Accessing "China only" Xiaomi Mijia Smart Socket 2 Gateway & Temp/Humidity Sensors in NZ

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Johnnyrs

18 posts

Geek

#286033 1-Jun-2021 08:12

Good morning!

I'm a gadget/tech fan & after buying a couple of Mi security cameras, I got the idea of using the tech to help me as I have a degenerative neurological disease & 3 teen children to look after.

"They must be easy to connect to & control automatically in this digital age. ", I thought. I thought wrong. I bought a handful of the little square Mi Temperature and Humidity Monitor 2 sensors which connected easily to the Xiaomi Home app & were setup to tell me if the kids' rooms got cold. They communicate online via one of the cameras which acts as a BLE Gateway.

I then bought an Arlec smart socket that integrates well with Google Home & "Smart Life" and, after some faffing, I can control it to some degree. However attempts to use it to control a heater based on a temperature sensor's reading (IFTTT responding to Xiaomi Home notifications) has had little success.

Easy solution would be to get some Mi(jia) sockets & control within the Xiaomi app. I bought 2 Xiaomi Smart Socket 2 gateways.

Aargh, 2 weeks of trying different apps & setting Xiaomi Home to "Chinese Mainland" and the smart sockets still sit there with their yellow lights flashing & taunting me. Occasionally I've had the Xiaomi app connect with them but they never connect with my WiFi.

Before I use up what remaining neurons I have left, is there anywhere /anyone who can give me a straight forward way to connect & control everything (I have a history in programming /electronic gadgets although limited mental energy)? Maybe a gateway is the answer? I can't afford to spend much & don't want to spend money on something that doesn't work... Any thoughts /ideas /answers gladly accepted & appreciated.

Thanks

CokemonZ

1051 posts

Uber Geek

#2716596 1-Jun-2021 10:08

So I am in the Tuya (Smartlife) ecosystem primarily via the grid connect (primarily arlec and deta) range from bunnings.

Similar to you I have it hooked up to google home.

They sell a temperature and humidity sensor. I do not have this, but the door opening sensor works well for me.

Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Sensor Kit - Bunnings New Zealand

Here is the sensor buy itself, but you need the hub as well:

Arlec Grid Connect Smart Temperature Sensor - Bunnings New Zealand

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/arlec-grid-connect-smart-home-hub_p0148571

Or of course you could go real simple and just get a heatermate (www.heatermate.com.au)

Honestly - the arlec stuff is decent, not stupidly priced, I've had a couple of the lightbulbs fail and swapped them with no issues.

You can get fairly clever with both the tuya or smartlife app and google home. What you are looking for can 100% be done in the Tuya app - too cold, turn on socket.

I have routines for lighting when we're on holiday, turning off lights and turning on heaters and vacuum when it's bedtime, managing the projector, soundbar and xbox.

davidcole

6036 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2716599 1-Jun-2021 10:11

I have the Xiaomi Gateway and a bunch of sensors etc.

I did have the gateway being accessed via Openhab after initially using their app. That works well, I suspect Home assistant would work as well.

I then looked at putting in zigbee2mqtt via CC2531 coordinators and routers. But found it a pain, honestly the Xiaomi using their gateway just seemed to work and was rock solid. I did have some of their power plugs as well, as they work as routers to extend the network.

To that end I decided to move away from it, so actually have a bunch of power plugs (nz plug approx 3-4) and H&T sensors - about 10ish I think, that I'm not using any more if interested.

Previously known as psycik

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tieke

674 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2716677 1-Jun-2021 12:02

I have had the xiaomi sockets and temperature monitors for years (and lights and door sensors and vacuum cleaner etc) all working well and integrated with Google and Home Assistant.

I have used a xiaomi hub/gateway since I started though - my sockets don't have wifi so can't connect independently although I don't know about later releases, and I know that many of my other devices also need the hub to work.

I might have a previous gen hub lying around if you wanted to try that - where are you based?

extech

27 posts

Geek

#2716707 1-Jun-2021 14:01

Johnnyrs: Good morning!

I'm a gadget/tech fan & after buying a couple of Mi security cameras, I got the idea of using the tech to help me as I have a degenerative neurological disease & 3 teen children to look after.

"They must be easy to connect to & control automatically in this digital age. ", I thought. I thought wrong. I bought a handful of the little square Mi Temperature and Humidity Monitor 2 sensors which connected easily to the Xiaomi Home app & were setup to tell me if the kids' rooms got cold. They communicate online via one of the cameras which acts as a BLE Gateway.

I then bought an Arlec smart socket that integrates well with Google Home & "Smart Life" and, after some faffing, I can control it to some degree. However attempts to use it to control a heater based on a temperature sensor's reading (IFTTT responding to Xiaomi Home notifications) has had little success.

Easy solution would be to get some Mi(jia) sockets & control within the Xiaomi app. I bought 2 Xiaomi Smart Socket 2 gateways.

Aargh, 2 weeks of trying different apps & setting Xiaomi Home to "Chinese Mainland" and the smart sockets still sit there with their yellow lights flashing & taunting me. Occasionally I've had the Xiaomi app connect with them but they never connect with my WiFi.

Before I use up what remaining neurons I have left, is there anywhere /anyone who can give me a straight forward way to connect & control everything (I have a history in programming /electronic gadgets although limited mental energy)? Maybe a gateway is the answer? I can't afford to spend much & don't want to spend money on something that doesn't work... Any thoughts /ideas /answers gladly accepted & appreciated.

Thanks

Similar problem. I had 2 Xiaomi NZ cameras working through MiHome xiaomi app. Worked great so I bought another Xiaomi camera which was only for mainland China.I had to install two instances of MiHome on different phones to use all the cameras. But after a long search I found a "cracked"or "hacked" version of MiHome which lets you install different country specific items into the app. So all works good for me now. Search youtube and heed all the warnings

openmedia

3332 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2716720 1-Jun-2021 14:28

I'm using a bunch of Xiaomi sensors with Home Assistant.

I'm either using epshome on an ESP32 to collect the data, or a shell script on a nearby Raspberry Pi.

For ESPHome see

https://esphome.io/components/sensor/xiaomi_ble.html

Under Linux on a Rasp Pi I'm using

https://github.com/trsqr/mijia_mqtt

I've got a mix of LYWSDCGQ and LYWSD03MMC sensors

Johnnyrs

18 posts

Geek

#2716775 1-Jun-2021 16:57

tieke: I have had the xiaomi sockets and temperature monitors for years (and lights and door sensors and vacuum cleaner etc) all working well and integrated with Google and Home Assistant.

I have used a xiaomi hub/gateway since I started though - my sockets don't have wifi so can't connect independently although I don't know about later releases, and I know that many of my other devices also need the hub to work.

I might have a previous gen hub lying around if you wanted to try that - where are you based?

Thanks for the offer Tieke - very kind of you. That gateway seems to be the answer to an easy result for me. I'd really like to try out your hub...I'm in West Auckland near Titirangi (but do go further into Auckland - West, Central & Northcote - for exercise classes).

To all other responders thank you for your answers. We're a long way from an Internet of Things where all Things talk easily & simply to each other. If I had my abilities, I would have dived into Home Assistant but I don't have the ability to spend more than 5 or 10 minutes seriously thinking about anything now.

Extech, I went as far as downloading that cracked Mi Home Software you mentioned when anxiety took over & I didn't think the risk of malevolent software was worth it. But it's exactly what's needed.

tieke

674 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2716857 1-Jun-2021 19:55

Johnnyrs:

Thanks for the offer Tieke - very kind of you. That gateway seems to be the answer to an easy result for me. I'd really like to try out your hub...I'm in West Auckland near Titirangi (but do go further into Auckland - West, Central & Northcote - for exercise classes).

I'm in Wellington so I'll have to mail it up. I'll send you a PM.

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neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2716953 1-Jun-2021 22:56

I should put in a good word for the YoLink gear, it's the easiest tech thing I've ever set up, scan the QR code on the back and you're done. And since it's LoRa it runs forever off (included) AA batteries, and there's no problems with range or signal issues. Arrives in about a week from Amazon US, which is really bad in terms of thinking "oh yea, I could use one of these, and when it arrives next week it'll take longer to position it (a minute or two) than to configure it (seconds)". Next lot to arrive are door/window open/close sensors, one of which will go in the letterbox to tell me when mail has arrived (see LongRange, above).

tieke

674 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2717246 2-Jun-2021 13:13

The Yola stuff looks good for longer distances. I will keep an eye on the Home Assistant thread to see if a working integration happens. Sounds like they've recently released an sdk, bit it'll still need someone on the HA side to do the work.