Using an ESP8266 as a switch with native Apple HomeKit support

On the first startup, the ESP8266 creates an open access point with the name ESP_Switch_AP. Further functionalities are blocked at this time.

Connect to the public access point. A portal appears where you can search for existing Wifi networks and connect with them. Once you have entered the credentials, the ESP8266 will restart and connect as a client to the selected Wifi network. If a connection is not possible, e.g. due to wrong credentials or a timeout, the ESP8266 will restart as an access point again and the connection credentials can be re-entered. At this point the output can now be toggled with the connected/flash button.

As soon as the ESP8266 is connected to the network, the Home app can be opened on the iOS device and be added as a new device.#

For the paring the following code has to be entered: 111-11-111.

Alternatively, the following QR code can be scanned:

• Arduino v1.8.13
  • Additional Board Manager: https://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
    • esp8266 by ESP8266 Community v2.7.4: https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino
  • Libraries:
    • HomeKit-ESP8266 by Mixiaoxiao v1.2.0: https://github.com/Mixiaoxiao/Arduino-HomeKit-ESP8266
    • WifiManager by tzapu v0.16.0: https://github.com/tzapu/WiFiManager
• Python 3.9
  • pip curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
    • esptool v3.0 pip install esptool
    • pyserial v3.5: pip install pyserial

• VSCode
  • (Extension) Arduino v0.3.4: https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-arduino
    • Update values of inlcudePath in .vscode/arduino.json to match you environment

The following definitions can be changed to modify the pins of the inputs and outputs.

Keep in mind the basic properties of the pins, because not every pin can be used as input and output.

// switch.ino
#define PIN_BUTTON 14 // D5 Button

// accessory.c
#define PIN_SWITCH 2 // D4 Output to trigger on/off

// switch.ino
void homekit_setup() {
  accessory_init();

  pinMode(PIN_BUTTON, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(PIN_BUTTON_FLASH, INPUT_PULLUP);
+ pinMode(PIN_BUTTON_DX, INPUT_PULLUP);

  ESPButton.add(0, PIN_BUTTON, LOW, true, true);
  ESPButton.add(1, PIN_BUTTON_FLASH, LOW, true, true);
+ ESPButton.add(2, PIN_BUTTON_DX, LOW, true, true);

    ...
}

Change the property .password to use a different paring code

// accessory.c
homekit_server_config_t config = {
    .accessories = accessories,
-    .password = "111-11-111",
+    .password = "123-45-678",
    .setupId = "ABCD"
};

To create a new QR Code the following page can be used: https://github.com/maximkulkin/esp-homekit/tree/master#qr-code-pairing

Requirements:

• Python 3.9
  • pip: curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
    • qrcode v6.1: pip install qrcode

If the accessory category is still a switch, the following terminal command can be entered to execute the Python script and create a new QR code:

# tools/gen_qrcode <accessory category code> <password> <setup id> <output filename>
tools/gen_qrcode 8 123-45-678 ABCD qrcode.png

Select the appropriate port (e.g. /dev/tty.usbserial-1234) and Baud Rate 115200 and start the verification and upload in the switch.ino file in VSCode

Simon Golms

• Digital Card: npx simongolms
• Github: @SimonGolms
• Website: gol.ms

Contributions, issues and feature requests are welcome!
Feel free to check issues page.

Give a ⭐️ if this project helped you!

Copyright © 2020 Simon Golms.
This project is MIT licensed.

• Arduino Board - ESP8266
• Arduino Library - Arduino-HomeKit-ESP8266
• Arduino Library - WiFiManager
• VSCode - Arduino