New Sonoff RF Bridge Board - Need Flashing Help

loaxley · October 6, 2021, 6:46am

Hi everyone, I appear to have a new version of the Sonoff RF bridge board, R2 v2.2, which has a different configuration than past versions. While I was able to flash Tasmota using this guide:
https://tasmota.github.io/docs/devices/Sonoff-RF-Bridge-433/

I was not able to figure out which pins to connect, or whether I need to cut any lines (I would prefer not to, but will if I have to), in order to flash Portisch.

Any help that could be provided would be greatly appreciated, and we could use any information gleaned here to update the guide for this device.

Here are images of the new board.

David_Sedlacek · October 6, 2021, 9:12am

Same problem

David_Sedlacek · October 6, 2021, 9:18am

Seems like they have changed RF chips on the board. The current one has a different package than EFM8BB1. Hope the new chip will be supported otherwise it’s useless for HA…

francisp · October 6, 2021, 9:20am

Is that the new one in the white box ?

David_Sedlacek · October 6, 2021, 1:30pm

David_Sedlacek · October 6, 2021, 1:34pm

Not 100 % sure about that, but seems like it works out of the box without flashing the RF micro.

I’m getting unique and constant “Data” payload after each button press on my 433 MHz key fob.

francisp · October 6, 2021, 1:45pm

You only need to flash portish for additional protocols that the rf bridge does not understand by itself. If all your rf433 works with the standard chip, there is no need to flash portish.

Thanks for the information, I saw the white box and wondered if it was still flashable with Tasmota.

David_Sedlacek · October 6, 2021, 1:47pm

OK thanks for explaination. Just for the record - I’ve flashed Tasmota into Sonoff Bridge ESP82xx, but not RF chip.

loaxley · October 6, 2021, 4:25pm

Hey David,

To get the commands to show up in console for your Sonoff RF Bridge R2 v2.2, did you have to run MQTT or anything like that, or did you just open up the console and start pressing buttons on the fob? Sorry, i’m a bit of a beginner on stuff like this. I’m flashed with Tasmota, and commands are not showing up for me, but maybe there’s another step I have to take. Perhaps my device simply needs Portsich, in which case I need to go find an earlier version of the Sonoff RF Bridge, but I want to exhaust all other options first.

cce · October 8, 2021, 6:28am

I did some testing and the v2.2 bridge is 1-2 seconds slower than the v2 bridge with Portisch. I use it mainly for motion triggered lights, so the delay can be annoying.

francisp · October 8, 2021, 6:41am

So if I need another one, I better search ali for a seller that still has the black one

willoak84 · October 12, 2021, 7:53am

Hi,

I am a newbee with the same issue, I have a question.
how did you put the esp in flashing mode?

I am not able to see the switch that was used in previous version, did you ground a specific pin?

thanks!

francisp · October 12, 2021, 7:56am

To put in flashing mode, press the ‘pairing button’ while inserting the FTDI in USB.

willoak84 · October 12, 2021, 9:32pm

Thanks, got the sonoff flashed but I am not getting any code at all.

Apparently the communication between ESP and RF is changed, so I better go and get a black one!

Let’s if the community manage to solve the issue for the new board!

GregyOnline · October 24, 2021, 8:52pm

Same issue Flash ok but there is no cummunication with the RF.
Which PIN is used to connect the ESP82xx and the RF, I’m using pin: 5

mateine · November 6, 2021, 4:26pm

New direct hack

It is the equivalent of Hardware Itead Sonoff RF Bridge Direct Hack to get super wide protocol support, but for the new R2 v2.2 board (not a way to flash Portisch.)

Tutorial

1. Cut the usb data lines

Exactly as in the original mod for older versions, these traces are connected with GPIOs we’ll use to connect the receiver and transmitter directly to the ESP8285. If left conected, usb chargers may bridge them and nothing will work (or worse).

2. Connect the transmitter

USBTXD → pin 4 of the 6-legged chip (purple cable, bottom left pin in the image)

3. Connect the receiver

USBRXD → pin 5 of the 8 legged chip near the LEDs (green cable, bottom right pin in the image)

ESPHome configuration

esphome:
  name: sonoff-rf
  platform: ESP8266
  board: esp8285
  build_path: ./build/sonoff-rf

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_name
  password: !secret wifi_pass
  fast_connect: true

api:
logger: 
ota:
web_server:

status_led:
  pin:
    number: GPIO13
    inverted: yes

# USBRX = GPIO4 ---> receiver
# USBTX = GPIO5 ---> trasmitter

# receiver = pin 5 of the 8-legged chip (the one closer to the wifi antenna)
# transmitter = pin 4 of the 6-legged chip (closest to r12)


remote_receiver:
  pin: GPIO04
  dump: all

remote_transmitter:
  pin: GPIO05
  carrier_duty_percent: 100%

# this will log received commands, and can also transmit. Read up here:
# https://esphome.io/components/remote_transmitter.html#remote-setting-up-rf

Notes

In this mod, the existing encoder/decoder chip is not disconnected from either the transmitter nor the receiver. From what I could measure, this revision of the board has a 1k resistor between the encoder chip and the modulator, so the ESP “wins” anyway. It works perfectly fine for me, but do at your own risk.
Update: The tracks to cut were found below, make sure to do that also

mateo-cogeanu · November 26, 2021, 1:55pm

Hello dear team, I may need your help with a situation that I see got solved above, How did you manage to Flash tasmota on a Sonoff RF BridgeR2 – ESP8285 ( Board Version: R2 v2.2) ( Board date: 2021.01.19). After I connect the board to a windows machine and try to use this link: Install Tasmota or tasmotizer-1.2.exe I am receiving this error message: “failed to connect to esp8266 timed out waiting for packet header” I have tried pressing the “Pairing button” for 3/6/10 secconds while inserting the Prolific USB-to-Serial (Driver version: 3.3.2.120 - Date: 2008.9.24) Thank you in advance for any suggestion that you may have.

francisp · November 26, 2021, 3:56pm

mateine · November 26, 2021, 8:09pm

I don’t remember having problems with this.

Is the serial adapter jumper set at 3.3v?
Are the serial datalines crossed? (Rx to Tx, Tx to Rx)
micro usb port not connected to anything, right?
The header pins solidly connected?

If the answer to all of these is true, it is worth checking that the serial converter works by trying it with another esp chip. That’s all I got

schmurtz · November 27, 2021, 12:33am

Thanks @mateine for this information !
Thanks to your help I’ve successfully flashed my R2 v2.2 with ESPhome, then I tried Tasmota and finally I build my own firmware based on RFlink32, write a documentation, made a flash script (for Windows) and posted it on github. I really recommend to try this firmware on the Sonoff RF Bridge !

There is an already compiled firmware in my github repo :

Also I propose alternative way to cut the USB data lines on the back of the board :