Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Control Kit - 5 Device Teardown

wolfieeewolf 17 Aug 2023 15:32 Cool? (+2)

The Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Control Kit has 4 separate devices bundled together. I will break them down one by one

You can not use any of the sensors or buttons without the Hub as they are all running Bluetooth chips.

Device Name: Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Control Plug
Device Type: Hub and Energy meter
Device Chip: Unknown. This device is sonically welded shut.

Flashing of Main Chip

I have no idea what kind of chip is inside. The device is sonically welded shut. Considering how much I paid for the kit I am reluctant to take it apart.

I believe it could possibly be a BK7231N/BK7231T chip as it has energy monitoring on board and the Arlec PC191HA runs on those as well. I have tried to use CloudCutter Lightleak to query the chip but have not been successful.

The device also has some kind of Bluetooth chip on board as the bundled sensors require the hub to run them.

Device Name: Arlec Grid Connect Contact Sensor
Device Chip: BT5S

Flashing of Main Chip

Appears this device could be flashed as there are TX and RX pins to connect to. Would just need OBK firmware to support the chip.

Device Name: Arlec Grid Connect Motion Sensor
Device Chip: BTU

Flashing of Main Chip

Appear this device could be flashed as there are TX and RX pins to connect to. Would just need OBK firmware to support the chip.

Device Name: Arlec Grid Connect Smart Button Kit Version
Device Chip: BT5S

Flashing of Main Chip

Appears this device could be flashed as there are TX and RX pins to connect to. Would just need OBK firmware to support the chip.

There are two versions of the smart button one comes with the kit the other can be purchased on its own. They both have different chips

Device Name: Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Button
Device Chip: ers-10tBBvB-aa_v1.2

Flashing of Main Chip

Appears this device could be flashed as there are TX and RX pins to connect to. Would just need OBK firmware to support the chip.

See Here for the best teardown of this device.

Configuration of all devices

So far I have just been using a combination of Home Assistants Tuya Integration, Local Tuya and Tuya BLE

I have most of the devices working except for the smart buttons. None of the integrations seems to get them to show up. I can use the Tuya app to make scenes for the buttons but the scenes only allow you to control Tuya devices linked to the app. The scenes do show up in home assistant but you can't really do much with them. I have put in a git hub request with Tuya BLE to see if they can get the buttons working. At this stage, it's still pending.

When I get some time I will see if I can pull some data off these chips to see if they are hackable and post it here.

About Author

wolfieeewolf wrote 92 posts with rating 18 , helped 6 times. Been with us since 2023 year.

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p.kaczmarek2 17 Aug 2023 21:41

Very interesting devices, they remind me of Aqara set that I have tested two years ago or so. Can you write few words about how you've got them to connect to HA without changing firmware? I haven't... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 20 Aug 2023 13:01

Connecting Devices to Home Assistant Without Changing Firmware Step 1: Link Devices to Tuya App: Begin by linking all your devices to the Tuya App on your mobile phone. Step 2: Obtain Access... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 22 Aug 2023 09:33

Any ideas on what would be the best way to extract the firmware off these devices? They are Tuya modules so I was guessing just using the Tuya SDK or something like that. I did look at using BKwriter... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 23 Aug 2023 06:51

So it looks like one of the smart buttons has an MCU on board https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/4647406300_1692765942_thumb.jpg It's a TLSR8250 from Telink. Appears there are some burning tools... [Read more]

p.kaczmarek2 23 Aug 2023 07:58

If their tools are operating on top of the UART, it still should be possible use cheap UART dongle. Maybe you can try first checking the RX and TX pins with UART to USB converter and see if there are any... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 31 Aug 2023 06:24

I have been trying to extract data from the modules using Realterm . I haven't been successful yet in getting any data to output. It got the better of me and I decided to try and open the Hub. Inside... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 13 Nov 2023 03:18

Have been doing a little bit more investigation about these devices. I found a few things that might be interesting TLSR8250F512ET32 datasheet for the TLSR8250 So far it appears that there... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 14 Nov 2023 04:31

Not sure if this is at all helpful but I did find a Github link to some people having the same issues with Telink chips. Link This could possibly be the SDK to get it flash. Still looks like it... [Read more]

p.kaczmarek2 14 Nov 2023 09:26

Nice find! Is there a flasher as well? Can you try to read the firmware dump? [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 14 Nov 2023 09:58

After read the Github post I found this https://github.com/sylvek/itracing2/issues/5#issuecomment-683403605 It appears you might be able to just use a basic usb uart device. I haven't played around... [Read more]

wolfieeewolf 19 Nov 2023 10:59

Looks like there are two devices you can buy that might be able to dump the firmware. TLSR8267 Development Board Plus Burning EVK Telink BDT TLSR8258 Firmware Download Debugger When I get... [Read more]

FAQ

TL;DR: The 4-device Arlec Grid Connect kit works with Home Assistant via Tuya/LocalTuya integrations; "It looks promising" [Elektroda, p.kaczmarek2, post #20697702] Only smart buttons lack full support; firmware-dump attempts report 0 % success to date [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20812524]

Why it matters: Buyers can automate 75 % of the bundle today and plan safer hacks tomorrow.

Quick Facts

• Kit contains Hub (CR2S), Contact (BT5S), Motion (BTU) and Button (BT5S/TLSR8250) modules [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20697218]
• Retail price: approx. AUD 79-89 at Bunnings (*Bunnings Listing*).
• Sensors expose 3-V TX/RX pads for UART flashing [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20697218]
• Hub offers mains-side energy metering via CR2S SOC [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20697218]
• Current Home-Assistant support: 3 of 4 devices (75 %) using Tuya cloud/BLE combos [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20700779]

What chips are inside each part of the Arlec Grid Connect Smart Home Control Kit?

Hub: Tuya CR2S Wi-Fi+Bluetooth SOC with onboard MCU. Contact sensor: BT5S BLE module. Motion sensor: BTU BLE module. Kit button: BT5S; standalone button: TLSR8250 MCU or ers-10tBBvB-aa v1.2 variant [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, #20697218; #20704555].

Can I use the kit with Home Assistant without flashing new firmware?

Yes. Link all devices in the Tuya mobile app, create an Access ID, then add Home Assistant’s native Tuya integration for sensors and LocalTuya for the hub. This yields status and energy data for three devices [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20700779]

How do I connect the bundle to Home Assistant?

Pair each device in the Tuya app.
In Tuya IoT Platform, copy Access ID/Secret and enable cloud API.
Install Tuya and LocalTuya integrations, add hub first, then sensors. Scenes for buttons appear automatically. [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20700779]

Why don’t the smart buttons show up in Home Assistant?

The BT5S/TLSR8250 buttons broadcast BLE events unsupported by current TuyaBLE libraries. Scenes arrive but expose no press type, so automations fail until TuyaBLE adds decoding [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, #20697218; #20700779].

Which UART pins should I probe for firmware dumping?

Locate labelled TX and RX test pads on the sensor or button PCB, power from a 3.3 V supply, and monitor at 115200 bps. The hub lacks labelled pads, requiring board traces or JTAG discovery [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, #20697218; #20715558].

Is OpenBeken (OBK) firmware available for these Bluetooth chips?

Not yet. OBK focuses on BK7231 Wi-Fi SOCs; support for BT5S, BTU or TLSR8250 would require new BLE stacks and has no timeline [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20697218]

What low-cost tools can I try before buying a JTAGulator?

Use a USB-to-UART dongle (< USD 5) for initial logs. Telink’s Burning & Debugging Tool (BDT) boards for TLSR chips cost ~USD 40 on AliExpress and can read flash if the security key is unset [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20822093]

Are third-party flashers risky?

Yes. Unverified tools may send invalid erase commands and brick the SOC. "Please stick only to original flasher tools" warns an expert [Elektroda, p.kaczmarek2, post #20704597]

What edge-case should I watch for during soldering?

A ripped TX pad halted further UART work but the hub still functioned, proving hardware tolerances yet ending debug access [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20715558]

How accurate is the hub’s energy meter?

Tuya CR2S modules generally quote ±2 % accuracy up to 16 A (CR2S Datasheet). Field tests are pending, so treat values as indicative only.

Is there a flasher for the TLSR8250 button?

Community experiments suggest Telink-SDK serial bootloader accepts standard UART commands, enabling full dump with a USB-UART and software loader [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20814367]

What statistic shows current integration success?

Three of the four kit devices (75 %) deliver data to Home Assistant using cloud/BLE bridges, leaving only buttons unsupported [Elektroda, wolfieeewolf, post #20700779]