Correct. It does kinda make sense too, as someone could come up with a way to pile 8 switches into a single gang box, or even more switches, we can’t just change the name of the box. (box fill code requirements aside)
I do believe this hits the nail on the head though on why I can’t find any US size WiFi switches larger than 1 gang. Does everyone in other countries just use these small boxes for 3 or 4 switches? No wonder I see so many threads about no neutrals in boxes as you can’t fit it all in there. It’s rare for me to find boxes without neutrals in homes unless they are super old and they probably don’t have earth grounds either.
The reason they call them 3 way switches in the US doesn’t refer to the number of switches, it refers to the number of electrical terminals on it from what I’ve been told. Seems to be an old confusing term indeed.
Interesting… looks like no cloud as well. Can you confirm they work without an internet connectivity?
Wonder if these can be flashed though, I kinda prefer a switch where I can flash & customize my own firmware. Allows me to have more control over things and control my own destiny and not later have some firmware update pushed to me breaking something. Big investment in time and money in replacing a bunch of switches later to have some company decide lock down their API and then HomeAssistant won’t work anymore.
Yeh I know, that’s what makes it particularly dumb as it isn’t three way at all, it’s a two way switch with the three terminals you obviously need to make it two way…and then to compound the lunacy they name the whole circuit after it
Then of course, the circuit’s wired up so bizarrely too that you need yet another type of switch to make it an actual three way, called four way because of the extra terminal you shouldn’t really need, but at least that gives you a neutral at your switches
When three switches get involved it does get a bit wild. Things that further compound things are when people get lazy and power lights at the light box itself for any configuration, but luckily at least in my region most electricians have jumped from switch to switch for power junctions.
I had another of the Chinese switches arrive yesterday, my third. Having gone through the bother of flashing and configuring it, it was only at the last stage of fitting it to the wall that I found that the screws fixing the board to the case had been omitted at manufacture stage.
But at least this gives me the chance to post an image of the business side of the board for you. This is a 1-switch and - as you can see - has only one relay. It’s not obvious to me whether the other two switches are connected - I’ll have a play later.
UPDATE - I configured the switch under Tasmota as a Sonoff T1 3CH and found that both of the two switches on the left operated (ie MQTT stat post) POWER1 and the switch on the right operated POWER3. Slightly odd.
It appears from this thread Add Support for Smart Life Components - #49 by samuscherer that this switch may be able to be directly controlled by home-assistant without flashing and without using their cloud server, so I am going to try that before trying further with Tasmota.
Yes, the Ankuoo switch can be controlled directly / locally without any cloud or internet connection.
Just to be clear though, despite what the title of the Amazon listing might sound like, the Ankuoo switch is fully functional (not sure why the listing title says “NOT Plug & Play, Limited DIY Required”) and it definitely does include cloud functionality. (It can be controlled remotely without opening any ports in your firewall via the Ankuoo Neo App which is what the high quality, professionally printed instructions direct you to download in order to setup the switch.)
But again, I’ve tested & can confirm that once the switch is setup, if you block the switch at your router so it has no internet access, Home Assistant has no problem controlling it. (And while I didn’t test it, based on the setup procedure I’d be willing to bet you can actually get the switch connected to your Wifi without it requiring internet access. Doing this would prevent the device from downloading any firmware updates & should eliminate the possibility of the manufacture doing an update that breaks Home Assistant support. Plus it’s probably more secure.)
But I totally understand your position on preferring to flash your devices so you can be in complete control and to that end here’s a list I’ve compiled of similarly priced switches that all have reports of people successfully flashing them with custom firmware:
GresaTek (amazon) (See article below for flashing)
Nexete (amazon) (I seem to be missing a link to a confirmed successful flash on this right now but I shouldn’t have added it to my list if I didn’t read somewhere that someone successfully flashed it.)
It would be nice if the Ankuoo was flashable as well but I haven’t seen any reports of that just yet. Oh and speaking of the Ankuoo, currently Amazon is running a promo where you get an additional 15% off if you buy 2 or more!
Anyway, hope someone else finds all this info useful.
Thanks for those links! I even see some real US sized 2-gang switches. Might have to pick up one and see how it performs or if it can be flashed.
EDIT: Side note, sometimes I can find the FCC ID on the pictures or customer review pictures, then search the FCC ID and find the internal pictures during the certification to see if it has an ESP chip and/or easy to use headers.
Thank you @KBrown for a great explanation of the Ankuoo. I think it’s just what I need to replace my old MyQ switches.
I have a python program that sends a command to the sonoff s20 on/off with a gpio 12,1 command.
How would I do this with the Ankuoo? Nevermind I think maybe just an automation
Thanks
I decided to give this sonoff box and decora style switch a try and printed one up.
The original plan is here:
I made a modification so that flexible wires would come out of the back instead and it is here:
Mine doesn’t look as good simply because I printed course and did no cleanup afterward. Plus, I used too high of a resistor value and my LED is pretty dim. It looks fine in the dark though.
Just want to add that you can now setup your own zigbee gateway. This way you can use Xiaomi /Aqara switches and sensors without their special gateway. Cheaper, more convenient, has better integration with HA and less likely to break if Xiaomi decide to change firmware/app.
See
Nice to see different solutions. I didn’t like “smart bulbs” from the beginning (not useful with chandelier, expensive, not practical to change), so I use 433 rf once. But I can not get the state frome them.
And I do not have neutral of course=)
Loved aqara, but they are square… as I see, sonoff switches are popular, but is it a good idea, to get more 10 devices on router? Do they work stable? What if I can not give them static IP from router? Or maybe they connect via wi fi to raspberry, without getting to router? It seems to me, that ecosystem, where RP gives commands to devices directly, is more clever.
It is hard to choose.
One mote time:
-love stability!
-no neutral
-no static ip from router
-would like to see the state
-would like to be it cheap (25$ is fine)
