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Calex Smart Power Plug (WB2S) 900011.1 - Tesco UK

btsimonh  1 2277 Cool? (+4)
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TL;DR

  • A Calex Holland Smart Power Plug UK, article 900011.1, was opened after a Tesco UK Clubcard price of £8.
  • The enclosure is glued shut, not clipped, and the PCB is marked WE-08(10)V1.1 2020.4.13.
  • A WB2S module controls a relay, two LEDs, and a push button, with no visible power monitoring.
  • Firmware was dumped for OpenBeken, and the author mapped BTN, LED_n, and Relay pins, but RX1/TX1 sit under the board.
Generated by the language model.
Presenting a Calex Holland "Smart Power Plug UK" bought from Tesco for £8 (clubcard discounted).
Article number is 900011.1
Board is marked WE-08(10)V1.1 2020.4.13


Opening:
I worked slowly around the edge with a craft knife. There was audible cracking as I did so.
Once open, it was obvious that there were no clips to break, it's only held by glue.

Content:
It seems a simple power socket with no power monitoring (although I can't see the back of the PCB).
A WB2S controls a relay, and it has two LEDs and a push button.

NOTE: the RX and TX highlighted are not the flashing pins, only the logging pins.
RX1 and TX1 are only accessible from under the board - new larger soldering iron has been ordered.

I will edit this post once firmware is dumped and it's flashed with OpenBeken.

Bootlog attached.
Firmware dump attached.

Pins:
BTN - PWM0 - pin 6
LED_n - PWM1 - pin 7
LED_n - PWM2 - pin 8
Relay - PWM4 - pin 24


Have now removed the board itself from the plug (see below for back image).
Don't buy a cheap soldering iron on Amazon - it did complete this one job, but broke on the last cleanup :( :




Attachments:
  • calexstrip.bin (1.93 MB) You must be logged in to download this attachment.
  • bootlog.txt (15.94 KB) You must be logged in to download this attachment.
About Author
btsimonh wrote 66 posts with rating 14 , helped 1 times. Been with us since 2022 year.

Comments

p.kaczmarek2 10 Oct 2022 04:12

If the device is not easily openable, then the Tuya-cloudcutter is the way to go. Doing tuya-cloudcutter support for T chips is easier, and I see you have one there. Just sacrifice one device to get full... [Read more]

FAQ

TL;DR: At £8, this Calex smart plug hides a 2 MB WB2S Wi-Fi module and, as one expert notes, "opening showed 'no clips to break'" [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102] Flashing via Tuya-cloudcutter keeps later units sealed. Why it matters: Quick modding saves time and avoids case damage.

Quick Facts

• Model: Calex 900011.1, board WE-08(10)V1.1 [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102] • Price: £8 with Tesco Clubcard offer [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102] • MCU: Tuya WB2S, 2 MB flash, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102] • Electrical: Single relay, no power-monitoring IC [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102] • Typical TX current: 70 mA @ 17 dBm [Tuya WB2S Datasheet, 2021]

Can I avoid opening future units when flashing?

Yes. Dump one sacrificial unit, then use Tuya-cloudcutter plus haxomatic offsets to OTA-flash others without opening them [Elektroda, p.kaczmarek2, post #20229248]

Which serial pads expose RX/TX for logging?

Visible pads are secondary; flashing pads RX1/TX1 sit on the board’s underside and need fine-tip soldering [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102]

What tools are recommended for soldering the headers?

Use a temperature-controlled iron; a cheap Amazon iron broke during cleanup, an example of tool failure [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102]

Is Tuya-cloudcutter already compatible with WB2S?

Partial support exists; creating a device profile for this T-chip is straightforward, according to the developer [Elektroda, p.kaczmarek2, post #20229248]

How much current does the WB2S draw during Wi-Fi transmission?

Typical transmit current is 70 mA at 17 dBm output power [Tuya WB2S Datasheet, 2021].

Are there known edge cases or failures?

Edge case: boards held solely by glue; excessive prying can crack the casing. Tool failure: low-cost soldering iron broke after a single board [Elektroda, btsimonh, post #20228102]

How do I flash via Tuya-cloudcutter in three steps?

  1. Pair one plug with Tuya app and run Tuya-cloudcutter to capture a full 2 MB dump.
  2. Use haxomatic to locate partition offsets.
  3. Feed the offsets back to cloudcutter and push OpenBeken OTA to additional plugs [Elektroda, p.kaczmarek2, post #20229248]
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