Smart lights without cloud services
In my search for some cheap wifi lightbulbs which I can flash with Tasmota to remove all cloud related firmware I came across the collection of LSC Smart Connect devices for sale at Action. I purchased the most normal looking bulb with RGB colors and a E27 fitting: https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/lsc-smart-connect-slimme-multicolor-ledlamp-3/
LSC Smart Multicolor LED light
- Based on the Tuya Smart Platform
- Smart RGB-light with E27-fitting.
- Connect with wifi to control the light with the app.
- Adjust brightness, color temperature and color. Choose any RGB color.
I did a little bit of research on the LSC Smart Connect family of devices and it seemed like the only devices that were not compatible with Tasmota are the remote control and smart siren. Even though this particular light is not present in the Tasmota supported devices list there is another RGB bulb that is supported.
My attempt
Once I got it I connected it with the LSC Smart Connect app which is a BIG no no! Apparently when you connect the light for the first time it might flash the firmware with a version that cannot be flashed to Tasmota easily. Anyway, after playing around with the app I tried to flash Tasmota on it with tuya-convert. I followed the instructions on the GitHub page but it kept getting stuck on Resending SmartConfig Packets. I figured maybe the firmware was already updated to an incompatible version, so I tried to open up the bulb and use a serial connector to flash the firmware directly.
After painstakingly opening up the bulb and slightly damaging it, I didn't find an ESP8266/ESP8285 but instead found a small board with a antenna that had WR3L printed on it. Turns out this is a different wifi module and is not supported by Tasmota.
Guess I have to continue my search for another LED bulb.
Fortunately I am able to use the cloud services in Home Assistant, so I can still use this smart light in my home automation.