[APP][Cloud & Pro] SwitchBot (Release 2.0.57, Test 2.0.60)

The code and instructions are here :

You might need an ESP32 with a bit more memory than that one though.

Just use the normal SwitchBot app on Homey and it will automatically boost the BLE devices.

Dear @Adrian_Rockall could you maybe be (a little) more specific which ESP32 you would recommend and where (Amazon or AlieExpress) to buy ?

How about these :

https://amzn.eu/d/0eMusgNM ?

Thank you very much for all your help & effort.

I have a couple of recommendations in the repo readme, but they are quite old now.

I think they should be OK. They don’t specify how much FLASH they have, but they have a good RAM size, so I guess they are a good spec.

The app is quite large, so you will need one with at least 4MB of FLASH.

I might have found even a better one in my opinion but would like have your opinion/input about this one:

And will I need to remove snd reinstall/ pair the BLE switchbot devices again to homey after setting up 2 or 3 of these ESP32 devices?? Or can I leave them like now the have been added to my Homey Pro 23 ?

@DoctorBazinga: Just FYI, I am using this ESP32 board (off Amazon) for running Adrian’s ESP32 BLE Hub:

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Yep, that one looks OK. Plenty of RAM and suitable FLASH size.

Just leave them like they are now. The app will detect the ESP32 and request the list of devices that it has found. If it finds one with a MAC address that matches the device in Homey it will use that, plus the ESP32 will push changes to Homey.

The range on the ESP32 is pretty good, so you might only need 1, but if you have more it will get updates from all of them and use the one that reports the strongest signal from the device to send commands.

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They are so inexpensive (usually) that I would highly recommend getting more than one. I bought the 3-Pack that @Adrian_Rockall recommended and it was only $25 CAD total (14.24 EUR). Not sure if that’s the same actual pricing you’d get, but I would not expect it to be much more than that.

I thought I was managing with just one, but it turned out that the signal for one of my contact sensors was just a little too weak.

I just received my ESP32-S3-Zero device from Amazon ( [APP][Cloud & Pro] SwitchBot (Release 2.0.57, Test 2.0.60) - #2115 by DoctorBazinga ) I connected it and did the flash.

After the flash was finished is started erratically to disconnect & connect to my usb port on my laptop. and the LED because from blue to 1 or 2 seconds red and then off. Now it seems dead / at least still erratically connecting/disconnecting to the usb port.

Sending it back to Amazon. :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

How much power does it need ?

I would suggest try flashing with a different cable first. You may have just done a corrupt upload of the firmware due to the cable, not being able to sufficiently transfer the data.

I fotgot to mention. Sorry thah I already tried another USB C to usb-C cable fresh out of the box and the USB-C port I use(d) is normally occupiet by a samsung T7 external ssd drive for backup.

In the 1st attempt to flash the ESP32-S3-Zero I used the same cable I,m using for the Samsung T7 ssd drive. An Before my 1st flash “finished”this erratically disconnecting/connecting / detecting / not detecting the device on/to the usb port wasn’t happening.

But the led on the device was at 1st connect to my laptop constsnt blue. After Flashing was finished it began flashing red.

I disconnected it after 5 -6 seconds been “finished” flashed and 3 or 4 times flashing red led and connected again and the led was completely off and started this erratically behavior.

(by the way: this thing is so tiny. Smaller than a postal stamp. (And I was a collector of some of the smallest stamps in the world in my childhood).)

I chose the ESP23-S3-Zero because of the support of Bluetooth 5 so it would be more future proof for (upcoming) SwitchBot bluetooth devices. Also Bluetooth 5.x has a bigger range and speed and has been developped/meant for wearable and IOT-devices. )

Not sure whether a factor: I had to change the SPI mode in the flash tool to DIO (instead of the default QIO) in order to get the ESP32 to work properly.

Thanks.

But “DIO” didn’t do anything (better).

Have a nice weekend.

Too bad; was worth a try.

I have order a pack of those from Amazon, which should be with me tomorrow to have a play.

That would be awesome if you could make it to work because I just received another/ 2nd one and did the same with the flashtool and now its "malfuntioning” the same as the 1st one.

Here some screenshots from my flash routine:

Athe the 1st flash (attempt) the device is 1st flashing a few time blue with the led than begings flshinh red when discovered an installed ad USB device on my windows 10 laptop.

It doesn’t matter If I use QIO or DIO. The Flash is Finished.

AFTER the 1st flash that has finished the led isn’t lighting up at all. Its dark.

So I just disconnected the device for a power cycle and connected it to a USB-c powersupply and began searching for the wifi accespoint. (LED is still constantly dark). Nothing within 5 minutes. So reconnected it to my laptope and there its reattempting to connect (=connecting /disconnecting (sound)) to the usb every 2 seconds.) But miraculously I can stille attempt/try it to flash again and it also finishes again.

I think you are using the wrong image. The instruction states that you need to use the ‘merged’ version of the image: SwitchBotBLEHub.ino.merged.bin.

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Ok.

If it just would have been so easy :

And still no “live-sign”. (No led and no wifi “Switchbot_ESP32” (acces point).

Soecs of the powersupply I (intend to) use if its not connected to my laptop. Its just new/fresch out og irs packaging.
Same as I use them for 7 pieces of ESP32-D1 mini modules= nodes for “espresence” (still for my Home Assistant. Maybe Later I transfer to Homey.)

:person_shrugging:t2:

(by the way I have tried to use Ardinio IDE but got really confueds at the specified version number of thinks to add and ath point 7 > I had to give up. maybe some screenshots in the guide/explanation would be (extra) usefull. Too much menu /screenoptions for me.)

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I understood that the merged-version also includes the partition/file/boot system and the non-merged version only the BLE Hub software. Hence, for the initial flash you need the merged version and for future updates only the version you initially tried (though you upload that via the BLE hub’s web interface). Though it was not the definitive solution, the non-merged version would not have worked.

What happens if you use the Erase-option in the flash tool and then reflash it with the image?

Also: in one of your prior posts I saw that you started the flash tool with ‘LoadMode’ USB. In my case this is UART (which I cannot change). Do you have the option to to change it to UART?

OK.

I did the erase once.

After that I disconnected the device. Shut down the flash too. Reconnected the device. Started the flashtool and chose ESP32-S3 / Develop / UART.

And flashed the merged file on it until finish. Then disconnected the device invl. cable and connected it to the power supply. NOTHING !

Thank You very much for your time and efforts helping me YOU ALL. I’m feeling more and more in your dept because You invest so much time etc. in a humble newbie (in esp32) like me.

Have a nice weekend. ( No stress / hurry. This problem is not life threatening. )

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