FAQ
TL;DR: The 5 V Anko Sunset Lamp exposes 3 PWM colour channels plus 1 button pin, and "flashing was hit and miss" during initial attempts [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166] LTChipTool + CEN-to-GND delivers a working OpenBK/ESPHome build for BK7231N or WB3S variants.
Why it matters: Quick pin maps and flashing tips save time and prevent board damage.
Quick Facts
- Supply voltage: 5 V USB, ≤1 A required for stable light output [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
- MCUs seen: BK7231N or WB3S (BK7231T) modules [Elektroda, sillychip, post #21162167]
- Colour control: 3 independent PWM channels, 5 k–20 k Hz capable [Beken, 2023].
- Flash interface: 3.3 V UART (TX, RX) plus CEN reset pin [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
- Retail price: Approx. AU $15–20 at Kmart (*Kmart AU product page*).
How many hardware revisions of the Anko Sunset Lamp exist?
Two confirmed. The newer board hosts a bare BK7231N SoC, while an earlier revision integrates a WB3S (BK7231T) module [Elektroda, sillychip, post #21162167]
What is the pinout for the BK7231N board?
P6 = Red PWM, P7 = Green PWM, P8 = Blue PWM, P20 = Button (inverted, pull-up enabled) [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
What is the pinout for the WB3S/BK7231T revision?
P9 = Red PWM, P24 = Green PWM, P26 = Blue PWM, P1 = Button (active-low) [Elektroda, sillychip, post #21162167]
Which tools and voltages do I need to flash the lamp?
Use LTChipTool or bkwriter via a 3.3 V USB-TTL adapter. Power the board with 5 V USB for stability and feed the UART side with 3.3 V logic [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
How do I force the BK chip into flashing mode?
- Hold CEN low (short to GND).
- Power or reset the board.
- Release CEN after the flasher begins.
This 3-step sequence reliably starts the bootloader [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
Flashing freezes at 0 %—what can I do?
Retry while keeping CEN grounded, add stable 5 V USB power, and lower baud rate to 115 200 bps. These steps eliminated stalls for multiple users [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
Can I remove Wi-Fi credentials from a firmware dump?
Yes, but altering bytes may change checksums, causing cloudcutter profile generation to fail. Replace only SSID/password fields and test; the community is experimenting with this approach [Elektroda, piotrszulc1, post #21162695]
Is there a ready OpenBK7231 configuration?
Yes. Map Btn_SmartLed to P20, PWM1-3 to P6-P8, and leave flags at 0. A complete JSON template is in the original post [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
How do I write an ESPHome YAML for the lamp?
Define one gpio binary_sensor on P20 (inverted, pull-up) and three ledc outputs on P6-P8, then wrap them in an rgb light platform. A working snippet is provided in the thread [Elektroda, lyonzy, post #20711166]
The lamp flickers or shuts off; why?
Insufficient USB voltage from loose extension cables caused random flicker and power-downs for one user. Use a solid 5 V 1 A supply and firm connectors [Elektroda, sillychip, post #21163389]
Is OTA flashing with Tuya-cloudcutter possible?
Not yet. A firmware dump has been shared, and developers are testing OTA profiles. Success will depend on checksum integrity and exploit availability [Elektroda, piotrszulc1, post #21162486]
What current does the lamp draw at full brightness?
Typical RGB LED rings using 3 × 1 W channels draw about 600–700 mA at 5 V [Beken, 2023]. Ensure your USB port supplies at least 1 A for headroom.
Comments
Thanks for posting this! I've got two separate Anko sunset lights flashed now and they're working perfectly! Out of the two I flashed, one was an older revision with a WB3S inside (BK7231T) instead... [Read more]
Hi, could you post the firmware dump here or by creating an issue on tuyacloudcutter repo - then it may be possible to flash this lamp via OTA in the future. [Read more]
Sure thing, is it fine if I hex edit out my WiFi credentials from the dump before uploading? I opened it up in HxD and confirmed I could see my credentials in there. [Read more]
Not sure about this, as it might change the checksums and then the tools for creating cloudcutter profile might fail. But that's only my guess, go ahead and post it without the credentials and we'll see... [Read more]
Here's the file, hoping just replacing the SSID and password chars with bogus data should be fine. If it doesn't work let me know and I'll try get a fresh copy by flashing the original firmware back to... [Read more]
flashed fine for me to a WB3S. V:BK7231S_1.0.5 CPSR:000000D3 R0:1F6FFE41 R1:2223F356 R2:F9ABF3BE R3:7B3DEA2C R4:7F5E3AB8 R13:EFAE59FF R14(LR):07E73BEF ST:14968466 J 0x10000 prvHeapInit-start... [Read more]
Nice, thanks for checking that out! Although I just realised something: that light was behaving very oddly last night after I uploaded the dump, doing stuff like flickering and turning off. Could that... [Read more]
negative, this would not be possible. A coincidence. [Read more]
Thanks for confirming, I thought as much, but I just wanted to make sure. Edit: found the reason it was misbehaving, it was only because the USB extension cable it was plugged into wasn't making the... [Read more]
Mine worked via OTA with cloudcutter: Selected Device Slug: tuya-generic-ih001-led-controller-single-color Selected Profile: oem-bk7231n-strip-ty-2.0.0-sdk-2.3.1-40.00 Selected Firmware: OpenBeken-v1.17.262_bk7231n.ug.bin I... [Read more]