Sonoff basic r1 failure and decay after prolonged use

[kirkokuev]

Hello, I have a situation with multiple sonoff basic purchased at the same time and now slowly failing.
All devices were flashed with Espeasy r120 or r148 at the same time.
They worked properly over 4 years, but now I see that they are starting to fail.
Main symptom is that they are losing wi-fi connection, and then cannot reestablish it. This continues until I reboot them.
I think that the reason is probably failing power supply.
So I want to ask forum members is it possible to somehow recover these devices, maybe replace failing components?
I tried to troubleshoot but I don't see any abnormalities, or maybe I am not that good with testing components. The problem is that I have multiple devices across the house and they are one the same main's circuit. Which means that to reboot a single device I have to switch the whole line, that is used for lighting.
What are your suggestions?

[ThomasB]

R120/R148 was released before fire was discovered. Step 1 is to update the firmware to a recent Mega branch. Bin files are available here:
https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/releases

The Basic R1 V1 hardware is very fussy with WiFi connections and sometimes has difficulty obtaining/maintaining the connection when a Mega build is used. Many theories on this, but mostly educated guesses (noise near antenna port, evil spirits, etc.). So if the normal mega builds don't work well then also try one with _alt_wifi_ in the name.

If new firmware does not help then I would suggest replacing the Flash Chip. Install a 4MB (stock is 1MB) to enable OTA.

If these things do not restore operation then I don't have any other suggestions.

- Thomas

[TD-er]

Well usually I do agree on updating from R120 and other builds from ages ago.
But this is more about the reduced stability of the hardware, so I guess it may be more related to the power supply no longer delivering a stable 3V3.
Those Sonoff units were always a bit flaky in that they used the cheapest available parts and add a major discount to them as well.
So I would not be surprised when the capacitors inside now have even less capacitance than they had when they were "new".

If you can, please try to power the unit directly on the 3v3 pin with a sufficient powerfull power supply.
When that does restore the previous stability, then you can consider upgrading software.
But to be honest, I don't know if the newer builds may be better for a Sonoff unit which has a suspicious power supply unit, as the later builds were a lot faster in making the WiFi connection after boot and thus even more demanding on the power supply.

In short, I do suspect the power supply unit, so check those first.

[kirkokuev]

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated!
Maybe you can point me in the direction on which parts should I replace first? Is it voltage regulators that can go bad or should I start with capacitors?
As for the firmware, I tried to upgrade to latest mega version on one unit, but it won't help. Either it fails to connect entirely or glitches along the way. I think the most modern firmware that worked somehow is ESPEasy_mega-20180409.

[ThomasB]

As for the firmware, I tried to upgrade to latest mega version on one unit, but it won't help. Either it fails to connect entirely or glitches along the way. I think the most modern firmware that worked somehow is ESPEasy_mega-20180409.

I have a problematic Sonoff Basic R1 that needs a lot of hand-holding when it comes to which ESPEasy firmware version to use. It is currently on ESP_Easy_mega_20211005_custom_alt_wifi_ and has been running fine. But hard to say if yours will like it. And in case it matters, mine has been updated to 4MB flash.

Maybe you can point me in the direction on which parts should I replace first? Is it voltage regulators that can go bad or should I start with capacitors?

It's anyone's guess if/what component is defective. But changing the two electrolytic caps is a simple task. My Basic R1 V1.0 hardware has a 470uF/16V and 3.3uF/400V on it.

Sometimes it is easy to spot a bad radial electrolytic, especially those made in China. The topside aluminum will begin to bulge and change from perfectly flat to slightly domed. I never hesitate to change any electrolytic that has that characteristic. But some are sneaky and go bad without visible clues.

- Thomas

[kirkokuev]

Well, seems like sonoff basics are dropping like flies, I don't think that it is feasible to repair them. So, this brings me to question - what will be the most reliable and cost-effective replacement in 2021?
I still want to keep the espeasy because it is a familiar firmware and I can easily transition from basics.

[Ath]

I've been installing some Shelly switches (both with and without power measuring), that have, besides somewhat better reliability, also the advantage of 2MB flash memory, allowing for OTA updates without the hassle of 2-step OTA or serial flashing. And of course they run on ESPEasy

[kirkokuev]

I've been installing some Shelly switches (both with and without power measuring), that have, besides somewhat better reliability, also the advantage of 2MB flash memory, allowing for OTA updates without the hassle of 2-step OTA or serial flashing. And of course they run on ESPEasy

Thank you for reply! And for how long have you used them?

[Ath]

About a year and a half now. They are running continuously ever since the last time the power was cut (mandatory utility-meter replacement) ~130 days ago, where a new Sonoff Pow R2 hasn't had a longer uptime than 24 hours since I took it out of the box 4 months ago so that one is not actively used, I'm just monitoring it over some time, but it will en up in the bin I guess.

[TD-er]

The bigger Sonoff units, like the POW and the TH16 are of better quality compared to the Basic.
I do have 4 of them running 24/7 here as my permanent test units.
They are running like this for close to 4 years now, with only days of not being powered.
So this also implies these are of the "earlier" batches. No idea if the quality remained the same on later revisions.

The Basic units were always a bit "flaky" and also the ones which had the most reported WiFi issues.
WiFi connection stability relies quite a lot on the stability of the power supply.

[kirkokuev]

Well, today I have replaced 3 sonoff basics with 1 Shelly 1 and 1 Shelly 2.5 that has 2 relays.
Will see how they will show themselves.
What I like about the Shellies is that no soldering required to flash them (for 2.5 needed to solder small connectors to my Dupont wires, it has small flashing header). What I didn't like is that they don't allow low voltage gpios, it runs on 220v, so no switches and sensors out of the box. Sonoff was more generous in that regard.
Will need to redo my LEDs and switches. Each switch will get it's own WeMos and also separate 5v line powered by buck converter. Will see how it goes.

[rox]

My Sonoff Basics failed after 5 years of continious connection to mains. Symptoms were frequent disconnections and random rebooting. Primary reason , bad thermal design that caused loss of capacitance of the 470uf/16V next to the relay. The capacitor shouldn't be so close to the (usually activated) relay , the capacitance reduced to 92uf from 470uf as mentioned before. The lack of ventilation slots of the tighty closed enclosure add to the problem. Just replace the capacitor for a decent 470uf/16V@102°C and you 're on again. In one case even the bottom plastic cover was melted !! . As a side effect the bad rectification and the excess voltage ripple caused by the reduced capacitance caused the underside diodes to dissipate heat causing a possitive feedback that increased the temperature of the capacitor accelerating the capacitance degrading.

The burned-out enclosure:

[TD-er]

You should upload the photos here as the images you posted do not seem to exist or maybe are set to private?