In case you are curious about what is inside the new Wyze SmartSocket.
Its based on the ESP8266 and use a 15 amp relay to control load.
My only personal criticism is the way the fuse is implemented. Rather than using two fuses like most smart sockets, there is one fuse, and it is connected on the neutral side rather than the line side. This means that even if the fuse pops, the device connected is still live and can pass current to ground.
Most smart sockets use 2 fuses. They both split off the line side. One fuse(usually 10 amps) protects the relay and outlet socket, and the other (usually a 10ohm resistor) protects the power supply for the control circuitry and relay driver.
The lack of what I will call ‘conventional’ fuse placement is not a deal breaker but it should be known that it’s not an optimal design in that regard. The odd part is that there is plenty of physical space to put in the 2 fuses. I am curious if anyone from Wyze sees this and can explain the choice to put the fuse on the neutral rather than the hot/line side and why only one fuse and not two?
All that said, the modules are working well so far. No random on or offs, and the fact that you can put 2 modules in a duplex outlet is a great thing. The 15amp rating is quite nice as well.
If anyone wants to see any more of this module let me know. I sacrificed one pair(I bought 2 pair) for teardown and testing reasons. I am happy to check or test anything else on them if you have a request.
In this configuration, there is a ground pin. It makes it so the device can only go in one way.
Our sockets have the option for two or three pins. It depends on if a device is double insulated or not. Double insulated can be two pin with no ground/Earth but most devices have a third, ground/earth pin now.
In recent years, most reputable companies make two pin power cords that have one blade larger than the other. This makes the line/neutral thing more enforceable.
You can still find cheap plugs (usually on low prices electronics) that have the same size blades. But those are the edge cases.
Its little solder pads marked on the back of the board. I soldered little hookup wires to a pin header to plug into a basic ESP-01 to serial adapter. I used firmware that I copied from another outlet that is tuya based. I’m pretty sure Tasmota would work here. The normal pads might also break out RX TX gpio0 but I didn’t check. They do have Gnd and VCC so you could attach there too.
I didn’t use pins. That’s what I am saying. I used the round pads on the back of the board, soldering wires to them. I measured the continuity from the chip itself to the round pads and attached wires. I will see if I can find any pictures but I have the outlet fully re-assembled at the moment.
