Sonoff 4CH with ESPEasy

[Shardan]

Sorry, i have to pass on that, i don't use the arduino ide for flashing.

I've compiled with the "Export Binary File" option and used the .bin file with the ESPtool delivered with the R14x versions.

[Bas Spiek]

Have somebody solved this problem already? i also have a sonoff 4ch. flash looks ok no errors. but no esp01 on wifi.

Hope somebody kan help me, drives me crazy

[manjh]

Did you check what the unit gives back over serial? Set at 115K and see what comes out...

[Shardan]

Which programmer did you use?

[Bas Spiek]

Solved,

The programmer that came with the bin file (FlashESP8266.exe) did not work. Now i used the Nodemcu programmer and that worked well!!
Now i have ESPEasy_v2.0.0-dev10_normal_1024.bin flashed on my Sonoff 4 channel.


THX

[ewaldharmsen]

thanks for this post!

I succesfully flashed my 4CH.

However I would like a few more GPIO pins.
I planned to solder pins for GPIO7 and 8, but they are not available in the ESP Easy GUI.

How can I add them?

[Shardan]

Use of GPIO 7 / 8 is not recommendet as they are used for other purposes (SDIO/SPI).
That's why they are simply not built into the firmware.

Anyways yo may alter the firmware to your needs and compile it yourself.

Regards
Shardan

[manjh]

I just received a fresh Sonoff 4CH this week, and tried to flash it. Before doing that I checked with the Sonoff app and found the unit in good working condition.
Then I tried to flash it with the "Captain-Slow" R148 bin file with the NodeMCU programmer. It appeared to load OK, but after that I tried to restart the Sonoff and looked for the Wifi access point, nothing there. Also tried to connect to serial and see what comes out. Nothing.

After that I tried the Arduino compiler, set it to the right device and size (1M), and compiled/loaded.
No complaints from the compiler, and the load went 100% OK.
Restarted the Sonoff, still no sign of it on Wifi or serial.

Any hints?


Edit: I found out that the combination of the right bin file with the proper loader is important.
I found a bin file named "ESPEasy_R148a_1024" (source unknown...) and combined it with the usual Esptool.exe and flash.cmd files. Then uploaded into my new 4CH and: success!
This solution was actually recommended a few postst above by Shardan, on 27 May 2017, 11:04. So I could have known....

[Shardan]

Hello,

the R148a-file was published by me.
The main difference is that the sonoff 4ch uses a ESP8285, not an ESP8266 so it has to be compiled for this CPU.
They differ in the way memory is connected so the compiler has to take care for that.

Regards
Shardan

[cy80rg]

Evening all,

Work in IT and pretty au fait with Raspberry Pi stuff (so vaguely intelligent, I like to think! )

My new Sonoff 4 channel switch is my first project trying to flash EasyESP.

I've flashed stuff before, but I cant work out how to give the Sonoff enough power to boot?

I saw one video where the guy's Sonoff (pro) has a DC-in, but my non-pro doesnt have that.

I've been trying to work off this...
https://captain-slow.dk/2017/04/01/flas ... onoff-4ch/

By putting the voltage reg inline on my breadboard - but the Sonoff didnt power on at all, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Looking at that tut linked above, he's got seperate pins for 5v, VCC and 3.3v.
With the jumper between vcc & 3.3v, I beleive that just sets the "value" / output of VCC to 3.3v?
On my programmer, my 5v / 3.3v jumper is on a seperate jumper pins on the board.

Just running the Sonoff off the 3.3v on the programmer, the Sonoff booted, but then constantly rebooted due to the lack of ampage (as expected).

My programmers one of these...


Any help on this please?

Thanks

[cy80rg]

More specifically, my issue is:

On his modd'ed programmer in that tutorial, he's got 3 pins - 1 VCC, 1 3.3v, 1 ground.

On my programmer, I have two pins - Vcc and ground.

Looking at his programmer / voltage reg, he's got the first two legs of the voltage reg going to VCC and 3.3, but then using a jumper to short them together / set 3/3v.
The 3rd leg of the reg is ground, which is easy enough.

On my programmer, I only have the one Vcc + voltage select on jumpers above the out put pins, so - in desperation - I figured that joining both Vin and OUT on the reg to the VCC on the programmer would be an equivalent... obviously not.

From the inline voltage reg (on my breadboard) I had Vin and OUt going to VCC on the programmer, with Ground going to Ground on the Sonoff.

Clearly I was incorrect - what should i have done?

[sjp770]

Any ideas if the Sonoff 4CH Pro is supported? Would love to have the RF support as well.

[manjh]

What you could do is connect tx/rx and ground, keeping the vcc pin open, and then connect the Sonoff to mains. Careful!

[cy80rg]

Thanks Manjh ,
I know it's easy to "ignore the dumb noob" when you guys are all at such a higher level

Much appreciate your help, I'll give that a try tonight.

Apart from "generally not poking things with a screw driver" when connected to the mains, and specific non no's?

From your advice, I plan to run a direct mains supply into the "wire clamp input" (no barrel input on this model)...

Is that correct?

[manjh]

Thanks Manjh ,
I know it's easy to "ignore the dumb noob" when you guys are all at such a higher level

Much appreciate your help, I'll give that a try tonight.

Apart from "generally not poking things with a screw driver" when connected to the mains, and specific non no's?

From your advice, I plan to run a direct mains supply into the "wire clamp input" (no barrel input on this model)...

Is that correct?

Don't worry if you're a noob or not (I doubt it), even Einstein started out as an absolute noob

The only thing you need to remember when you're working on the Sonoff 4CH when it is attached to mains: there will be leads on the bottom that are "live". So make sure you place the print in the bottom part of the housing, and place it on a very stable flat surface. Make sure the leads are out of the way so you can't accidentally pull the print from the table. Imagine what would happen if in a reflex you try to catch it...
All jokes aside, 230V is no joke to play around with.

So connect a wire with a plug to the "mains in", connect tx/rx (remember: no crossing for this device!), and connect ground (probably not really needed, but I would connect it anyway).
Once you are satisfied that everything is connected: connect the plug to a mains outlet.

[cy80rg]

Thanks Manjh

One last...

When you say "no crossing on this device", does that mean

A) the device doesnt cross tx to Rx, so I'll need to
Or
B) the device does cross, so I don't need to?

So Rx to Rx, tx to tx?

[manjh]

Thanks Manjh

One last...

When you say "no crossing on this device", does that mean

A) the device doesnt cross tx to Rx, so I'll need to
Or
B) the device does cross, so I don't need to?

So Rx to Rx, tx to tx?

Normally you would cross: so connect tx to rx and vv.
With the Sonoff the labels tell you where to connect. So connect tx to tx, rx to rx.

[cy80rg]

thanks manjh

home now, got the sonoff and the programmer connected as you suugest - runnng off the mains.

power to the sonoff is stable.

I was hoping it would just be a case of "holding down the first button", then appying power to the sonoff to get in to boot flash mode...

Howver, if i do that - the sonoff doesnt seem to turn on at all (no lights).

However, if i push the first button (fw/100 - I like the fact it's labelled "fw"!) , after the sonoff is powered, the L4 led lights (IO4) - in what may be green or red (im color blind).

Trying to upload a bin to the sonoff via Nodemcu... I get

Arbitrarily set to COm5, as thats what Nodemcu started up with.

AP MAC - Waiting MAC
STA MAC - waiting mac

Blue spinning icon bottom let corner (which i assume means it thinks its doing something), and reuire ("gpio") and require("wifi") fade in and out under the com area of the UI.

I would imagine those are the current commands being sent to - received from the sonoff - but they just repeat...

Silly question - this sonoff is straight out of the box - I've never had it associated on my wifi etc - do i need to do the basic set up, as per the OEM fw, first?

For fear the FW is actually being written - I'll leave it all plugged in and "doing it's thang" for a while....

[manjh]

You will need to get the Sonoff in flash mode before applying power. If it reacts to that first button like you describe, it means that the firmware is still the original Sonoff.
If you want to test, you could download their app and see if you can pair it.

So: press and hold the button and only then plug in the mains. That should do it (I flashed two of them this way)

[cy80rg]

Thanks Manjh,

So, hold down the first button (marked fw/io01) then power the sonoff, then release the button...?

How does the Sonoff show its in flash mode, lit LEDs etc?

When I did that with mine, it didn't show any LEDs or sign of life period.

I have since paired and tested with the OEM app, so at least I've not killed it....

[manjh]

Thanks Manjh,

So, hold down the first button (marked fw/io01) then power the sonoff, then release the button...?

How does the Sonoff show its in flash mode, lit LEDs etc?

When I did that with mine, it didn't show any LEDs or sign of life period.

I have since paired and tested with the OEM app, so at least I've not killed it....

If you have paired with the app, you were not successful in flashing.
When the Sonoff is in flash mode it does not show anything special.
Also, when you flash code while it is NOT in flash mode, everything seems to go OK since the flash tool does not really have a way to check.
So the only way to know if it worked: try to reboot the unit and see if you get the AP coming up in Wifi...

[cy80rg]

W00t!

Got it working - on the wifi and I'm about to start the set up process...

FOr others who may find it of use, few things that through me:

1. To get into boot loader mode (flash mode), hoeld won the first button on the Sonoff 4 ch... with the lid of the case off, you should find this is marked FW/IO0 .
2. Power on the Sonoff
3. In boot mode - there's NO LIGHTS or anything to show the Sonoff is even on. But, it is - and in boot mode!
4. A case of RTFM, but this WONT appear as a new device on your network (i.e access it via an IP on your network) - largely becuase it ISNT at this point.
Instead, use some other wifi device (phone etc), search for a new Access Point (probably ESP_O or simmilar) and connect to that. It'll ask you to sign in (see wiki for pw), then simply eneter your wifi creds.
The Sonoff will reboot, then register and appear on your network.
From there - go to that IP and do all that set-upy-jiggerypokery I'm about to do!

NOTE: These points above *arent a complete step through* - they're just stuff that threw me - and in fairness, much of it is RTFM and getting a bit confused

Thanks to ManJh for his help, even as I could feel him losing the will to live towards the end...

Cheers buddy

[manjh]

W00t!

Got it working - on the wifi and I'm about to start the set up process...

FOr others who may find it of use, few things that through me:

1. To get into boot loader mode (flash mode), hoeld won the first button on the Sonoff 4 ch... with the lid of the case off, you should find this is marked FW/IO0 .
2. Power on the Sonoff
3. In boot mode - there's NO LIGHTS or anything to show the Sonoff is even on. But, it is - and in boot mode!
4. A case of RTFM, but this WONT appear as a new device on your network (i.e access it via an IP on your network) - largely becuase it ISNT at this point.
Instead, use some other wifi device (phone etc), search for a new Access Point (probably ESP_O or simmilar) and connect to that. It'll ask you to sign in (see wiki for pw), then simply eneter your wifi creds.
The Sonoff will reboot, then register and appear on your network.
From there - go to that IP and do all that set-upy-jiggerypokery I'm about to do!

NOTE: These points above *arent a complete step through* - they're just stuff that threw me - and in fairness, much of it is RTFM and getting a bit confused

Thanks to ManJh for his help, even as I could feel him losing the will to live towards the end...

Cheers buddy

Good,well done.
But one thing you are absolutely right about: all of this has been documented in the Wiki. The only thing that is different is the fact that a regular ftdi programmer will not supply the amount of power to run the device. With a "normal" esp unit it will run fine, a Sonoff 4ch is simply too power-hungry. So this is where the mains-on trick comes along.
The rest of the steps are fairly standard, so yes: RTFM!

[Dylantje]

sorry guys...

Is there a way in a wiki or so, to flash this 4channel board..
I read there is a other version for this board.

Only where can i find the flash tool and the firmware for generic ESP8285

search the net...
Only think do everything wrong..
Flash with esp8266 only no luck @ all..

Hope for some help ..

Thanks

[Shardan]

look at page 4 of this thread.
i've posted a compiled verion for the 4ch there

[Dylantje]

look at page 4 of this thread.
i've posted a compiled verion for the 4ch there

mm
Thanks i see that..
Only i do not understand how to use this in ide?
What do i need to load?
And where to place ?

[Shardan]

i used the standard esp tool that came with the r14x ( it is a bit different from the esptool that came with r120).
For my 4ch's i could just flash the binary directly, worked. As long as Itead did not change things as they did with sonoff basic it should work.

[Dylantje]

i used the standard esp tool that came with the r14x ( it is a bit different from the esptool that came with r120).
For my 4ch's i could just flash the binary directly, worked. As long as Itead did not change things as they did with sonoff basic it should work.

Sorry i do not understand what you say here...?
Please i am a dummy

[Shardan]

sorry, i'm on vaccation atm and i have only my old tablet at hand.
With one of the r14x versions a reworked flash tool was delivered.
that was the flashtool i used with the binary i attached with this thread.

[manjh]

sorry, i'm on vaccation atm and i have only my old tablet at hand.
With one of the r14x versions a reworked flash tool was delivered.
that was the flashtool i used with the binary i attached with this thread.

Same here. I had my share of trouble flashing the Sonoff units, and in the end found that old flash tool to work best.

[Dylantje]

mm m where can i find this tool? [ i do not have it ]
And can i flash then the normal latest espeasy beta with it?
Or does any one have a working os for me,

Thanks

[manjh]

mm m where can i find this tool? [ i do not have it ]
And can i flash then the normal latest espeasy beta with it?
Or does any one have a working os for me,

Thanks

This is quite easy to find in the Wiki. Look for the esp setup, there is a link to a download which also brings the esptool downloader and cmd files.
Then when you want to load a 2.0 release or a version that you compiled yourself, make sure it follows the naming convention for the loader tool.

Note that for the Sonoff 4CH unit you will need to recompile using a different processor.

[Dylantje]

mm when i have tie i try...

Only what are the gpio port to use for the four channels?
And how can i switch them with a http command..

Thanks

[manjh]

mm when i have tie i try...

Only what are the gpio port to use for the four channels?
And how can i switch them with a http command..

Thanks

GPIO 4, 5, 12 and 15.
Buttons are 0,9,10 and 14.
I switch them from the rules, so I can give a simple json command and let the rules translate it into the proper GPIO.

When I have some time I will update the Wiki to reflect my setup as a small project.

[Dylantje]

When I have some time I will update the Wiki to reflect my setup as a small project.

Hope you do that...
Cannot understand the wiki..
Hope you will let it know when..

thanks!

[manjh]

When I have some time I will update the Wiki to reflect my setup as a small project.

Hope you do that...
Cannot understand the wiki..
Hope you will let it know when..

thanks!

Which part don't you understand?
In my view, the Wiki was set up quite good, and has recently been reorganized.
It should be easy to understand for everyone!

[Dylantje]

mmm what part do you talking about..
The normal is no problem i flashed 10 sonoff
Only the wiki for the 4 channel ?

[Dylantje]

and other topic only no answer

Do you perhaps know how i can use the Sonoff dual..
Please a http command? with the gpio that is used..
A example please?
Thanks

[manjh]

and other topic only no answer

Do you perhaps know how i can use the Sonoff dual..
Please a http command? with the gpio that is used..
A example please?
Thanks

This thread is about the Sonoff 4CH.
The Sonoff dual is a totally different beast, I seem to remember that it has a different architecture that is not supported by EspEasy.

[Shardan]

search for the sonoff dual here in the forum.

it uses a secondary signal processor at the serial port and is not supported
by the standard espeasy version.
if i remember right there where some attempts to integrate it
but honestly i can't say if there was a success and if there is a testing module.

[stofakiller]

Hi,

I have a 5-32v Sonoff/Itead 4ch, but i cant figure out how to flash it. I have flash many types of Sonoff's, i have Sonoff POW, normal 1ch Sonoffs and bulbs... I have triede both thrue my Arduino to flash it and also tried to erase it with ESP_Basic_Flasher... I always get cant open the port. Anyone triede or have any suggestions?

sonoff-4ch.jpg (1.98 MiB) Viewed 44284 times

[manjh]

Are you sure this is a Sonoff 4CH? It looks totally different from the two units I have. I see no buttons, for example.
Also, my Sonoff has a mains connection from which it feeds. Looks like this one expects an external power supply!

[Shardan]

Definitely that is not a genuine Itead 4ch.

Anyways an interesting module.
Do you have a link or schematics?
I'm not able to identifythe cpu module, it might contain an esp, not sure.
It might contain a signal cpu too.

[manjh]

Definitely that is not a genuine Itead 4ch.

Anyways an interesting module.
Do you have a link or schematics?
I'm not able to identifythe cpu module, it might contain an esp, not sure.
It might contain a signal cpu too.

A picture of the external casing might help, plus an accurate type/model number.

[stofakiller]

I bought true banggoodhttps://www.banggood.com/USB-5V-Or-DC-7 ... 84201407E9

That was back in may, i can see now that they have changed the product name to Geekcreit. It still uses Sonoff's app. But i would like to control it my self with mqtt

[papperone]

maybe just the WiFi module is from itead --> https://www.itead.cc/psb-04.html

[stofakiller]

I found the solution here: viewtopic.php?t=2721#p13583

I'm trying to flash it later today

[stofakiller]

It's a different chip, psf-b85 https://www.itead.cc/wiki/File:Pins_map_PSF-B85.png

So i'll try flashing it, all the pins i need is on one sideof the pcb...

[stofakiller]

I did'nt, i think the image is from the pcb side, and i think i was right, i just found this image

[stofakiller]

It worked

Its a 8266 chip and works perfect as a Sonoff 4ch PRO module