perhaps with some OpAmp for current sensing or regulation !?!? Especially without the cloud ecosystem around.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The advantage is the price. It is only a few bucks. And it is ready-made. It will be hard to beat the price because you need a 3.3v power supply, an ESP, a relay, and a case.

[@marsa74]

Andreas Spiess Ahh, Andreas, you‘re right, 7$ is hard to beat. I confused it with the 22 bucks for the Shelley but you corrected that, too.

[@marcusjenkins]

You can use the tool from the itead github to run the Python script on Ubuntu. It has some indentation issues which my Python environment complained about. So, no Windows necessary.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for the info!

[@marcusjenkins]

@@AndreasSpiess The script as-is doesn't work on Ubuntu, as I downloaded it. I am making another one.

[@jeucedahn]

Very, very useful video. Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@JoeCondor79]

Hi Andreas. Does flashing Tasmota firmware mantains the full operativity of the switch contacts? Thanks for your video!

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think so. It does not change the hardware and you can use all ESP pins with it.

[@NicolòMoioli]

@@AndreasSpiess thanks!

[@5speedfatty]

My whole home is Sonoff/ Tasmota controlled. I love that firmware, it has been the foundation of my entire smart home scheme. I even flashed it to a generic ESP to use in my Thermostat. (done as a demonstration for DR. Zzzs.)

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think you are not the only one. These are marvelous devices!

[@5speedfatty]

@@AndreasSpiess yea they have become pretty popular. and heres to hoping they get even more popular.

[@asagk]

5:08 To be honest, I myself like both conditions, the "upset" and the "pissed off" ... :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@SolarMiracle]

Now that You have flashed Tasmota , DIY pins are no longer has affects , so can we use them ? What GPIO ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know it by heart. Maybe you look into the Tasmota Wiki?

[@zoranbozic8592]

Can you use push button instead of the external switch. I turn my light with relay via push buttons. I would replace dumb bistable relays with this. I used 4chPRO and hacked it too accept push buttons but if this works out of the box, it would be better for me.

[@reiner0609]

Hallo Andreas! Passt der Sonoff Mini mit dem eckigen Gehäuse eigentlich in die in Deutschland gebräuchlichen 68mm Unterputzdosen?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Da ich Schweizer bin weiss ich das nicht. Die Abmessungen sind: 43x44x20.

[@JohnBaxendale]

Thank you Andreas, I liked and subscribed. It'd be good to get more info on the switch contacts, as I believe this is the main differentiator of this device over the other Sonoff's. For example, can they only be connected to a "standard" wall switch? Are they limits on the input voltages they'll accept? (presumably the current across the switch contacts must be 0?)

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know because I do not use this function. But I hope you find this info in the data sheet.

[@maans2001]

I know that the Shelly 1 has a Low Voltage (DC) Mode ... Does it require a neutral wire??

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know. Maybe you consult their specifications?

[@Freestila]

So does this fit in normal eu / german wall switches? Or is it too big?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know, because I am Swiss. But one commenter wrote it does not fit. But I am not sure if he owns one and tried.

[@ericoudammerveld424]

Interesting; for the initial not finding of the Mini through your hotspot I would think you ran into “Hotspot Isolation” Quote: Personal Hotspot is designed for sharing a cellular data connection, not for acting as a wireless access point or router. This means that multiple devices connected to the same iOS device cannot connect to one another - they can only access the Internet (assuming the cellular data connection is active). 8 jul. 2015

[@AndreasSpiess]

But the same would be true with my business laptop?

[@ericoudammerveld424]

@@AndreasSpiess indeed; so either you ran into some kind of security leak or Apple is inconsitent (e.g. based on MAC address?) Veeery strange

[@Rob_III]

Could you maybe show / demonstrate how / if it fits in the wall box? Does it fit behind a regular lamp switch?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is very country-specific because most countries have different standards. For sure Switzerland has its own.

[@Rob_III]

@@AndreasSpiess Hmmm I thought it was mostly the same for European countries.

[@AndreasSpiess]

We are not in the EU ;-) But also in the EU I saw many different systems (eg. Italy, UK)

[@Rob_III]

@@AndreasSpiess Not in the EU maybe, but you are in Europe ;-) Anyway, my bad, maybe I assumed too much. I was just curious if they'd fit in these kinds of wall boxes: i.imgur.com/WRaxDQa.png

[@heimdallmidgard4670]

Haha Andreas. Super lustiges und informatives Video. Dankeschön

[@AndreasSpiess]

Bitte, gern geschehen

[@dave.demmel]

Nice that the market gets broader... But I imo Shelly is still better (and smaller). The major problem for me: It supports only 10A. In Germany it should support at least 16A

[@AndreasSpiess]

I found that the relay at least has a TüV stamp for 16A (according to the datasheet). But the Shelly is a good alternative and definitively smaller.

[@-TobsA-]

@@AndreasSpiess Maybe the trace's on the board are to small for 16A.

[@lal12]

@@-TobsA- yeah could be the traces or the screw terminals. Or maybe as a probably rare occasion the German standards are less strict for this case than the German ones ^^

[@markusmohr5470]

Real men use nmap or its GUI zenmap to find out IP addresses. :) Thanks for the video!

[@AndreasSpiess]

So I learned something ;-) Thanks.

[@MetalheadAndNerd]

But smart men look into the DHCP address table of their router. 😉

[@sorin.n]

The smartest ones are directtly reading the ARP protocol by touching the rj45 to their tongue... 😂

[@callsignseth7679]

Real men uses pure Debian with vim, curl and nmap

[@sethrd999]

Nice video, I agree with the clumbsy setup. It would probably not take long to figure out what the win32 app is doing and create a Linux tool ( most likely already being done ). A better tool for testing rest API's is Postman, but I am sure you already knew that.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think with this video a lot of the complexity can be handled (you only have to do it once if you flash Tasmota). And thanks for "Postman". I did not know it.

[@beanMosheen]

I suppose if you wanted to you could build a small Arduino OTA script with wifi manager and compile a bin out of it to use on the built in firmware screen . That could be a way to jump straight into Arduino devlopment instead of Tasmota, and not have to solder wires for an FTDI.

[@AndreasSpiess]

No, I did not want to hack their OTA protocol. They can change it if they want.

[@beanMosheen]

@@AndreasSpiess Sure, I meant in general. I might try it out to put Blynk on one. Thanks fornthe video!

[@kiwijunglist]

Your phone will block the network connection between the sonoff mini and the windows pc. Hotspot is for sharing internet connection, it will purposely block clients from seeing other clients. This is the same as a guest network, if you look at default settings for a guess network then you will understand. If I'm in a guest network at a hotel then I don't want other hotel users to see my computer, same situation as hotspot. It's not a private network so traffic gets blocked by the router (phone).

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not think so because it worked with the second PC

[@palowsky1]

This guy is a legend, thanks mate

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@robin_valk]

Hahaha I love the saltiness in this video. Good entertainment, thanks!! Could you also mention EU certification in future videos? Not only FCC, that would be nice. Once again, thank you for the content 💯

[@AndreasSpiess]

They all have the CE sign. But this is not as easy to check for me because it works with self declaration.

[@electronicstv5884]

Selbst ist der Mann 😂👌 ich kaufe mir glaube ich jetzt einen Sonoff Mini

[@AndreasSpiess]

Wenn di Grösse passt ist das ein gutes Gerät.

[@zoltar99]

Unfortunately with version 3.5.0 they messed it all up, I made the mistake to update my Mini and now this procedure no longer works.

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-( Maybe you find another video?

[@antonamier5890]

First of all thanks for this Video🔝🔝🔝 But sorry for the stubbed question😅 what is the problem of being connected to the cloud of Sonoff !? And after the disconnection could we be able to control it with Alexa!!!? Thanks again 😁

[@AndreasSpiess]

Some people do not like having their data stored in China. And without cloud your devices do not work anymore

[@antonamier5890]

@@AndreasSpiess Ok Thanks for your answer 😁

[@GarryMobi]

While sizing down the device is nice, it's still too large to fit in the European in-wall-installations ... thinking about equipping my window shades with the Shelly2 some time, but considering I need something like 12-14 to do all of the windows is quite an investment ...

[@AndreasSpiess]

And maybe a lot of work for the implementation ;-)

[@ptmoy1]

According to this posting: github.com/itead/Sonoff_Devices_DIY_Tools/issues/36 , there appears to be a virus in the Sonoff DIY Tool. Andreas, do you know anything more about this?

[@AndreasSpiess]

No, I do not know anything about it. So far, I still have all my money on my online bank account ;-)

[@phizicks]

did you remove the ethernet to try it? also check with wireshark and see if it's receiving broadcasting from the unit. you will find that the hotspot is not allowing client to client communications I bet.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am not so sure, because the same setup worked with my business PC

[@MeisterQ]

Well what can i say? I used alot of Sonoff devices. And then i found Shelly. After i found shelly and tested them alot, i never will buy any sonoffs anymore and pay the higher prices for shellys. The fact you can use mqtt "out of the box" is for me the biggest point to buy them. The others are the powermeasurements.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The Shelly is for sure a good device. And still smaller

[@konieckropka7817]

Hi, Can you restore the sonoff mini factory firmware?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I Cannot do it.

[@akbarganey168]

I am unfamiliar with both DIY and Tasmota. Are you saying in the conclusion that Tasmota is the better option?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Tasmota is a good solution. Not the only.

[@JensFra]

So when are you doing a comparison of Sonoff Mini and Shelly 1?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Never. I think other will do it.