[Guide] How to flash a Sonoff Basic R3 OTA (eWeLink -> ESPHome) and setup HA in docker

thatguy_za · July 18, 2020, 8:38am

I recently went to visit my parents who have one of my old Pi 3’s running OMV 5 for a local Plex server to allow them to stream music around the house. I thought this would be a good opportunity to entice them into the world of home automation.

This is by no means a comprehensive guide but it aims to outline the process for getting up and running (potentially on existing hardware). If possible, rather run Home Assistant (I think it was called Hass.io).

Part 1: Setting up Home Assistant Core and ESPHome in docker

Assuming that Docker is installed. SSH into the Raspberry Pi and run the following command to pull and run the latest container, the only thing you need to change is the path to your config directory.

docker run --init -d --name="home-assistant" -e "TZ=Africa/Johannesburg" -v /PATH_TO_YOUR_CONFIG:/config --net=host homeassistant/raspberrypi3-homeassistant:stable

Head over to a web browser on your local machine and enter <your Pi’s IP>:8123 to setup Home Assistant.
I couldn’t find documentation on which version of ESPHome to run on a Pi without using the Python installer but this one worked for me. Follow the same approach as step 1:

docker run --init -d --name="ESPHome" -e "TZ= Africa/Johannesburg" -v /PATH_TO_YOUR_CONFIG:config --net=host esphome/esphome-armv7:latest

As you did in step 2, head over to <your Pi’s IP>:6052 in your web browser to setup and configure devices in ESPHome. NOTE: You do not need to setup the ESPHome integration in Home Assistant, devices will pop up in HA auto-magically - thanks HA team
Setup your device in ESPHome and download the .bin file. Save this for later.

Part 2: Time for the hardware, I bought a Sonoff R3 to give the DIY mode a try

Download and install the eWeLink app on your phone/tablet. I used a 10 minute mail account to sign up and login - them Chinese don’t need any more of my info.
Connect the Sonoff to AC power and add it to your eWeLink app
In the eWeLink app, go to Device Settings and update the Sonoff’s to the latest firmware (this should be v3.5). My Sonoff came with firmware v3.0.0 which resulted me pulling my hair our for about an hour. Please learn from my mistakes
Delete/reset the Sonoff from the eWeLink app
Disconnect the Sonoff from AC power (once again, learn from my mistakes), pop the cover off and connect the supplied jumper onto the J1 header, labelled “OTA_SW”.

image552×504 94.9 KB

Disclaimer: not my image. Thanks Tasmota team.
Put the case back onto the Sonoff and connect it to AC power. Once it has booted, press and hold the button on the Sonoff until the blue light starts to blink rapidly
Connect to the Sonoff’s Access Point (named ITEAD-XXXXXXXX) with the password 12345678`
In your browser, go to http://10.10.7.1/ to enter your 2.4ghz WiFi network name and password. Your Sonoff will reboot and connect to your AP once this is complete.
Time to boot into Windows . Download the tool for flashing custom firmware from Sonoff’s github repo – https://github.com/itead/Sonoff_Devices_DIY_Tools/tree/master/tool. The tool is tool_01DIY85(3.3.0).exe which implies that it works with Sonoff firmware v3.3 but I had no problems getting it to work on v3.5.
Run the flashing tool, it should find your Sonoff. Click on the “Firmware Flash” button and select the .bin file that you created in ESPHome earlier. Select your Sonoff device, click “Flash Device List” and then hit “OK”. This will upload the firmware onto your Sonoff and reboot it once complete.
Head over to Home-Assistant where you should see you a notification for your new device. Follow the prompts to setup the device and you’re good to go!

duceduc · September 28, 2020, 5:37am

Can you share your esphome config settings? I will be getting my first sonoff r3 soon.

thatguy_za · September 28, 2020, 6:01am

Have a look here - it’s pretty well documented.

Shout if you have any questions.

duceduc · September 28, 2020, 7:31am

Thanks. I have gone through the steps. I have an Ikea floor lamp I want to make smart. Since the sonoff is meant to act as a switch, I found this post where you can convert it to a light rather a switch in HA. I can just use this config file for my setup? Also, the black button on the sonoff is an on/off button? That is I can use it to turn on/off the lamp manually?

pvi25 · December 5, 2021, 12:46pm

I wanted to share my experiences of getting Tasmota on my recently purchased Sonoff Basic R3. It is maybe a bit off topic for this post, because this topic is about esphome, but anyway this page popped up when searching for Tasmota (and only difference is that you use the Tasmota .bin instead of the esphome .bin in step 10), so I thought it would be best to describe my Tasmota experience over here.

I have been working my way through all the different options of getting Tasmota on my Sonoff Basic R3 (via RESTer, DIY tool, and even up to soldering pins and flashing via usb with esptools). In the end the steps described on this page is the easiest way to do it I think. Only trouble with the Tamota v 10.0.0 .bin files on this page http://ota.tasmota.com/tasmota/release/ is that the v10.0.0 .bin file is too big for DIY tool (lite version is also too big and basic version didnt work for me). A way to get around this is to first flash the lite v9.5.0 on the Sonoff Basic R3 and after you have connected to Tasmota on the Sonoff Basic R3 (connect to Tasmota wifi Access Point, browse to 192.168.4.1, fill in Wifi, wait for R3 restarting and connect to the IP that was assigned to the R3), upgrade to the latest v10.0.0 firmware (can even be the full version then, just accept the default). The lite v9.5.0 firmware can be downloaded from this page: http://sonoff-ota.aelius.com/ (‘latest’ is the v9.5.0 at this time of writing, although v10.0.0 is also on the page)

I didnt have to do the jumper in my recently bought R3 btw, just keeping the black button pressed for 5 sec just after power up was enough. The Sonoff firmware was already 3.6.0., so I could actually skip step 1-6 of Part 2.

alex-tomin · November 21, 2022, 1:05am

Fantastic guide. Thaskn a lot. Btw My firmware version was 3.6 - still works

techknowcase1 · November 9, 2024, 8:14pm

For anyone who might cross this path, I flashed my Sonoff Basic R3 today, from tasmota minimal to esp home.

Since the R3 has more LED than the sonoff basic, I used the R2 as starter point instead of the basic (r1?). everyting works: relay, both LEDs. Here’s my config:

# DIY Sonoff Basic R3 config
substitutions:
  number: "1"
  device_name: sonoff-${number}
  device_description: Sonoff Basic R3
  friendly_name: Sonoff relay ${number}


esphome:
  name: ${device_name}
  friendly_name: ${friendly_name}
  comment: ${device_description}

esp8266:
  board: esp8285

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: "..."

web_server:
  port: 80
  auth:
    username: admin
    password: !secret web_server_password

ota:
  platform: esphome
  password: !secret ota_password

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Smart-Plug Fallback Hotspot"
    password: !secret web_server_password

captive_portal:

mdns:
    
####################################

text_sensor:
  - platform: wifi_info
    ip_address:
      name: ESP IP Address
    ssid:
      name: ESP Connected SSID
    bssid:
      name: ESP Connected BSSID
    mac_address:
      name: ESP Mac Wifi Address
  - platform: debug
    reset_reason:
      name: Reset Reason


time:
  - platform: homeassistant
    id: homeassistant_time


sensor:
  - platform: uptime
    name: ${friendly_name} Uptime
    unit_of_measurement: minutes
    filters:
      - lambda: return x / 60.0;

  - platform: wifi_signal
    name: ${friendly_name} Signal
    update_interval: 60s

  - platform: uptime
    name: Uptime


button:
  - platform: restart
    name: Restart


debug:
  update_interval: 30s


# Device Specific Config
binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    id: push_button
    pin:
      number: GPIO0
      mode: INPUT_PULLUP
      inverted: True
    internal: true
    on_press:
      # Prevents unintended LED lit states.
      if:
        condition:
          - switch.is_off: relay
        then:
          - light.turn_on: blue_led
          - switch.turn_on: relay
        else:
          - switch.turn_off: relay
  - platform: status
    name: ${friendly_name} status

light:
  - platform: status_led
    id: blue_led
    internal: True
    pin:
      number: GPIO13
      inverted: True

switch:
  # The relay switches on the red side of the LED when active.
  - platform: gpio
    name: "Sonoff Basic Relay"
    pin: GPIO12
    id: relay
    on_turn_off:
      if:
        condition:
          - light.is_on: blue_led
        then:
          - light.turn_off: blue_led

Hope this helps!