Freeing a Xiaomi humidifier from the cloud
2 days ago
- #Home Automation
- #Xiaomi
- #ESPHome
- The author moved into a new apartment and wanted to make their home smarter using Home Assistant, an open-source platform.
- Finding a smart humidifier compatible with Home Assistant was challenging, as most rely on proprietary apps or cloud services.
- The author decided to replace the firmware of a Xiaomi humidifier to avoid dependency on manufacturer's cloud services.
- They chose a Xiaomi Mi Smart Antibacterial Humidifier for its ESP8266/ESP32 microcontroller, compatible with ESPHome.
- The original custom firmware by Sören Beye was outdated, so the author re-implemented it using ESPHome as an external component.
- Steps to hack the humidifier include finding the correct model (deerma.humidifier.jsq), disassembly, wiring UART, and flashing new firmware.
- The process involves removing the WiFi module, soldering wires for UART communication, and using a 3.3V serial adapter for flashing.
- Before flashing new firmware, it's recommended to back up the original Xiaomi firmware.
- The new firmware can be flashed using ESPHome's web flasher or esptool.py.