Dead arlec PC399HA smartplugs

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Dead arlec PC399HA smartplugs - common problem?

richms

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#302105 29-Oct-2022 00:51

Just found that another one of these was dead and didn't close the relay after it had its supply interrupted and seems to have had no usage recorded for a few months (so much for watching what the computers cost me to run)

Anyway, that now makes a 4 for 4 failure rate on these - Some of them will power up enough to broadcast the wifi network when the button is held down for 5 seconds twice, the light is dim and flichery. One will try to turn the relay on from the button but it just makes a mechanical buzzing noise from it and then stops responding to the button press, and one is dead totally.

So it seems that there is a design issue with them.

Anyone else have these fail like this? I should be able to get the purchase details from the Bunnings app and take them back and go all CGA on them if needed (1219 date on the 2 I have inside with me, the other 2 are in the shed so will have to wait to see when they were made)

They all have a recessed triangle screw that is too deep for my bit set to get to and if I can just take them back and get replaced that would be better than opening to see if I can fix them. I am assuming its a power supply capacitor thats died but who knows really.

Richard rich.ms

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#2989427 29-Oct-2022 08:08

I had one fail, but it seems to have come back to life. Have you been using stock firmware?

MarkM536

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#2989453 29-Oct-2022 10:08

richms:

They all have a recessed triangle screw that is too deep for my bit set to get to and if I can just take them back and get replaced that would be better than opening to see if I can fix them. I am assuming its a power supply capacitor thats died but who knows really.

You are lucky.

The recent one I bought had a tri-circle thing on the screwhead. Absolute pain to get out.

I've reflashed mine with Tasmota to use in Home Assistant.

Those plugs where some of the last made by Arlec with an ESP based Tuya chip, the new Tuya chips cannot easily be reflashed.

It's worth holding on to the plugs for fixing and re-flashing the firmware.

timmmay

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#2989455 29-Oct-2022 10:13

I don't have those ones, but I've found the TP-Link Kasa brand very reliable. I have one that's been in the ceiling for a few years, and three that run 10A heaters that have been good for about 3 years as well. I think they're changing models though.

Recently I've gotten a couple of Athom plus with ESPHome, I'm only running low current things on them so far, even though they're rated at 16A, but they seem good and integrate with Home Assistant with zero effort.

mattenz

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#2989465 29-Oct-2022 11:25

timmmay:

I don't have those ones, but I've found the TP-Link Kasa brand very reliable. I have one that's been in the ceiling for a few years, and three that run 10A heaters that have been good for about 3 years as well. I think they're changing models though.

Recently I've gotten a couple of Athom plus with ESPHome, I'm only running low current things on them so far, even though they're rated at 16A, but they seem good and integrate with Home Assistant with zero effort.

I've got a few that have been rock solid as well, although I would do some research before getting some more in, there was a bit of controversy a while back about them removing local control.

timmmay

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#2989477 29-Oct-2022 11:59

Which ones, TP-Link? I think I read about that but mine have worked fine locally from home assistant for ages.

openmedia

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#2989512 29-Oct-2022 14:21

I recently had an Arlec PC389HA model fail because of running a 2400W electric oil heater. It looks like it couldn't deal with sustained 10A load.

Shame as I'd re-flashed with Tasmota.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

richms

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#2989522 29-Oct-2022 15:08

mattenz:

I had one fail, but it seems to have come back to life. Have you been using stock firmware?

Yup, as it did what I needed at the time. Never even installed the update that it kept offering since I figured that would break tuyaconvert if I ever did want to change them.

Richard rich.ms

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openmedia

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#3118377 21-Aug-2023 08:28

Just had another PC399HA fail. It looks like overheating. If I leave the unit off for a few hours I can get it back online for an hour or two. It is just over 2 years old so I'm probably going to struggle trying to get a warranty replacement.

Anyone else had recent overheating issues?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

jonathan18

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#3118396 21-Aug-2023 08:56

openmedia:

Just had another PC399HA fail. It looks like overheating. If I leave the unit off for a few hours I can get it back online for an hour or two. It is just over 2 years old so I'm probably going to struggle trying to get a warranty replacement.

Anyone else had recent overheating issues?

I've had two fail this year, but I'm not sure what the cause is. Similarly, I managed to get one of these back up and running after a period but it died again soon after.

I still think it's worth you taking it back to Bunnings - there's clearly a serious quality control issue with this product, and two years isn't a long time - they should last longer and the CGA is your friend. I managed to get both of mine replaced - one of them even without the receipt; I've generally moved onto the smaller Arlec switches, which I've not had any problems with (though assume these can't be flashed; not something that concerns me too much at this point).

schmoogol

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#3118459 21-Aug-2023 11:41

I have a single PC190HA that has been going strong for over 2 years now on stock firmware. On the other hand, I’ve had two of the smaller versions (PC191HA) fail - one within a year and the replacement within about 3 months and have now opted to stay away from them. No trouble getting replacements or refund from Bunnings for them.

openmedia

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#3118615 21-Aug-2023 14:39

schmoogol: I have a single PC190HA that has been going strong for over 2 years now on stock firmware. On the other hand, I’ve had two of the smaller versions (PC191HA) fail - one within a year and the replacement within about 3 months and have now opted to stay away from them. No trouble getting replacements or refund from Bunnings for them.

All of mine have been running Tasmota and it is near impossible to get them replaced with compatible units these days. I have a combination of these and the Brilliant equivalents.

I had one unit DOA which Bunnings replaced immediately, but they've been otherwise reliable. I've had other Arlec/Tuya equipment fail very very quickly.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

schmoogol

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#3118732 21-Aug-2023 18:10

What I’d really like to see are some more zigbee options being sold locally to circumvent the pain of fiddling to get things running local only. Plenty available on AliExpress and the like but I don’t particularly trust plugging those directly into mains.

fe31nz

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#3118853 21-Aug-2023 23:49

I have a Philips Hue Smart Plug which does zigbee. I had no trouble attaching it to Home Assistant via zigbee2mqtt. I got it from Mitre 10:

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/philips-hue-smart-plug/p/394811

Bunnings seem to have them too:

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/philips-hue-smart-plug_p0188389

It works well, but does run a little warm with the 30 watt load it is currently switching (my Mellanox IS5022 Infiniband switch), so I would wonder about using it for a full 10 amp load. It is just a switched socket - no power monitoring. And they are fairly expensive.

tchart

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#3118880 22-Aug-2023 07:10

timmmay:

I don't have those ones, but I've found the TP-Link Kasa brand very reliable.

@timmmay unrelated to the thread, I also have several Kasa smart plugs which I agree are great. What do you use for automation?

Ive noticed recently that IFTTT keeps resetting my Kasa devices to the first device in the list eg I will set an action for my heater to turn on or off. After a week or so the heater will stop turning on/off and when I review the actions in IFTTT the target has been reset to my bedside lamp (which is first in the list). I dont know if its a Kasa issue or an IFTTT issue.

timmmay

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#3118897 22-Aug-2023 08:15

tchart:

timmmay:

I don't have those ones, but I've found the TP-Link Kasa brand very reliable.

@timmmay unrelated to the thread, I also have several Kasa smart plugs which I agree are great. What do you use for automation?

Ive noticed recently that IFTTT keeps resetting my Kasa devices to the first device in the list eg I will set an action for my heater to turn on or off. After a week or so the heater will stop turning on/off and when I review the actions in IFTTT the target has been reset to my bedside lamp (which is first in the list). I dont know if its a Kasa issue or an IFTTT issue.

I've switched to Athom plugs, which have an open firmware, Kasa became more difficult to control locally. Kasa still work but I think the news TP-Link plugs are more difficult to control locally.

I use Home Assistant to control and automate things at home - smart plugs, multiple heating systems, blinds, etc, I could add lighting but don't need it.

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