Tuya convert OTA error: screen: command not found

Hardware
1

i followed this guide 1 year ago to flash my Tuya devices with rpi3 and it worked great! Tuya Convert Walk Through – February 2019 – The

today, i boot up the same rpi3 so i can flash some more devices (same smart plugs bought at the same time but didnt flash until today) but rpi refuses to work. looks like the rpi tries to start up the AP but i dont see the " vtrust-flash" access point
command “./start_flash.sh”
error shows “screen: command not found”
i tried a different rpi3 but none worked.

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please advise. thanks!

2

The information given is quite sparse. Could be a permission problem. Either switch to “root” for executing start_flash.sh or try with “sudo”:

$ sudo start_flash.sh

3

no luck even with sudo

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4

Have you tried updating tuya-convert?

5

What device are you trying to update?

6

Can it be that you did a tuya firmware upgrade of those not yet tasmotized smart plugs in the meantime?

Take a look here:

On January 28th, 2019, Tuya started distributing a patch that prevented older versions of tuya-convert from completing successfully. We have since developed a work around to enable OTA flashing on some newer devices, but Tuya has since released yet another patch.

To ensure the best chance of success, do not connect your device with the official app as it may automatically update the device, preventing you from flashing with tuya-convert. It is up to the individual brands to update their firmware, so some devices may be affected sooner than others.

Unfortunately many devices have already been shipping with the new patched firmware, evident by a PSK ID beginning with 02 in smarthack-psk.log. There is no workaround at this time. Additionally, manufacturers have been silently switching from the ESP82xx based modules to other chipsets, making it impossible to install alternative ESP firmware on these devices.

7

it’s not the Topgreener smart plug with energy monitor. it’s something with my rpi3. the rpi3 refuses to create the vtrust-flash SSID. I did not update my rpi nor tuya convert so that’s why it is extra strange

8

Stating the obvious, but do you still have the linux screen command installed?

$ apt-cache policy screen
screen:
  Installed: 4.6.2-3+deb10u1
  Candidate: 4.6.2-3+deb10u1
  Version table:
 *** 4.6.2-3+deb10u1 500
        500 http://raspbian.raspberrypi.org/raspbian buster/main armhf Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
9

yes, i manually installed that screen later. vitrust SSD still no show.

10

i just tried on another rpi3. fresh install of the OS and everything but vitrust SSD refuses to come up.

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11

Maybe a stupid question, but you are accessing your pi3 over ethernet and not wifi ?

12

yes, putty in via cat5

13

well, today, i got much further than before! i do see vtrust-flash SSID and used a phone to connect. it didnt ask for a pw to connect to that ap, weird.
but now i am stuck at “resending smartconfig packets” as seen here

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when i tail smarthack-wifi.log, i see this:

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14

Oh, yes, long time I used tuya-convert, but now you say it, you must connect to the SSID with a phone before it continues.

15

ok. happy to say i got it working now!
when i started from scratch all over again, i manually uploaded the github files into the rpi3. the clone github commands no longer work. next, running the commands wont work due to permission issues when i uploaded. so i went into FTP and manually change some py and sh files permission to 755, all executeables instead or read only. working perfect now! thanks everyone!!!

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16

What devices were you flashing? I had a lot of luck longer time ago but recent tuyas are protected from this “bug”

17

this smart plug with energy monitor was bought in March 2021. so it still had the older fw. no idea what fw it has if you buy now. i got it flashed after my rpi3 issues were fixed today. works great!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FDGYYN7

18

Anyone know how to fix the vtrust-flash SSID not authenticating? I’ve tried 2 different phones and one table and it just won’t let me connect to the network.

19

Hmm it worked when I tried to use it a couple months ago… Atleast to connect to the SSID with my Android phone.

You probably won’t have much luck actually flashing your device unless it’s really old though. It hasn’t worked for some time.

1 Like
20

It’s a super old powerboard so I think it’ll be fine. Just can’t get the authentication going!