Flashing ESPHome or Tasmota to a Smart Device

This video will show how to flash both ESPHome and Tasmota to a Sonoff S31 and serves as an example of how to flash custom firmware to a retail device. The result will be use of this device to provide safe charging to a tablet used as a Home Assistant kiosk. See the full video description for parts shown and links to more information.
A written version of this project, including parts, wiring diagrams and code samples, can be viewed here: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/20...
Chapter Links:
==============
00:00 Intro
01:37 Purpose, Intent and Considerations
02:23 Why flash custom firmware?
03:00 Alternatives to Flashing
03:53 The Sonoff S31
04:55 Disassembly
05:55 GPIO Pins and Connecting to USB Flasher
09:27 Selecting the Firmware
10:17 Flashing ESPHome
16:14 Reassembly and Home Assistant Onboarding
17:12 Home Assistant Entities
17:53 Flashing Tasmota
20:42 Tasmota Basic Configuration
23:14 Home Assistant Automations
25:03 Wrap up and More Info
Parts Used or Shown
===================
Sonoff S31 (w/Energy Monitoring): amzn.to/454FiUx
Sonoff S31 Lite: amzn.to/457Kibd
Sonoff S31 Lite Zigbee Plug: amzn.to/44LEzYP
Innr Zigbee Plug: amzn.to/451SvNW
CP2102 USB-to-TTL: amzn.to/3OfAHIB
FTL232RL USB-to-Serial: amzn.to/44IR5IA
USB Extension Cable: amzn.to/47aO3hW
3D Printed S31 Flashing Jig (Thingiverse): www.thingiverse.com/thing:343...
Pogo Pins for Jig: amzn.to/44VWVpO
Dupont Jumpers: amzn.to/3rTQDbF
Hook Clip Test Leads: amzn.to/3YdrCED
USB Digital Tester: amzn.to/3YdB0b7
Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links. Use of these links will not affect your pricing, but this channel may earn a small commission if you make a purchase.
Additional Information:
======================
ESPHome Official Web Site: esphome.io/
ESPHome Device Repository: devices.esphome.io/
Tasmota Official Web Site: tasmota.github.io/docs/
Tasmota Device Repository: templates.blakadder.com/
If you'd like to help support this channel, or just say thanks, you can consider buying me a cup of coffee:
www.buymeacoffee.com/resinche...
#esphome #tasmota #homeassistant

[@joseph3164]

Thank you for your videos, I find them very helpful!

[@spencerssatelliteservices-9132]

Amazing work as always....

[@ResinChemTech]

Thanks... I appreciate it!

[@Tom_H]

Well done. Thank you. Appreciated the ESPHome/Tasmota A:B comparison as an HA newbie trying to figure out my go-to configuration approach.

[@ResinChemTech]

You are welcome! Both ESPHome and Tasmota are excellent options. In the not too distant past, I used to say that ESPHome was a better choice for sensors and Tasmota was better for things like switches and relays. But both have come so far that, other than a few specialized cases, either will work for most projects and it is more of a personal choice. I do think ESPHome is a bit easier for beginners, especially if they have had a bit of exposure to YAML via Home Assistant (although it is really just copy/paste). Tasmota and the configuration can be a bit overwhelming with all the various features and options... and of course it requires MQTT to be setup for Home Assistant integration as well. Thanks for watching and taking the time to post your kind comment.

[@rodneysmith1750]

Great video, well explained and illustrated. I appreciate how you take the time to talk through everything, sometimes, I am a bit slow to catch on, but not so with your videos, thanks loads. I have not used anything with Tasmota yet, but I most likely will be using the ESPhome approach when I work this far down on my to-do list.

[@ResinChemTech]

As always, I appreciate the kind words! I do my best to try to explain everything (even though it makes my videos a lot longer than the "average") because I realize some folks may be looking to trying this for the first time... we all did it the first time at some point! So I figure those with more experience can use the chapter links to skip around if desired, but someone who might want to try this may appreciate the step-by-step approach and explanation. Kind of like building your first WLED controller, it can be a little nerve-racking the first time but then it's a cake walk. And as you can tell in the video, I destroyed more than one in my earlier attempts. So even if you mess it up, you are out $8-$10 and you try it again until you make it work! I do think ESPHome is a bit easier for the first time or two. Previously I felt that Tasmota was better for things like switches and relays, but that really isn't the case any longer and either work fine. Let me know if you decide to give it a shot.

[@roblatour3511]

Absolutely great video, thank you so much for taking the time to put it together!

[@ResinChemTech]

You are very welcome! I hope you found it helpful. The project itself it kind of silly, but the real intent of the video was to show how to flash ESPHome or Tasmota to a device, get native integration into Home Assistant and make a device "yours"... local and without relying on a cloud service that could remove features, shut down or sell your data. Thanks for watching... and taking a few minutes to post a comment. I greatly appreciate it!

[@roblatour3511]

@@ResinChemTech actually I just posted an esphome project on github that links to your video as it is just so spot on!

[@sparky2059]

very good vid thanks

[@ResinChemTech]

Thanks. It won't be a video for everyone, but kinda' like LEDs, once you've flashed your first device, you'll be looking for more devices you can take out of the cloud and control locally. Thanks for watching and taking time to post a comment!

[@terryharrigan6324]

Thanks!

[@ResinChemTech]

Thank you very much! Glad you got it working. Your YAML looked fine, so I don't know why the initial entities were not appearing... maybe something went wonky with the initial integration? Not sure... but the good news is that the entities are now showing as expected. Congrats! And thanks again! Just let me know if you have any other questions!

[@terryharrigan6324]

Thanks to you, I bought 4 more of the Sonoff S31 ($7.50 each) and will use at least 3 of them for some secondary appliances around here. Have four Zen15 by Zooz ($38 each) for the major appliances already@@ResinChemTech

[@terryharrigan6324]

Very well done. Thank you

[@ResinChemTech]

You are most welcome. I hope you found it helpful. Thanks for taking time to post a comment!

[@terryharrigan6324]

I have my first Sonoff S31 waiting on the clips. Newbie HA but retired software engineer. Decided the ESPHome looks the best. Already have a Everything presence one taped to the wall waiting on a case that I did an ESPHome update on last night. Was going to trash the S31 but you convinced me to flash and possibly buy more since they are so cheap. Want the power monitoring feature. Thanks again @@ResinChemTech

[@ResinChemTech]

I have a lot of S31's in use and a number of new ones still in the box. Luckily, these devices are still easily flashable. It wasn't too long ago that nearly every smart home plug, switch, etc. used the ESP8266 which made it potentially flashable with Tasmota, ESPHome, etc. But many manufacturers have either moved away from the ESPx or found other ways to encrypt or prevent custom firmware from being installed (so they can get your data with their cloud account). Thankfully both Sonoff and Shelly (among a handful of others) still support those of us that want to flash our own firmware. Good luck with your future HA projects! I'm around if you run into any questions or problems and am always happy to try to help if I can.

[@terryharrigan6324]

Shelly was the other one I bought at the same time prior to the HA Yellow arriving. The shelly is plugged into my battery and announces to my Sonos (also on battery) that the power is out if we lose power. Two Zooz Z15 arrived today which are now hooked up the the washer and dryer.@@ResinChemTech

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

so versatile.

[@ResinChemTech]

I've used this same technique, or the prior tuya-convert OTA process to flash numerous devices around our home. Besides smart plugs, I've flashed light switches, dimmers and relays. Some smart bulbs can be flashed as well. It's nice to have all those different devices from different manufacturers speaking the "same language", be completely local, and natively interfaced into Home Assistant. Thanks as always for watching... and commenting!

[@Milky_Sunshine]

Thank you for the video. It was useful. That 3d printed clamp looked nifty, but I found soldering a header on these was super simple. I was able to solder, flash and de-solder 4 of these in half the time it would have taken to just 3d print that clamp. In your case, it looks like your iron was WAY too hot. An easy way to avoid that is use a lead/tin solder ( I use 63/37 ). This melts at a lower temp than most of the lead free solders, so you can just add a little of the leaded solder to the pad. I use temps between 270C and 320C on the iron. It bonds very well to the lead free, and makes removal pretty simple as you don't need to keep it super hot to make it flow enough to get the header off.

[@ResinChemTech]

Thanks for the tip. I've actually improved my soldering skills quite a bit since I first started flashing Sonoffs. And while it is true that if you have those skills, it can be much quicker than 3D printing the jig. On the other hand, now that I have the jig, it is literally a matter of seconds for me to attach the jig (which is already pre-wired for the flasher), then flash and remove it. Definitely quicker for me than the time it would take to even setup and pre-heat the iron. But I guess it depends on how many and how often you plan on flashing. I think I have somewhere around a dozen flashed Sonoffs (and other half dozen still in the box), so for me personally, the time to print the jig was worth it since I can continue to reuse it over and over... and have no real potential of damaging the pads. Of course either method works, so whatever is most efficient for you. Thanks for watching... and thanks again for sharing the tips.

[@Milky_Sunshine]

@@ResinChemTech You're absolutely right... I see the benefit of the jig and definitely considered it. I only commented because the soldering wasn't as scary as it seemed in the video. Granted, I have decades of experience soldering, so that definitely helps. Sorry if I sounded negative, I was just trying to suggest to others that they shouldn't be deterred from the soldering route if they have any experience at all. Cheers

[@ResinChemTech]

No problem... and absolutely no offense taken! And I agree with you about not deterring people from soldering... and I probably shouldn't have been so "negative" about soldering. I just know that as a channel targeted primarily at beginners or those with somewhat limited experience, I get a lot of comments from people that can't or simply don't want to solder. And I know how frustrated I became when I was first learning (really not all that long ago actually). So I generally try to provide alternatives when possible (such as my LED controller... where I have both a soldered version and a separate breadboard-only version). I do try to encourage folks that are hesitant to give soldering a try. It really is just practice, practice, practice! And yeah, you'll probably mess up a component or two along the way.... but I guess that's the nature of learning DIY. I really do appreciate your tip. While I've learned a lot more about tool temperature and solder types, it is always great to have someone else remind others of these options. So, thanks again for sharing the tips. I really do appreciate and apologize if my initial response seemed more harsh than I intended!

[@Tntdruid]

There are a nice charging blueprint on the HA forums, let you set max charge % then turn off the plug.

[@ResinChemTech]

Thanks for the tip. As I mentioned in the video, there are multiple ways to create the charging automation. But the video was really about how to flash ESPHome and Tasmota to a device. The automation was just meant as an example of one way you could use a smart plug. I'm not a big user of blueprints as I generally just write my own YAML automations, but I do know that a lot of other folks use them, so I do appreciate you sharing the info. Thanks for watching.

[@jeffro.]

This was somewhat helpful. At least, starting out. I'm familiar with using microcontrollers for all sorts of things, and how to program them. (I'm SO GLAD they got away from requiring a dedicated "programmer" connected to a parallel port on my computer on order to do so!) However, I'm just getting started with HA and flashing these devices to work with HA. You've provided helpful info that other videos have not provided! 1. E.g., that flashing Tasmota requires the use of a MQTT broker. I didn't know that, I wanted to use the wifi version. Are you sure you're not thinking about the ZB version? 2. Also, since you've obviously done this before, you forgot to mention that we have to install drivers for the USB-Serial convertor, along with configuring which serial port Windows assigns to the hardware, so it will do correctly in software (you'd think it should do that automatically by now!) 3. Also, you were somewhat confusing about where you got some of the info when creating the yaml file for ESP-Home. Maybe I'll find that info out after doing some more reading? (I sure hope so.) You left a lot of "holes" in that info, and you didn't say where to find the info. (I don't have a 3D printer! Won't be getting one just for this, either. So, I'll just have to rig up some wires for flashing like I always do. I have a half-dozen different USB-232 convertors, anyway, some I like better than others. ) 4. Wait a minute. Um, about the actual flashing of the firmware.... Didn't I read that ESP-Home requires that you flash it using a USB port on the computer that's actually running Home Assistant? That's a lot different from using the "Tasmota Web Flasher" on a personal laptop or desktop computer. But, you didn't say ANYTHING show that! Whereas, when flashing Tasmota, we'd use our personal computer, and NOT the server running Home Assistant. 5. You didn't say anything about the to set or configure (or find) the IP address on the ESP-Home firmware! (At least you covered that on the Tasmota one.) 6. At ~24 :30 you create an automation based on the charge of the tablet. But you never say how HA is supposed to get that info! You're just turning a relay on or off, that's all that Home Assistant knows. How does it get info based on the status of the batteries charging on the tablet?! You don't mention ANYTHING about that. Lots of things left out. What info exactly did you provide in this video? More questions than answers, I think. Gee, a LOT of omissions there. The things you're assuming that the viewer already knows are astounding, especially considering the level of info that you DO provide. Hmmm. Overall I'd say this was somewhat helpful, but now that I think about it, in slightly confused about some things that I thought I had already figured out! (I've been adding comments as I watch the video.) Oh, well. Mostly sorta well done. Final grade went from 3/5 to 2/5 to 1/5. Thanks, though. 👌 👍

[@ResinChemTech]

I'm sorry that you felt that I left "holes" in my video. But at over 25 minutes long already, it is simply impossible to cover every possible scenario for every possible case. Yes... there are some key points that maybe I should have included, but I often cover those exact topics in some of my other videos. But let me "fill in a few gaps" for you: 1. Yes... I'm positive the "wifi" version of Tasmota requires MQTT for Home Assistant integration: See the very second paragraph here: tasmota.github.io/docs/Home-Assistant/ 2. Seriously? I have to cover driver installation? To be honest, nearly all modern version of Windows (10 and later) already have the USB-to-Serial drivers installed. I've only ever had to install a driver on one machine and that was because it was an oddball laptop. I've never had to install a driver on any of my other multiple Windows machines. You shouldn't need to "configure" anything on the Windows side. Again, as I show in the video, you just select the proper COM port that your device is connected to when prompted. You aren't inferring that the COM port will always be the same for everyone for every device on every machine correct? Of course not! 3. I showed EXACTLY where to get the YAML and even left links to those sites down in the video description, which I also mentioned in the video itself. This was simply copied/pasted from the ESPHome site to the YAML in my ESPHome node, just changing things like the entity names and/or other desired settings. I couldn't have been more clear about this part. 4. You don't need to flash from the machine running Home Assistant. If you actually watched the full video, I show the different options for installation, including "installing from this computer".. which isn't the one running Home Assistant. Due to browser security, if you are not using SSL for your HA, then you have the extra step of downloading the bin before selecting that bin on the upload page. But any machine with Chrome that can connect to Home Assistant can flash ESPHome. Maybe you should do a little of your own research as all this information is available on the ESPHome site... and also in the Home Assistant documentation. 5. You don't really need to know the ESPHome IP address as it doesn't have a web interface (unless you explicitly add one. and you don't have to "visit" the device configuration page to set it up like you do Tasmota). If you really want to know the IP address, you can easily see it displayed at the top of the device's log file each time you open it. Or you can simply do like you do with other devices... use your router to find the IP address. I didn't cover how to get it because you don't need it to get the ESPHome device to work and integrate with Home Assistant. OK.. I won't even address the rest. If you are not willing to do at least some basic research, then Home Assistant may not be the system for you. And my videos may not be in the learning style that you apparently need. If you had spent the time that it took to note all the "flaws" in my video just doing some basic research on your own, or at least looking at the basic requirements for Tasmota or ESPHome (from links I even provided) you most likely would have answered all of your own questions. I try my best to make videos that are helpful for those that are starting out or with a bit of experience... and those that are willing to learn or possibly do some basic research. But there are over 114 million KZbin channels out there, so if mine isn't a fit for your style, I'm sure you can find one that is.

[@andreamitchell4758]

have you considered just powering the tablet from the battery terminals and just removing the battery altogether? I tried this with a few different cell phones with mixed results, one wored fine the other would shut down sometimes and it would not power on all the time I finally go frustrated with it and stopped useing it, they were both Samsung I think the battery has the charging circuit attacheed to it so you might either need to remove the charging circuit fromthe battery or figure out how to emulate it somehow, putting power to the terminals doesn't always work and probablt only works on really old devices. even with the automation I would not feel comfortabe have the batter in there constantly charging and discharing because the screen is always on, it will still puff up and might explode eventually. I had it happen on 2 old cell phones I used to use to run tasker RM bridge on for Alexa devices.

[@ResinChemTech]

Well, as I mentioned in the video there are a lot of other ways to address the charging issue and the video was really about how to flash alternate local firmware to a device. The tablet charging was really just a simple example of how you might use a these Home Assistant integrated devices in an automation. But removing the battery altogether would be the safest option... if you can get the device apart and back together again. I actually did replace the batteries in the original tablet (I didn't cover that in the video) and while the tablet works, the process of breaking it open and putting it back together did affect the touch on the screen so it doesn't work as well as it did before. But I appreciate the suggestion and alternate approach to the problem.

[@terryharrigan6324]

Trying the second one now. Not getting off "Connecting" (~15:38 in your video). Basically never see erasing. Clips on pad look perfect. I was using a different USB extender cable and retried with the one I used when successfully flashing the first one days ago. Ideas? Tried twice. The second time held the flashing button down for much longer.

[@ResinChemTech]

So it sounds like you are seeing the proper COM port and connecting to it. But it won't start the actual flash, correct? I know these are the obvious things that you've probably checked, but the most common cause of this is one of the following: Spotty wiring connections Reversed RX/TX lines (RX -> TX and TX -> RX) Device (S31) not in flashing mode Issue with web installer/permissions Since this is the second device you've flashed and you said the connections look fine, it is probably not a web installer issue (you could try using something like NodeMCU flasher or ESPHome Flasher to load the bin locally if you want to rule this out). Double check that you haven't reversed your RX/TX connections. But the most likely culprit here, based on what you are describing, is that the S31 isn't in flashing mode. I know you said you held the button down longer, but it is really at the point that power is applied that the button needs to be fully pressed. Sometimes an extra set of hands can help as it can be tricky to assure the button is depressed while also plugging in the USB power. More than once, I've had to try multiple times to get the S31 into flashing mode. I'd give it a few more shots...after you've tried it multiple times.. and can assure that the button is pressed BEFORE power is applied and remains pressed until after power is applied and then released, you can investigate other causes. But from what you are saying, it is either a wiring issue, the S31 is not in flashing mode... or the remote possibility that there is something wrong with the S31 itself.

[@terryharrigan6324]

Will follow this msg up. Retired embedded reverse software engineer. Used to trouble shooting. Checked the connections (actually have a picture of it). Swapped USB extension cords. Rebooted laptop, used different laptop USB port, redid connections on pad. No joy. Only thing left was to try another S31. Just finished using the same .bin. Worked perfect. I have 3 more to do including the 1 I got nowhere with. Will return to that last. Keep you posted @@ResinChemTech

[@ResinChemTech]

Sorry... I didn't mean to insult your intelligence. I'm never sure of the experience level when someone leaves a comment similar to yours, but this channel is generally geared towards beginners, so I generally start with the basics/most common causes before moving onto other potential issues. No disrespect intended. But it does sound like an issue with that one particular S31. I've had numerous bad ESP8266 and ESP32 boards, but have been fortunate that I've never run into that with an Sonoff device. Possibly a bad or damaged pad? I wish Sonoff would provide thru holes or even pin headers like Shelly does, but that's not the hand we're dealt! Hopefully you are in a return window where maybe you could return or exchange the one? But if you do keep it and eventually get it to work, please let me know what you found!

[@terryharrigan6324]

No insult taken. Mainly gave you my background so you knew what level you were working with. I'll skip all the debugging I did. The short answer is they all work now. I expect a connect with the probes. I did reset them on the FT232RL side. I now have 5 functional Sonoff S31 installed in HA. Thanks. @@ResinChemTech

[@MaxGoddur]

I noticed that when you skipped adding the Encryption key, it still appeared in the YAML in the next step. This suggests that skipping the addition of encryption key is more like skipping the installation of the yaml to the device rather than skipping the addition of the encryption key? Time stamp 11:09

[@ResinChemTech]

Correct. When I click "skip" on that particular page, I am not skipping the encryption key (as you can see right after that, the encryption key is in my YAML). What I am skipping is installing the base ESPHome configuration to the device at that point. I'm skipping it because I want to add the rest of my configuration to the YAML before I flash the device. Theoretically, I could have clicked install here and flashed just the basic ESPHome file... really just the wifi credentials and the OTA/API information. But then I would have still needed to edit the file to add the S31 configuration information, then flash or upload the changed file again (although the second time it could have been done wirelessly since the device would have been online). But personally, I'd rather just have to flash the device once and be done with it, rather than flashing once for the base config, then updating a second time for the full device config. So no, I was not skipping the encryption key... I was just skipping the installation at that point in time. I guess that particular screen could be a little confusing, but it is giving you the option to specify your own encryption key instead of an auto-generated one. The links at the bottom are to 'Install' or it should probably be labeled "Skip Install".

[@MaxGoddur]

@@ResinChemTech thank you and I noticed you use your own passwords entered into the secrets file. Thank you.

[@andreamitchell4758]

What are the belkin and hue emulation options for in Tasmota? would you still need a broker like MQTT if you were just interested in using the device with a voice assitant like google home or alexa or would it just work and get detected by alexa and google home if youn enabled one of those options and didn't have broker set up? would it stilll use belkin servers or would it be locally controlled? also what if you have the devce set up with a broker and you also enable the belkin or hue option would it create 2 devices and cause a conflict? I ask because I am just using tasmota for the first time but I still have not got into HA yet, I am uisng a smartthings edge driver with my tasmota devices. Does ESP home also have a similar option to emulate hue or belkin? I set up tasmota on my H801 LED RGBWW controllers but it sucks and there are no options I can find to configure the device how i want it for example there is no way to have the light fade in when you switch it on or do smoth fade transition between colors or to separate the 2 white channels. maybe WLED would be better but does it have those options and can it control regular non ddressable12v RGBW strip? for the most part I cna do everyhting in alexa or google routines and I have iFTT ( but I would like to ditch it now that it is no longer free) that is why I never bothered with HA and why I really never use ST anymore either, I really only care to use the voice assistants but I heard you need to pay to do that with HA or that the free way is very complicated to set up.

[@ResinChemTech]

I really don't know anything about Belkin or Hue emulation with either Tasmota or ESPHome... as I use all my devices with Home Assistant. And my wife basically interacts with all of our smart home devices and automations via voice as well (Google in my case). But I do have the Nabu Casa subscription that makes the voice integrations extremely easy to setup. I can not only control devices directly but can launch automations and scripts.. and customize multiple phrases to use. Yes, it can be done without the paid subscription, but as you say, it is quite a bit more complicated to setup. WLED does support some non-addressable LED strips, including 12V RGBW, but some additional setup is needed. See here: kno.wled.ge/basics/compatible-led-strips/ Sorry I can't be more help on the Belkin/Hue emulation topic. I simply haven't looked into it since I don't have a need as everything I have runs through Home Assistant. You could check both the ESPHome and Tasmota web sites for Belkin and/or Hue Emulation and see if anything turns up.

[@jeffro.]

Not sure why you're even wanting to use Belkin or Hue. The whole point of using Home Assistant, Tasmota and/or ESP-Home is to get away from using outside vendors and their demands, like subscription svcs and cloud software. I think trying to use either Tasmota or ESP-HOME without Home Assistant is making things more complicated than they need to be. HA isn't really that complicated. You can actually make it as easy or complicated as you wish! (I have seen some systems where it's overly-complex, simply because that's the way the person wanted to do it!) I try to make mine as simple as possible, because that way, after not thinking about it for months, I can troubleshoot it if I need to without having to delve into a lot of brain-twisting, and then get back to what I usually do easily. Good luck!

[@andreamitchell4758]

@@jeffro. Ok but the main reason I haven't set up HA yet is that I am still unclear abt the voice assistant integration and if it is free or if you need to pay a monthly fee or not for Alexa and Google Home. I already have smart things and I just have used the edge drivers for tasmots but like I said my RGBW strip controllers lost functionality when I was forced to switch from the smarthing groovy drivers after Samsung killed it I am not happy with tasmota because now the strips just turn on and off abruptly and also abruptly change from one color to another. With the old groovy IDE setup I was using they would fade on and fade off and fade when switching colors. Pretty sure my HUE lights fade on and off and when switching colors so I figured that emulation would do it too and it would be easier to just use that

[@509McGavin]

Ive been trying for days. I cannt get mine to connect to flash it. Not with esphome self hosted, not with esp home web, tasmoto web, or with esptool on linux. Port not available or invalid headers at 0x00 possible serial noise or corruption. Ive triple checked to make multiple services are not trying to use ttyUSB0. No dice. What should the indicator lights look like on the s31 when successfully put in boot mode? No light, blue steady, red and blue steady flash, i see multiple blue patterns depending on when i push and how long etc. Any ideas?

[@ResinChemTech]

I can't say for sure, but do you have the proper driver installed and working? This is normally either CP2102 or CH340 for most devices. I had all sorts of issues trying to flash with a Lenovo laptop, despite the fact that I _thought_ I had installed the proper drivers, but in my case, I needed a special driver directly from Lenovo for the serial to TTL port to work. It sounds like a valid connection/communication is not being established between the device and computer... and in my experience that is almost always due to a missing or incorrect driver on the machine being used to flash. That's at least my initial thought based on what you are describing.

[@509McGavin]

​@@ResinChemTechWhat about the indicator lights for boot mode? What should I expect to see the s31 do?

[@509McGavin]

No lights i guess. I got it finally. Thanks for the great video!

[@jeffro.]

I wouldn't worry about the lights on the S31, just make sure that the computer is communicating with the USB-serial device first. You might have better luck using a different convertor, make sure it has the FTDI chip in it. Also, that the serial port assigned by the hardware matches the one set it software. Good luck!

[@gorgonbert]

Why can’t devices like that tablet just have a „constantly pluged in“ mode where it keeps the battery at I don’t know like 50% … it would be so easy for manufacturers to implement something like that 🙄

[@ResinChemTech]

Some devices (and now even chargers) have some "smarts" built-in that will shut off or greatly reduce the power draw when a device is fully charged, just occasionally applying slight power to keep the battery topped off (I originally showed this in the video but had to cut it for time). But that still keeps a constantly powered device at or near 100%. But on the flip side, I'm sure that lower cost or 'basic' devices and chargers lack some of these more advanced features. I do like the idea of something I could configure on my tablet, phone, etc. where I could specify a battery level range to maintain. I think there are probably some automation platforms like Tasker or AutomateIt where a routine similar to this could be created. Thanks for watching and taking time to leave a comment.

[@terryharrigan6324]

Grumble.... Well, I got the Sonoff S31 (not Lite) flashed using the ESPHome technique. It's seen on HA but only 4 entities and none useful (Allowed, rate, type, signal strength). Not even switch state let alone any Power, watts, volts, amps. Did use the std (not lite) file that you do in your video.

[@ResinChemTech]

I didn't have any need for the energy values in my particular use case as shown in the video, so I did not add those entities to the ESPHome file. Did you edit the ESPHome YAML configuration file to add the entities? If you want the energy readings, then you should add those per the ESPHome documentation for the S31 here: devices.esphome.io/devices/Sonoff-S31 I'm not sure where things like "allowed, rate, type and signal strength" are even coming from as those are not defined in either my or the 'official' configuration linked above. Do you somehow have those defined in your ESPHome YAML configuration? If you use the configuration linked to above, you should see those entities as sensors in Home Assistant. Not sure why you aren't seeing the binary sensor (button) or relay (as a switch) unless they are not defined in the YAML node. Update your config to match the above and do an OTA update and see if that results in the entities being created.

[@terryharrigan6324]

I used that code. Added the special log line and your reset button. I could send you the YAML in the EspHome I actually used but now sure how to contact you.@@ResinChemTech

[@terryharrigan6324]

Think I just sent you the YAML via e-mail

[@terryharrigan6324]

Not sure why, but working now. All I did this morning is plug it back in and ran the device's log. There I saw all the attributes show up. Then went back to look at the device again and they were all there. Thanks for your support @@ResinChemTech

[@jeffro.]

@terryharrington: Sometimes you just need to power-cycle (reboot) the S31 again. Maybe that's all it was. Glad you got it working!

[@techydude]

It's just as likely you've set your tablet up for even more premature failure. Short version: Sure, there's a risk that leaving a Li-Ion battery at 100% *might* result in battery-bulge, but see-sawing through the battery's limited cycle-life via automation invokes another potential battery-bulge mechanism, amongst the other known causes, as well as guaranteeing the battery will wear out in a year or so. There is no measurable benefit to doing this. Just leave the device connected and battery charged up to 100%, unless the device give you the option to set the SoC lower. Long Version: People have read in all sorts of well-meaning places on the internet how Lithium rechargeable batteries “don’t like” being at state-of-charge (SoC) extremes (100%, 0%) for long periods, that it minimises cycle-life. Also that extended periods of sitting at 100% can cause the dreaded ‘battery bulge’ where the cell expands like a balloon and breaks out of the product. And while that is true, these are both second-order effects, or put another way, long periods at either extreme **might** result in lowering cell cycle life or battery-bulge, but there are **several** common causes for battery-bulge; it’s up to the fine detail of how a cell is manufactured as to what treatment will result in failure of one type or another, and this is largely unknowable by the consumer when a product is new. The first-order / primary factor is simply **using** the battery! Using the battery is a literally guaranteed way of soaking up its cycle-life! That, say, 500 cycle life spec that the battery manufacturer quotes in its datasheet & promo materials of the product it’s put in could be used up with 500 full 100-0-100% discharge/recharge cycles (resulting in only 80% or 70% or even 50% energy storage capacity remaining depending on manufacturer’s warranty generosity/lack thereof), or you could go through several thousand cycles of only a 10% depth of discharge (100->90->100%). Or if your gadget has advanced user control over cell max/min states of charge, i.e. don’t charge above 70% or below 20%, then sure you’ll get 5000+ cycles out of it. But most ‘mobile device’ gadgets don’t have that control, because maximising on-battery run-time is the design imperative; this is contrary to modern BEV battery management policy, for example, where avoiding extremes of SoC is what allows the car manufacturer to offer such long battery warranties (and even then they still don’t get it right and cop massive recall/replacement costs!). So, unless it’s one of the rare mobile device gadgets that does allow limiting state-of-charge excursions, then running your device in a way that it’s see-sawing through those state-of-charge cycles 24/7 is more likely to CAUSE the dreaded battery-bulge problem than avoid it! Of course, this is the internet and each person’s anecdotes with a few devices over the past decade rules supreme, and the electronics engineer who’s designed products with all kinds of batteries of all size ranges, over here facepalming in the corner, is usually ignored 😉

[@ResinChemTech]

Thanks for all the info. But as I mentioned in the video, it really wasn't about the automation of charging a tablet but really about flashing custom firmware to a retail device. The automation of charging the tablet was simply an example of what you could do with a custom-flashed device. But for the record, I don't think I'm really see-sawing the battery. So far with normal use, the battery gets charged about once every 5-7 days and falls through normal daily use until it hits 20% and it gets recharged until 80%, at which point charging stops for another 5-7 days... no different than my other tablet that gets used and then plugged in when the battery gets low. Maybe it would be better to keep it at 100%, but I can say that what I did with the prior tablet and ended up with the swollen batteries. Maybe the same thing will happen here. But again, this video wasn't really about charging a tablet... it was just a simple example for the real intent... flashing custom firmware. But I appreciate the time you spent explaining battery life.

[@joeking5211]

PPPLLLEEEAASSSEEE If you are going to rattle on re HA put in the title. Why oh why are ALL YT vids on Tasmota and more importantly to me as just attempting to start to try and use ESPHome do they need to wrap HA into the mix. desperately typing to find plain vanilla 'hello world' startup for ESPHome WITHOUT dammed HA there just does'nt seem to be any that stick with the vid title without being infected with HA. Sorry for the rant but i've trawled YT in an attempt to get running in ESPHome and all i get is HA, it seems like an infection and yet Tasmota which i have used for 8+ years with nodered has NOTHING to do with HA, yep can be used with it ok, and now trying to start with ESPHome and EVERY tutorial i see is infected like the HA plague. I guess there must be one vid out there that does the job but, well, i can't find it. Thks and Kind Rgds. At 10:48 you say you are in ESPHome, how did you get there?, what IDE is that can't see it on ESPHome site, unless i missed that as well ?.

[@ResinChemTech]

Well, seeing how ESPHome is now "owned" by the same entity that "owns" Home Assistant (Nabu Casa) and is probably both the preferred and easiest way to get DIY devices into Home Assistant, you are probably going to find that most ESPHome videos involve Home Assistant as some point. And while it is certainly possible to use ESPHome on a device without Home Assistant (just like Tasmota), that is probably not the most common use case. And if a creator is making a video for the largest audience it is probably going to include Home Assistant since this is most common use case for ESPHome. And in my defense, while I might not have included Home Assistant in the title, there is a big Home Assistant logo right in the middle of the thumbnail and Home Assistant is also referenced in the video description. So I don't feel that I did some sort of "bait and switch". I fully understand the rant, but do feel that I at least indicated that Home Assistant would be part of the video via both the thumbnail and video description.

[@joeking5211]

Sir, Many thks for you fast reply. I am in now way trying to belittle you at all but i have been on a frustrating and endless quest to find info. I just found ESPHome only recently after years of Tasmota and nodered and that is the reason for the rant, nothing to do with your expertise and kind help for those HA nuts. I did not know that they are now owned by HA, so sorry for that, I guess now we will see ESPHome going to dogs, what a crying shame from what I have seen of ESPHome in my few days of looking. Oh well, it happens to all the good stuff once it get taken over, so many many examples out there over years. I have spent many many many hours attempting to get my dozen or so devices working with HA and with 8+ years of ESP programming, Tasmota setups and Node-Red programming devices all operating fine with mqtt, i thought it was going to be a 5 min job to take a look at this HA that haunts the net, and I totally failed, and i'm not a exactly a total newbee. HA with my mqtt Tasmotas and some of my own ESP coded devices cannot be found in the HA installed here, latest ver always used as they say you should, used 3 different vers, but it can find about 650 or so devices here on the last count and none of them are my devices other peoples devices from seemingly around the planet somehow, totally mental, and no way of being able to make sense of it, how anyone uses it i'm just lost, i realise they do in great numbers, but i'm totally baffled as it does not work here, correction 650 or so devices none which are mine In my defense this vid title on my browser is listed as: "Flashing ESPHome or Tasmota to a Smart Device" and as for the "big Home Assistant logo right in the middle of the thumbnail and Home Assistant is also referenced in the video description" again i'm lost, where do you mean ????, i have taken a few looks over the page but still don't see icons. But please accept a genuine thks for your prompt reply and the sad news of ESPHome's possible future fate, at least it has made realise i would have been possibly fighting a loosing battle here and so you prompted me to drop the ESPHome idea and stick with Tasmota. Kind Rgds to you and Happy New Year ???@@ResinChemTech

[@jeffro.]

@joeking5211: I understand your frustration, as I've recently had a similar experience with an unrelated thing. My way if solving my problem is apparently different from everyone else's! However... Home Assistant is NOT a virus, it is very smartly designed, well-maintained FOSS that is used by people who want to have home automation without relying on manufacturer's cloud software or paid subscriptions. We want to protect our privacy and have control over our own homes. That's it. Having stated that, there is NO WAY you're seeing anyone else's devices when you're using HA, as long as you're using it on your own LAN, for which it is intended. It is not for use on the Internet. Therefore, the devices you're seeing are simply things that you don't understand their meaning, not that they're on another LAN. That's simply impossible. HA makes everything easier, and ties it together for things like backing up your configuration, and other useful tasks. I think maybe if you try to have an open mind, you might actually like using Home Assistant. It was designed to accomplish exactly what you've been doing, but in a more elegant way. (I will point out that occasionally, things are not implemented the way I would prefer, but if you consider they're trying to make the software to be used by many different people, who solve problems in different ways, I think they're doing a really great job. Recall that there are many ways to solve any problem.) If you're smart enough to automate things with NodeRed and Tasmota, then you should have no problem using HA. Try it, you'll see that it is "not another thing that has gone to the dogs," but in fact, just the opposite. I really think you'll like it, if you just take a breath, and give it a chance!