Unfucking a smart plug

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║                             p r e s e n t s                              ║
║                                                                          ║
║                       ─[ Unfucking a smart plug ]─                       ║
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║  Release ....: Smart.Plug.Local.Firmware.IDOSTUFF                        ║
║  Title ......: Unfucking a smart plug                                    ║
║  Date .......: 2026-04-03                                                ║
║  Supplier ...: can't remember                                            ║
║  Platform ...: ESP8266 / ESPHome                                         ║
║  Protection .: hot glue                                                  ║
║  Parts ......: a smart plug, a USB serial adapter                        ║
║                                                                          ║
╠══════════════════════════▓▒░ RELEASE NOTES ░▒▓═══════════════════════════╣
║                                                                          ║
║  As  with most smart tech, cheap smart plugs reqiore a poorly made app,  ║
║  an  account  on  an insecure and questionable service  and  a  privacy  ║
║  policy  acceptance  before you can use it to remotely toggle  on  your  ║
║  horrible words-on-walls fake-neon LED livelaughlove.                    ║
║                                                                          ║
║  Most  of  the ones I have seen are basically an ESP8266 in  a  plastic  ║
║  box,  so  they're  nice and easy to make it your own  via  a  firmware  ║
║  flash.                                                                  ║
║                                                                          ║
║  Usually, this looks like:                                               ║
║                                                                          ║
║   ■ An ESP8266 module                                                    ║
║                                                                          ║
║   ■ a relay                                                              ║
║                                                                          ║
║   ■ a power metering chip                                                ║
║                                                                          ║
║   ■ four pads for serial                                                 ║
║                                                                          ║
║  Solder  four  wires  to the poads, hold GPIO0 low at  power-up,  flash  ║
║  ESPHome.                                                                ║
║                                                                          ║
║  Simple,  now it reports to Home Assistant on the and doesn't send data  ║
║  indirectly  to  advertisers and whoever else buys farmed, gray  market  ║
║  personal data.                                                          ║
║  Even  the power metering works! It does get a bit bad smelling if  you  ║
║  run a kettle through it.                                                ║
║                                                                          ║
╠══════════════════════════▓▒░ INSTALL NOTES ░▒▓═══════════════════════════╣
║                                                                          ║
║   1. Open  the case, chip away at resin and pull the hot glue away.  It  ║
║      will never go back the same, so you might also want to improve the  ║
║      case a tad here.                                                    ║
║                                                                          ║
║   2. Wire  up  the  pad's voltage, GND, TX and RX, and  hold  GPIO0  to  ║
║      ground while powering up.                                           ║
║                                                                          ║
║   3. Flash it, close it up, add it to Home Assistant.                    ║
║                                                                          ║
╠══════════════════════════════▓▒░ GREETZ ░▒▓══════════════════════════════╣
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║  The engineers who left the serial pads labelled.                        ║
║                                                                          ║
╠════════════════════════════▓▒░ GROUP NEWS ░▒▓════════════════════════════╣
║                                                                          ║
║  IDOSTUFF  is looking for: strange hardware, invasive smart tech, cheap  ║
║  boards  with no documentation, more sources of chinese landfill  tech.  ║
║  Email us: hello@idostuff.uk.                                            ║
║                                                                          ║
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║               -= idostuff.uk =-  ·  nfo updated 2026-10-12               ║
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Photos

Coming soon.