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README.md
This firmware makes the Sonoff Wi-Fi Smart Switch compatible with Apple Homekit!
Homekit runs on the Sonoff !
Unlike other projects on github, this firmware does NOT require anything else in order to work. It is not based on the Tasmota Fw, you don’t need HomeBridge running on a Raspberry-Pi or an MQTT server, since HomeKit runs natively are enough a Wi-Fi connection and an Apple Device!
The implementation use Apple provided specifications for developers, so it is a stable and supported software and it will keep working for a long time.
Now you finally can have a HomeKit devices without spending a lot of money!
This Software is currently tested on: Sonoff Basic, Sonoff Slampher, Sonoff S26 (thanks Arjan)
Click on the image for play the video:
For control your Sonoff from a non Apple device just navigate to the Sonoff IP address and a web page will allow you to turn it on or off
A full set of Rest APIs are available:
All the request are in GET and are relative to the IP address of the Sonoff. In order to turn on the Sonoff at IP 192.168.0.22 you can: curl 192.168.0.22/on
AutoReconnect after power outage
A problem with the old firmware was that after a power outage the Sonoff was immediately searching for the stored Wi-Fi connection, but since the router was still powering on the Sonoff was prompting the configuration procedure. Now this problem is fixed, if the Sonoff does not have a Wi-Fi Connection every 10min the Sonoff will restart.
By default the Sonoff will have a Enabled state at power on, you can change this by selecting “OFF” in the flash.sh script
- Unplug your sonoff from the power line (or you can burn your PC)
- Connect your Sonoff to a serial adapter @ 3.3v
- Run the flash.sh script
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to the new Wi-Fi network Sonoff Switch-xxx
- Wait for the Captive Portal and select your Wi-Fi network
- Insert your Wi-Fi Password
- Open the Home app
- Click the symbol
- Click I don’t have the code.
- Select the Sonoff-xxx Switch 7.1 If the Sonoff-xxx does not appear on top of the page try to press the sonoff button a couple of times and kill the Home App
- Confirm that you want to add the Sonoff
- Insert the Password that is 11111111
If you like this project please:
My supporters will also receive immediately:
- A Step-by-Step Video Tutorial that will help you to flash and connect your Sonoff
- A personal E-Mail where you can write to me your Issues
EWeLink Introduction
eWeLink is a Smart home control APP that can control all ITEAD home automation devices and cooperated products. It allows you to remote control and manage your favorite Smart devices of different brands in a single App. The Smart home devices connect to home appliances and electronic devices via Wi-Fi, allowing you to remote control through the APP eWeLink. There isn’t a limit to the number of devices you can add to eWeLink, although we usually say 150.
eWeLink Basic Functions:
By adding the Smart home devices to the eWeLink account, users can control the devices by following and accessing to Coolkit’s WeChat subscription account, or by adding a widget to mobile desktop later on.
Users can download latest iOS eWeLink from Apple APP Store and Android eWeLink from Google Play. Please scan below QR code. If you are using a lower version, please uninstall and then scan and download the latest version.
Now we will explain how to use eWeLink.
Registration and Log in
eWeLink supports multiple languages. It currently includes simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, English, Danish, Russian, Italian, Polish, France, Spanish, German, Turkish, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Czech, Slovenian, Portuguese(Brazil), etc. It will support more languages in the future.
It supports registration by email or mobile phone number. We suggest you update your app to the latest version. Users from Asian countries should register with mobile phone number. While users outside Asian area should register with email address. Turkey users also need to register with phone number.But sometimes the app will judge which server is more stable in your location, then it will auto judge whether to let you connect with Asian servers (register with phone number) or other servers(register with email).
Select your country/region code, input a valid mobile phone number, then your phone will receive an SMS containing a verification code on the phone number you provided. If you do not receive the SMS, please disable SMS blocking. If registered by email address, you’ll also need to select a random country code, you’ll receive an email containing a verification code. Fill in the verification code and password, confirm password and submit. For safety, the password should be no less than 8 characters. If you failed to receive any code, please submit a feedback on the App.
One account can only log in to one mobile phone. If you have logged in with phone A, later you log in with phone B, your device will auto-exit from phone A.
Reset Password
If you forget your password, please log out, go to the login interface. Click “Forget Password” to reset.
Wi-Fi Pairing and Device Addition
eWeLink obtains device status and controls devices by sending commands through the Cloud server. This means all devices must first connect to the Wi-Fi router and connect to our Amazon AWS server. So every new device must be paired with user’s home Wi-Fi and added to eWeLink account.
Before adding a device, Android phone must allow Wi-Fi. Please make sure the Wi-Fi your phone connects is the same as the one you select in eWeLink device pairing Wi-Fi option. Please note that all eWeLink products should be paired via the Wi-Fi router, starting from 3.1.0, LAN is not allowed any more.
Instructions are given below on how to pair with Wi-Fi and add a new device:
Step 1. Long press your device Wi-Fi pairing button until it begins fast blinking.
Step 2. Open eWeLink. Click “” to add the device. For Android, please select the pairing icon according to how the LED blinks. Click NEXT.
For iOS, please go to phone SettingWi-Ficonnect to the Wi-Fi that begins with ITEAD-, enter default password 12345678. Then go back to eWeLink, select the pairing icon (TOUCH or AP) according to how the LED blinks. Tap on NEXT.
A reminder here: if the phone asks a similar question like “eWeLink wants to locate your position, accept or reject?” Then please always click ACCEPT. Otherwise, it may cause a failed pairing.
Step 3. Enter your home Wi-Fi SSID and password. You must make sure the Wi-Fi your are entering with is the same with the one your phone connecting. If different, it will cause offline problem. If no password, keep it blank. For the present, eWeLink only supports 2.4G Wi-Fi communication protocol. 5G Band Wi-Fi network is not supported. Tap on NEXT.
Step 4. eWeLink will auto-search and connect to your device. After this process, you can name the device and submit. That’s all!
After successfully added, make sure you don’t change the Wi-Fi the product connects. Once you change the Wi-Fi, you must delete and re-add it to your account via the new Wi-Fi.
Device List
After successfully added, all devices will be seen in the device list. Users can see which devices are online which are not. Users can also see Wi-Fi signal strength, and whether there is new firmware to update, etc. Users can directly turn on/off the device by tapping the small switch icon. Besides, users can delete devices by tapping on the delete icon. Tap on the clock icon to see all timing schedules.
If you have too many devices, you may group them. Tap on the top “All Device” option to expand the group information. Click “Manage Group” to set up different group for your devices.
Device Details
Tap on a specified device to enter into device control interface. Different devices will have different functions and layout. Take some devices for example.
For Sonoff TH, users can see real time temperature and humidity. It also provides the capability to set manual/auto control mode. For dimming LED, users can adjust light color and brightness. For iFan, users can adjust among natural/sleep/normal mode, and in normal mode, users can adjust the wind level from 1-3.
Although different device types will have a different interface, they still have some icons in common.
Setting: change device name, chec the firmware version, enable/disable vibration switch.
Product info.: check manufacturer and model.
Share: the owner can share the device to other eWeLink users.
Timer: add new single/repeat schedules to turn on/off the device.
Countdown: add countdown timers to turn on/off the device.
Device Settings
In the upper right corner, there’s a button contains device “Setting” and “Delete”. In “Setting”, you can change the name of device and channel. Check firmware version and update to latest firmware. You can enable or disable touch vibration. And most importantly, you can set power on state for your device. Usually, when the electricity is cut off, when it comes again, your switch stays in off. Now by setting power on state, your device will automatically in ON, OFF or KEEP when power on. KEEP: your device will be in the same state as it is before electricity cut off.
Update: all the 1 gang devices support to push notification message once device status change.
After enabling the notification, the phone/tablet that you are using the App with will receive device’s latest status changes messages. Click the message, you’ll enter the App and see the operation records.
And you can check for these devices’ operation records.
Share Control
Device owner can share control of the devices to others, and thus others can turn on/off the device on eWeLink. Or you can create multiple accounts, add all device to one account, then share the devices with the other accounts. In sharing devices, the owner can authorize timer permissions to let the other users create, modify, edit and delete timers. This functionality is great for the family as it will be great to invite them to control together. The latest version supports to write a note in the sharing message, you can write down your name so that the other user know who you are. There isn’t a limit to the number of users you can share with.
While sharing devices, both should stay on eWeLink. Because if the account you want to share is not online, he/she will not receive the invitation message.
How to make it? Firstly click Share, enter the eWeLink account info.(select country code, enter the phone number or email address) you want to share, tick the timer permissions you want to give, then click OK. Remember do not enter the country code ahead of your phone number. The other account will receive an invitation message. When he/she click Accept, the device will be shared successfully. The other user has access to turn on/off the device and to change the timers.
Once the device has been deleted by the owner, it will also disappear from the others’ shared list.
1.Only when the two accounts are registered with the servers of the same continent can be shared with, no cross-continent accounts can be shared. If you use VPN to create accounts, they may connect to the server of different continents. If you are located at the junction of two continents, for example, Asian-European junction, the two accounts may connect to different servers. It’s impossible to share from a phone number based account to an email account or vice versa, because the phone number based account is connecting to Asian servers, while the email based account doesn’t.
The other users you share with can’t access to scene, group or device power on status.
Timing Task
Timing task is a basic feature of all devices. The timing setting allows you to set a specified time to turn on/off the device. Please note that deal to chip capacity limit, it only supports totally 8 enabled timing tasks each device(including scheduled/countdown/loop timer). Currently, we provide three timing types: scheduled timing, countdown timing and loop timing.
Schedule Timing
In schedule timer, you can set to turn on or off the device at the specified time for once or repeat dates.
Countdown Timing
Countdown timer allows users to turn on/off the device after a preset time.
Loop Timing
Loop timer can be auto-executed every preset time(say 1hr), and continue for a shorter preset time(say 20min). You can also choose not to tick the continuous cycle. For example, use loop timer to control oxygen pump for the fish tank. You can use loop timer to turn on oxygen pump every hour and keep it running for 20min and then auto-turn off each time.
The screenshot below is set the device to turn on every 10min and keep it working for 5min each time.
Loop timer supported devices (updating):all 1 gang switch/socket(required firmware ver. 1.5.0 and higher, G1 is excluded from the list), including S20 Smart socket, Sonoff Touch EU/US, Sonoff Basic, Sonoff SV, Sonoff TH10/TH16, Sonoff RF, Slampher, Sonoff Pow (required firmware ver. 2.0.3 and higher), Motor Clockwise/ Anticlockwise Running Wi-Fi Wireless Switch, 1 Channel Inching /Self-Locking Wi-Fi Wireless Switch 5V/12V, S30 Smart Socket, Sonoff T1 UK/EU/US 1 Gang, RF Bridge 433-the added RF Remote, Sonoff Pow.
Scene
A scene is set up to auto-execute an action for all devices in the same scene. There are three kinds of scenes, they are different in the trigger condition. The first one is triggered by a click, the second one is triggered by some data of a device, such as temperature, humidity, light, air quality and noise level, the third one is triggered by status from another device. Note that only device owner can create scenes, and the system can save max 21 scenes(this limit was added at the end of 2017). Scenes can’t be shared to other users.
IFTTT doesn’t support to use one applet to trigger another applet, so as our scene feature.
For example, you created two scenes: when device A is turned on, then turn on device B. When device B is turned on, then turn on device C. The result is: When your device A is turned on, only device B can be turned on, while device C won’t be turned on.
Click to execute
By creating a scene like this, users can turn on/off a group of devices simultaneously. For example, create a scene “Leave”, add all the devices to be set on or off to the scene, save it. Once you shut the door, take out your phone and enter into the scene, go to scene “Leave”, tap on “Run”, all devices will be turned off immediately.
Users should select “Click to execute” in the condition, add different existing devices, name the scene and save it. The 2 channel and multi-channel devices can even set power on state: on, off or keep.
If you don’t find your device on the list, please check if your app version is too low. You should always update to the latest version, which supports most features.
Triggered by device data range
This kind of scene is usually called Smart scene. Users can set a data range as a condition to trigger ON/OFF other devices. You may set a specified temperature/humidity/light intensity/sound level range from Sonoff SC, Sonoff TH, S22, At Home/Away status from Nest or RF Bridge’s alarm as a condition to trigger on/off one or more Smart devices under your account.
Trigger devices: Sonoff SC, Sonoff TH (old version), Sonoff TH10, Sonoff TH16, S22, Nest Thermostat, RF Bridge 433 (Android 3.1.0 and higher)-the added Alarms.
Execute devices: except the trigger devices, all ITEAD Smart devices are included, RF Bridge 433 (Android 3.1.0 and higher)-the added RF Remote controller.
Triggered by device status
We have supported a new type of scene that triggered by device’s status. If device A status get changed, then the status of selected device will change to preset status.
For example, you can set when Sonoff SV is ON, then execute turn on 4ch light one and turn off B1.
Works with Google Nest
eWeLink is compatible with Nest now! Check out how to use Nest to create Smart scenes to control Sonoff devices here.
Trigger devices: all devices except Sonoff SC, Sonoff TH (old version), Sonoff TH10, Sonoff TH16, S22, Nest Thermostat, RF Bridge 433
Execute devices: all devices except Sonoff SC, Sonoff TH (old version), Sonoff TH10, Sonoff TH16, S22, Nest Thermostat, RF Bridge 433
User Center
In user center, users can see some settings and information.
On the top, users can see how many groups and scenes they have created.
Feedback: Users can submit your feedback on Feedback. Our IT support will follow up the feedback and reply in workdays.
You can also submit feedback on the login interface, as shown below:
Switch Language: Users can switch between different languages.
Users can change nickname and password here. Also, they can check APP version and update to the latest one.
In “About eWeLink”, you will see the QR code, which is our WeChat subscription account. By following our account, you can control your devices on WeChat page. We will post articles introducing our new Smart home devices, and user guide there.
We will develop more functions for WeChat control in the future.
LAN Control
iOS Android eWeLink V3.5.0 and higher have supported LAN control function! When your Wi-Fi can’t access the Internet or if our server is down, don’t worry your devices will go offline, simply enable the LAN control, you can still turn on/off the devices on app. Remember to keep your Wi-Fi connection with our app.
The below 1-gang Sonoff devices with simple on/off feature support control via LAN (require firmware 1.8.0 and higher):
Sonoff S20, Sonoff S26, Sonoff S85, Sonoff S30, Sonoff Basic, Sonoff RF, Sonoff Slampher, Sonoff SV, S31 Lite, Sonoff T1 UK/US/EU-1 Gang, Sonoff Touch EU/US, 1 Channel Inching /Self-lockIing Mode Wi-Fi Wireless Switch 5V/12V, Inching /self-locking Wi-Fi Wireless Switch 5V.
eWeLink devices from other brands can also support LAN control, note that only the 1 gang devices that only have simple on/off feature are supported. Currently, other devices like the power measuring device, temperature measuring device don’t support LAN control function.
Desktop Widget
eWeLink Android version supports to add device widget to phone desktop. By adding the devices widget to the desktop, users can directly see device’s real-time state and directly tap to turn on/off. Note: all 1 gang switches and sockets and 4 gang switches support widget. For Sonoff TH10/TH16, ver 2.3.3 and higher support widget.
These products don’t support to set widget (updating): Sonoff B1, Sonoff Dual, Sonoff TH10/TH16(Versions lower than 2.3.3), S22, Sonoff SC, Sonoff Hum, Sonoff T1 (2-3 gang), RF Bridge 433, iFan, all eWeLink supported 2-3 gang products(include other brands).
How To Install A Sonoff ITEAD Smart Home Wi-Fi Wireless Switch
How To Install A Sonoff ITEAD Smart Home Wi-Fi Wireless Switch https://pictures.certsimple.com/how_to_install_sonoff_itead_smart_home_wifi_wireless_switch.jpg 800 600 Louis Louis https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a5aed50578738cfe85dcdca1b09bd179?s=96d=mmr=g December 3, 2022 December 26, 2022
If you’re looking to install a Sonoff ITEAD Smart Home Wi-Fi Wireless Switch, there are a few things you’ll need to do beforehand. First, you’ll need to gather the following materials: a Phillips head screwdriver, a Sonoff ITEAD Smart Home Wi-Fi Wireless Switch, and a power source (either a batteries or a power adapter). Second, you’ll need to find an installation location. The ideal location for your Sonoff switch will be somewhere near your router, as the Sonoff switch will need to be connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network. Once you’ve gathered everything you need and found an installation location, you can begin the installation process by following these simple steps: 1.Using the Phillips head screwdriver, remove the cover from the Sonoff switch. 2.Locate the mini USB port on the side of the Sonoff switch and insert the power source. 3.Replace the cover on the Sonoff switch. 4.Using a mobile device or a computer, connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network. 5.Open a web browser and navigate to the Sonoff switch’s IP address. The IP address can be found on the bottom of the Sonoff switch. 6.Enter the username and password for the Sonoff switch. The default username is “admin” and the default password is “admin”. 7.Click the “Login” button. 8.Click the “Network” tab and select your home’s Wi-Fi network from the “Wireless Network” drop-down menu. 9.Enter your home’s Wi-Fi password in the “Password” field. 10.Click the “Apply” button. 11.Click the “Reboot” button. Your Sonoff ITEAD Smart Home Wi-Fi Wireless Switch is now installed and ready to use!
How do I install a Sonoff Wi-Fi wireless switch? All related electricity sources must be turned off first. E-WeLink supports a variety of languages, including Chinese, English, and Russian. The app is currently in the development stage, and it will eventually support more functions. The current list of supported functions includes remote turn-on/off, tracking status, timing schedules, device sharing, group management, and Smart scene. The password for your Wi-Fi router, as well as the SSID, should be entered. You must keep it blank if you do not have a password.
Please fill out the form with your device’s name and submit it. If the new device is not working, turn it off and then back on. All devices can be disabled by simply entering their names into the group’s kitchen page once you’ve left the kitchen. To use Sonoff, you must have at least one Sonoff TH and one Sonoff RF, Sonoff SV, Smart Socket. Devices cannot be shared by anyone other than their owner. In contrast to auto mode, Sonoff is in manual mode. Amazon AWS Global Server is a stable and simple-to-use server that is used for the Siri Smart home series.
When you connect the App to your Sonoff device and turn it on, press and hold the Sonoff button for 5 seconds, the LED green will begin blinking, and you will be able to control a desktop lamp with the App. Then, on the app, select the next button. The device will be named after your network credentials, and you will be prompted to enter your network credentials.
To connect again, hold down the pairing button for 5s for a few seconds (the Wi-Fi LED cycles between short and long periods of time). You must enter “Quick pairing mode” during the first use after powering on (make two short beeps and one long beep); if you do not pair within 3 minutes, you must exit the mode.
Sonoff’s TH16 Smart Temperature Monitoring Switch has one relay and a connection for a DHT22 (AOSONG) temperature/humidity sensor. Because it transmits the temperature to the app, the device can be used as a regular relay to control a connected device.
How Do I Put My Sonoff Wi-Fi Switch In Pairing Mode?
To put the Sonoff Wi-Fi switch into pairing mode, press and hold the button on the side of the device for 5 seconds. The LED will blink rapidly to indicate that the device is in pairing mode.
How To Reset Your Ewelink Smart Switch
A reset of your eWeLink Smart switch can be performed. By going to eWeLink’s app, you can access eWeLink. To see the three lines in the top left corner, go to the top of the page. You can also go to Settings Settings. The next step is to tap Reset Devices. That’s how much I enjoy it. You will be able to confirm your decision by tappingReset.
Can I Use Sonoff Without Ewelink?
Because the Sonoff devices firmware version V3 and higher can be permanently disconnected from the internet or Itead servers, they can still be connected to a local area network (LAN). To accomplish this, you’ll need custom software, similar to how the eWeLink app works, which communicates with Sonoff devices in LAN mode.
What App Works With Sonoff?
Sonoff devices, in addition to Apple products, are supported by eWeLink, an app platform that works with a variety of Smart devices. It allows Smart hardware to communicate with each other as well as connect to popular Smart Speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Is Sonoff A Ewelink?
It’s difficult to keep a home organized when you have a lot of work and a lot of time on your hands. Fortunately, thanks to the SONOFF Smart home devices and the Smart app “eWeLink,” you don’t have to do it all yourself.
Can I Use Sonoff Without Internet?
The Internet serves as the hub of the system, connecting Sonoff devices and eWeLink iOS and Android apps. The official firmware cannot be used to control Sonoff without the internet.
How To Connect Sonoff Light Switch To Wi-Fi
To connect your Sonoff light switch to your Wi-Fi network, you will need to download the Sonoff app and follow the instructions. Once the app is installed, open it and select the “Add Device” option. Select the “Sonoff” device type and then enter your Wi-Fi password. The light switch will then be connected to your Wi-Fi network.
The Sonoff TX T0 Wi-Fi Smart Light Switch has a neutral wire and is designed to work with any wireless network. Earn 4 points per R100 spent (one point equals one R100 spent). There is a R1 discount available. As soon as your cart reaches 4 points, you will be able to convert them into R4 gift cards. It includes R360 and R360. The excl. R313 is classified as R313.
Please keep in mind that we are speaking only as a courtesy. These devices must be connected to your Wi-Fi network (ewelink) in order to function. On simple and stylish switches, these touch-sensitive touch buttons are attached to ensure that your walls are both stylish and modern. If the SSID or password have changed, you must reconnect your switches to Wi-Fi (ewelink app) within 7 days. With IFTTT compatibility, switches can communicate with a slew of devices and services, allowing them to be triggered on or off.
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SONOFF MINIR4 review – A Tiny Wi-Fi Smart Switch tested with eWelink app/web, and R5 controller
In this post, we’ll review the SONOFF Mini Extreme, also known as MINIR4, Wi-Fi Smart switch based on ESP32 wireless MCU by installing it into a wall-mounted light switch box and controlling it with both the eWelink mobile app for Android and the SONOFF R5 scene controller.
SONOFF MINIR4 Installation
We’ve already gone through the specifications, unboxing, and teardown in the announcement, so I’ll get straight to the installation part. Note this review was done with a light switch “box” (about 11x6cm) in Thailand, so your mileage may vary.
The first challenge is that contrary to the similarly-sized SONOFF ZBMINI Extreme Zigbee switch, the MINIR4 Wi-Fi switch requires a neutral cable, and most lights in Thailand are wired without a neutral wire, so I had to get the neutral wire from the outlet switch box underneath.
When I call those “boxes” there are really holes in the wall here… Wiring is quite straightforward as I just had to connect the light switch to S1 and S2 using short wires, insert the live wire that was previously going to the light switch to Lin, the wire going out of the switch to Lout, and finally the Neutral wire to one of the N ports on the MINIR4.
I did not use the N port on the left because the light is already connected to the Neutral wire from somewhere else in the house. The SONOFF MINIR4 switch fits in the “box” but it’s still quite tight. It’s still neater and/or easier than connecting a Wi-Fi switch close to the light on the ceiling.
Remember that we are dealing with 110V or 220V here and for your and/or your family’s safety, if you don’t feel comfortable/knowledgeable enough to perform the installation yourself, get a qualified electrician to do it for you, and in some countries, it may even be a legal requirement.
Once the installation is complete, there’s no visual difference between our old “dumb” light switch and our new Smart switch.
I could still turn the light on and off normally, even before installing any app, so all is good and the installation looks successful. The SONOFF MINIR4 introduces a small delay, however, but something well below 500ms.
Controlling MINIR4 with the eWelink app
I’ve reviewed SONOFF devices with eWelink Android app several times already, and the app is fairly straightforward to use so I won’t go into the details of adding MINIR4 to eWelink, but the important points are that you should select Bluetooth pairing, select a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi access point, input its password, and give the device a name. I went with “Ceiling light”.
From there, I could easily switch on and off the lights. Note that for improved security and privacy, you’ll probably want to set up a Guest Wi-Fi network/SSID in your router reserved for all your IoT/Smart Home devices, and separated from your computers and NAS which may store more valuable data. So if the company is hacked or you don’t trust their/your government not to spy on you, they’ll only have (easy) access to the guest network.
If we tap on the device name we have a few more options with Schedule, Timer, and Loop Timer, all of which work as expected.
It’s important to select the “Alternate” Loop method for the loop timer mode, or it will just repeat ON or OFF all the time without ever switching to ON or OFF. With the Alternate method, you’ll be able to select timers for ON and OFF. I’m still not sure what use cases this is useful for, but I must not be thinking hard enough
If we tap the … icon on the top right corner, we’ll have access to the Device Settings with some information, firmware updates, and support for third-party platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, IFTT, Alice, and other Chinese Cloud services.
Other useful configuration options include the Switch Mode to select the behavior of the light switch from Pulse mode, Edge mode (default), or Following mode, each explained in the app and the screenshot above. There’s also the Detached Relay mode which completely ignores/disconnects the physical light switch, so the switch is fully controlled by the app or other “Smart” methods. It can potentially be useful in public places.
eWelink Web
A somewhat new feature that I had never tried is eWelink Web which allows you to manage and control your SONFF device from a web browser. You’ll need to go to web.ewelink.cc and enter the eWelink credentials you’ve already used in the eWelink mobile app.
That’s a premium feature that requires the paid eWelink Advanced plan, but we can try it for free for 7 days.
The free trial requires you to answer a few questions about your home automation preferences, and the approval should be immediate. After logging in, I could see and turn on/off my “Ceiling light”, and other SONOFF devices I used in previous reviews are also there, and currently detected as offline.
The interface also allows me to change the name, disable/enable the network indicator on the MINIR4, set up inching mode, specify the power state, and upgrade the firmware. I did the latter, and it worked well.
You can also check the full device list with the device ID, firmware version, online status, and whether you want to show them in the eWelink Web dashboard.
Finally, it’s possible to define scenes if you have other sensors like in the eWelink mobile app.
SONOFF R5 scene controller
Controlling the light with your smartphone is OK, and if you don’t want to open your smartphone and the app (it typically takes me 20 to 25 seconds to turn off the light from the time I pick up the phone) before turning on or off the light, and don’t use voice assistants, the SONOFF R5 scene controller is nice a MINIR4 companion as it provides a battery-powered switch that can be operated from anywhere with the Bluetooth LE range.
So I asked for one or two SONOFF R5 devices for review and eventually got one.
The SONOFF R5 6-key scene controller comes with a few stickers for the buttons, a user manual, two screws, and two 3M adhesive tape for mounting.
The back cover is attached to the main unit through magnets and can easily be removed in order to take out the paper preventing the draining of the CR2032 batteries during storage and/or transport.
A teardown confirms the R5 controller is indeed powered by two CR2032 coin-cell batteries,
and the main chip is marked as AK803A-S1, which appears to be a “BLE iBeacon” chip from AllLink.
The other side of the board has nothing except for the buttons.
Let’s reassemble the device to install it. I first thought it might be able to attach the R5 to a fridge, but the built-in magnets are not powerful enough. I used some magnets with screws scavenged from an old ceiling LED light, but it works, but it was not practical to use. Anyway, I wanted to stick the R5 to my bedside cabinet, so I used the included 3M adhesive tapes…
… and added some of the stickers to channels 1 and 2, because installing the SONOFF R5 SwitchMan to my bedside cabinet.
With the hardware installation out of the way, I went to the eWelink app to access the Device Settings and tapped on the eWelink-Remote sub-devices section to add the R5 controller.
That was very easy. I then went to the Scene section in the eWelink app to add a scene to turn on the ceiling light when Channel 1 (top left button) is pressed, and another scene to turn it off when Channel 2 (the button on the right of Channel 1) is pressed.
My lazy self was then very happy, as I could just control the ceiling light from the bed without having to get up or enter into tough, and potentially lengthy negotiations with the person lying next to me
One important point is that the buttons support short presses, long presses, and double press events, so if you press a button for too long, or press it multiple times, it will not detect a short press event. It’s also possible to assign a single button for this task, using the alternate mode to turn on the light when it is off and turn it off when it is on. We could also assign other scenes to the R5 controller to turn on the light after 8 hours as an alarm clock, control additional MINIR4 Wi-Fi switches, or other SONOFF devices with eWelink Remote support.
Conclusion
The SONOFF MINIR4 is a tiny switch that’s fairly easy to install and that will fit into most switch boxes. Bear in mind that contrary to the ZBMINIL2, it requires a neutral wire, so that’s something to keep in mind. The SONOFF R5 SwitchMan scene controller is a nice companion to the MINIR4, especially if you have multiple switches installed throughout your house.
I’d like to thank ITEAD for sending samples for review. SONOFF is selling the MINI Extreme (MINIR4) for 9.90 with free shipping for orders over 89, and the R5 scene controller can be added for 12.49. You can also get a 10% discount on your order when using the coupon code CNXSOFTSONOFF.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
