In order to put up a home Etekcity Wireless Remote Control Outlet Light Switch Remote Blinking, I've been gradually gathering a variety of smart switches and plugs throughout my house. I was pleasantly happy to see that the Etekcity ESW01 plug I had picked up for testing was based on the ESP8266, a widely used and well-supported microcontroller. I was not playing around with home automation in a while, so I was excited to see how far it has come. Instead of having to roll my own firmware and then develop my own Home Assistant integration, ESPHome makes it easy to flash ESP8266 and ESP32 modules with a custom code and subsequently incorporate them into Home Assistant.
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How does the Etekcity Wireless Remote Control Outlet work?
Disassembly
I had to disassemble the gadget since I couldn't find a way to flash it without opening it. A few internal clips hold the device's two halves together. I had attempted to open the crease by slipping an iFixit Jimmy and a spudger around it, but I was unable. Before I could use the Jimmy to unclip the remaining clips, I had to hold one side with a set of pliers and exert enough pressure to unclip a couple of them.
The gadget is incredibly easy to use once it is open. A few PCBs are there, most likely one for the ESP8266 ESP-12F, one for low voltage, and one for Etekcity Wireless Remote Control Outlet Light Switch Remote Blinking.
Flashing
Although flashing the device in a completely powered-down condition is often advised, I ended up flashing it in a powered-on state since I was seeing problems with power sinking through the remainder of the board. You should proceed at your own risk since this is not advised. I used my Tigard, a multi-protocol hardware hacking tool based on the FTDI FT2232H, to perform the flashing. Since I didn't need to use the Tigard to power the device, I merely connected the TX, RX, and GND pins. I powered my laptop entirely on battery power for further isolation. In order to put the ESP-12F into flash mode, I additionally soldered to the GPIO0 pin and temporarily connected it to GND.
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The Etekcity wireless connectivity Remote Control Electrical Outlet: How to Set It Up?
The Etekcity Zap Outlets are actually fairly simple to set up. To set them up, take the actions listed below:
1. Connect a power source to the Etekcity Outlet.
2. Press the button on the right side of the outlet to turn the Etekcity Outlet on. A red light ought to illuminate.
3. After turning on the Etekcity Outlet, press and hold the same button for five seconds. It should cause the red light to blink.
4. Grasp the remote control and choose the off button when the light is flashing. The most crucial thing to keep in mind is that the number on the remote control will be the one that is set to control the outlet moving forward.
5. The outlet has now been programmed. Take pleasure in managing it from anywhere in your home!
The Etekcity Wireless Controls for Electrical Outlets are great all around. I bought five of them and have them scattered throughout my one-bedroom flat. I've had no issues with range, and I've even managed to control them from around 40 feet away from my apartment, across the street. By using less electricity and shutting off all of the electrical appliances in my flat, I hope to save money using the Etekcity outlets. I've achieved this objective thus far.
The wiring was as follows, which was conviently all on the same edge of the ESP-12F:
| Tigard | ESP-12F |
|---|---|
| TX | RX |
| RX | TX |
| GND | GND |
| GND (briefly) | GPIO0 |
After connecting, I upgraded the ESPHome information using the ESPHome web-based flasher I had running in a local Containers container after using esptool to dump the Etekcity Wireless Remote Control Outlet Light Switch Remote Blinking.
| Pin | Function |
|---|---|
| GPIO4 | Relay |
| GPIO5 | LED blue |
| GPIO12 | HLWBL CF1 Pin |
| GPIO13 | HLW8012 CF Pin |
| GPIO14 | Button |
| GPIO16 | LED yellow |
In accordance with my own investigation, I first configured a simple switch/relay/light YAML configuration. However, after learning more about this Etekcity plug, I found that it has power monitoring capabilities. Instead of starting from scratch, I came across a blog article (which I can't seem to find anymore) that utilized GPIO12 and GPIO13 to track how much power was being consumed by everything that was connected in.
I set up the device using the following yaml configuration:
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FAQs: Etekcity Wireless Remote Control Outlet Light Switch Remote Blinking
How to reset remote plugs?
As you plug it back in, press and hold the program/on/off button on the side of the socket. Hold the button down for about five seconds, or until the LED indication starts to flash. When the reset is complete and the LED indication stops blinking, release the button.
How are remote control sockets reset?
(1) Switch the mains socket's power on and off. (2) The red LED on the front of the socket will flash rapidly if you press and hold the remote control's ALL OFF button. Holding down the button will cause the red LED to go off. (3) A reset was made to the socket.
How can an outlet's switch be reset?
The test and reset buttons are quite simple to use. Pressing the test button is the only way to check the GFCI outlet's functionality. The GFCI is functioning properly if the reset button pushes out as a consequence. Once you press the reset button again, you're ready to go.
How can a remote be manually paired?
Switch on your television or any other device you want to manage. Hold down the relevant Power and Device buttons on the remote control simultaneously. Hold down both buttons until the power button turns on. Press the Power button on the remote while pointing it toward the TV or another device, then wait two seconds.
How can my switch be fully reset?
- Click on the HOME Menu and choose System Settings.
- Choose "System" by scrolling down to it.
- In the menu, scroll to the bottom and choose Formatting Options.
- To remove every piece of data from the system memory, choose Restore Factory Settings.