Sonoff B3 Wifi - Smartthings

Sonoff B3 wifi and Zigbee units offer a very cheap way to make dumb devices smart. The switches are capable of switching a 240v 10amp load. A 2 pack from amazon costs around £15 - LINK

Sonoff R3 Firmware

Before we begin the firmware upgrade, the Sonoff device needs to be v3.5 or higher. To do this download the ewelink app on android or ios. Follow the instructions about adopting the Sonoff device into the app. Once its connected open the device settings, select firmware and update to 3.5 or newer.

Once the Device is on Firmware 3.5 or newer it uses Protcol v2.0 rather than v1.4 which means the DIY tools configuration changes.

Flashing the Sonoff R3 Wifi

The Sonoff will need to be flashed with Tasmota firmware. This makes the device a locally controlled device rather than a cloud device.

Download the Sonoff DIY Tools

Download the Tasmota firmware

https://ota.tasmota.com/tasmota/release/

For this i used the tasmota lite firmware.

Preparing Sonoff R3

Power up the device and hold the button for 5secs. LED shoud start flashing, 2 short one long. Hold the button for a further 5 secs, the LED will flash continuously.

The device is now in DIY Mode. Once its in DIY mode you can connect to the SSID that the device is broadcasting with the password 12345678

Use your favorite web browser and go to http://10.10.7.1/

Join the device to your own network.

Now it's on your network, find its IP. This is needed for the next stage.

Open DIY Tools. It should display the Sonoff Device.

New SSID.

A SSID starting with tasmotaxxxx should be broabcasting. Join it and once again configure your Wifi settings for it to join your LAN.

Smarthings IDE

Head over to Smartthings IDE. You will need to have your account linked to Github to be able to add repos.

https://github.com/hongtat/tasmota-connect

GitHub Install

1. If you haven’t enabled GitHub integration, please visit here for instructions.
2. Sign in to SmartThings IDE: https://account.smartthings.com/login
3. Under My SmartApps > click Settings > Add new repository > enter the following:

• Owner: hongtat
• Name: tasmota-connect
• Branch: master

1. Under Update from Repo > click tasmota-connect > Select all files > Tick Publish > then Execute Update
2. Under My Device Handlers > click Settings > Add new repository > enter the following:

• Owner: hongtat
• Name: tasmota-connect
• Branch: master

1. Under Update from Repo > click tasmota-connect > Select all files > Tick Publish > then Execute Update
2. Open your SmartThings mobile app
3. Add Tasmota (Connect) SmartApp

• (New) Go to: SmartApps > + > My SmartApps > Tasmota (Connect)
• (Classic) Go to: Automation > SmartApps > Add a SmartApp > My Apps > Tasmota (Connect)

1. For SmartApp and Device Handler updates,
2. Sign in to SmartThings IDE: https://account.smartthings.com/login
3. Under My SmartApps > Update from Repo > click tasmota-connect > Select all files > Tick Publish > then Execute Update
4. Under My Device Handlers > Update from Repo > click tasmota-connect > Select all files > Tick Publish > then Execute Update

Open the Smartthings App on Android or IOS, head over to Smart Apps and install the Tasmota Connect App.

1. Open the Smart App Tasmota Connect

2. Add a device

3. Enter its IP Address.

ALL DONE

Some Issues encountered.

I flashed 7 devices. Some worked first time. Others i had issues with.

At the Stage of entering DIY mode and accessing the SSID and then heading to 10.10.7.1, often the web page wouldnt load. I had to restart the device a number of times before i was able to connect to it.

After connecting the Sonoff to my LAN and attempting to flash the firmware, the progress bar wouldnt move past 0%. Instead of connecting the device to my LAN, i ended up creating a hotspot on my phone then connecting the Sonoff device and my laptop to my phones hotspot and then flashing the firmware.