[OBSOLETE] SmartLife (H801) RGBW LED Strip Wifi Controller & Bulb

I was able to get the programs working as separate devices, I didnt have the virtual switch device handler properly saved.

I am still having the problem with adding other devices. Here is a snapshot of the log when trying to communicate with one of the devices.


Everytime I add a new controller it adds two versions to my devices section, one with the smartapp and one with out.

What exactly is the proper procedure for adding more devices? Should I go back to the smart apps section and search for devices with the connect app or should I launch the connect app from the already working controller and add a second device to that controllers smartapp? (hope that makes sense)

Hey Guys,

Any idea why when I try and select this colour it reverts to a different colour, only seems to do this in the red spectrum?

The SmartApp is a service manager, so the proper procedure is to only have it installed once. If you add another RGBW controller to your network, you go into the single instance of the SmartApp and initiate the discovery again, check the new controller, and then add the new controller.

Check and make sure that you only have the one instance and let us know if you are still having the same problem.

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The device handler has some math in it to get the appropriate color values for the device. I will have to check to see if there is a miscalculation when selecting that color range.

Thank you for the help @erocm1231 , I will be sure to add the others from the single instance of the SmartApp.

After looking into this issue further I discovered that somehow I FORGOT to update the other LED controllers to your latest firmware! I feel like an idiot now!

Everything is up and working great along with the programs and virtual switches. Thanks again.

I posted an update that includes the following:

  • Ability to use a physical switch to turn light strips on & off. The switch needs to be a momentary (push button) switch and be connected to the J3 jumper on the board.
  • Preferences for the device handler now include “Default Color” & “Default Level”. This has two purposes. This is what the switch will turn to if you press the “on” button or an external SmartApp sends it the on() command. The default is “Previous” (the previous color), but if you want to specify a specific color, you can. The second purpose is that it specifies what to do when the physical switch is pressed. If the strip is on, it will turn off. If the strip is off, it will turn to whatever this setting is.
  • Some bug fixes.

You only need to update:

  • The device handler
  • The device firmware

If you want a momentary switch that matches the other switches in your house (and you use decora switches), there is a simple trick to convert a standard rocker switch. Check out this thread:

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Do we just pass the momentary switch from J3 to Grnd? I need to get some switches and modify them now…

Thanks very much Eric, great work on this by the way! this has saved me a fortune on controllers! keep up the good work!

I have just soldered a jumper on J3. That makes it easy to connect a switch. This is also one of the reasons that a momentary is required. If a toggle is used and it is left closed, the device will boot into flash mode if it gets rebooted.

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I wrote my question too late at night, blond moment! Will try this out soon as I can source some switches. I knew soldering those pins on to begin with was a good idea!

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So this is working great!(*)

I have one in my kitchen with two strands of RGBW, one is over the coffee making area, the other is much longer and goes through each shelf of our pantry. I now have W1 setup with a contact sensor to turn on/off the pantry separate from the java section. If I want color, it goes everywhere, but oh well, we do that rarely as it is. I’ve also put my fourth H801 into action in my office. A long strand that emanates light from behind my desk and door, then a shorter one that lights up behind my workbenches monitors. Again the white is switchable between area’s, or I can tint the whole room!

The J3 switch block is working, but I’ve only got a normal paddle on there, so I flick it on/off and it toggles as expected. Other than just buying a momentary switch from legrand/P&S/etc, what other options could we use? I tried a pressure pad I built for something else, but it didn’t trigger, though that’s more a problem with my construction I assume. Anyone have a way to stick something that would be galvanic to the side of my fridge that I could just touch? That’d be easier than trying to mount a “proper” switch. Or if anyone knows of a nice little momentary switch that isn’t too long? I am half tempted to stick a small micro switch (from a mouse) just under the edge of the cabinets, only WE would know it’s there! :wink:

And one request to @erocm1231, is there a way to set the default on to just do one of the W1 or W2 channels? Maybe I missed it or it’s too obvious for me?

*my WiFi issues are back, it’s the hub, everything else has been replaced. It simply refuses to send commands 100% of the time, then when it decides it’s good and ready, it strings them all out at once so my button mashing from 30 seconds prior turns the room into a disco! I know it’s the hub because the web controls work flawlessly from the device itself.

So if you choose the default color as either “Soft White” or “Warm White”, that will actually adjust only W1. I’ll at some point ad the separate channels in the drop down list to make it easier, but for now you can just choose one of those and then the level you want.

If I think of anything for a low profile momentary switch, I will let you know. To be a little self indulgent, this is definitely one of my favorite devices. I’m a little surprised their isn’t more activity on it. It is unlike anything else on the market and extremely affordable.

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Absolutely agree! I was in the market for these and was looking at the various 70+ dollar solutions, this little beast landed right in my lap! Maybe I need to start mentioning this in the CoRE threads a LOT more…

I’m half tempted to order up more, and more light strips, but if I do, I’ll be installing crown molding all over the house…which isn’t a bad idea, but I’m LAZY! :slight_smile:

I just came here to talk about the Amps i need for the led strip. But i just saw there has been multiple updates since it came out (and was already working good since then), that so nice too see :smile:!

Question about the power adapter;
I am using this: led strip

And i know @michaelahess uses 2 amps adapters (for everything :stuck_out_tongue:)
But on the internet i read that you need 1 amp for every meter, which would mean i need a 7amps 12v adapter for the 6m i use.

Could u share the requirements you use on a ledstrip adapter @erocm1231?

I should clarify, I use 2amp adapters that aren’t the worlds cheapest. So they tend to be underrated. Also, the 1amp/meter suggestion is based off all four channels being driven at once. Even with my 2 amp adapters, they will get pretty warm if I do that. Fortunately I don’t. I’m usually just using the white channel or a mix of 2 of the color channels at partial power levels. I’ve been too lazy to throw my multi-meter between the adapter and strip colors to see actual draw, maybe I’ll try that today. I have a 1.5amp flat adapter on one strip right now, ran it for 12 hours yesterday with all four channels on full and it was warm but not as hot as the 2amp wall warts I use for others. It’s all about build quality with AC-DC adapters.

I do have a 30amp “real” power supply running my led’s on my back deck, that’s so much overkill it’s crazy, but it never even really gets warm either.

Something else you could easily do, grab some old PC power supplies and use the 12v rail on those. I’ve got a spare Corsair CX430 that’s rated at 32amp’s out of it’s 12v, and I can assure you those are FAR better power supplies than any wall wart style sold with LED’s on Amazon or AliExpress.

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I am going to be adding under cabinet lights in my kitchen, I was contemplating using the Fibaro controller, but this solution seems to do everything i need. Would it be feasible to add manual dimming capability into the custom firmware via holding the momentary switch?

Edit: I found the $8 FTDI adapter from your sonoff post.

Thanks for futher explanation @michaelahess.
I understand a good power adapter is needed, that’s why i came here to ask more about that. I’m gonna use the leds on multiple places in home and outside, so i wanna be safe :slight_smile: Especially since i use all the 4 channels. I have these (notice the samsung :smile:):

But i don’t really know how to make that work, since i need a Live wire and a Neutral.

I will put the dimming feature on my to do list. Seems like a good idea.

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You don’t use live and neutral for the H801, it ONLY accepts DC. So using your Samsung adapter, you cut off the end, whatever barrel connector it may have, and strip back the wire a bit and put that into the VCC and GND on the H801. There is polarization protection (or something similar) on the H801 so you won’t damage it if you hook it up wrong (ask me how I know…) but it’s best to use a multimeter and verify the voltage coming out of the power adapter. Since that’s 14v…you might overdrive the LED’s, usually a few volts here and there won’t make a big difference but I can’t say for sure you won’t blow something, the controller is rated from 5v to 24v so that’s ok, but as far as I know it just passes the voltage through to the LED’s. Of course, if you have a long strand, that extra few volts will help make sure the end of the strand gets the power it needs, but you may fry the first few LED’s, probably not, but I wouldn’t say for 100% sure either.

Edit: Anything outside should be in a UL rated enclosure. Protected from moisture and whatnot.

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A few people have asked for a way to use each channel of the controller as a separate dimmer device. You currently can do it within the device handler itself, and through CoRE.

To make it easier, I have created a new SmartApp. This SmartApp makes the process a piece of cake. It creates 5 virtual dimmers (R,G,B,W1,W2), and keeps them in sync with the selected SmartLife RGBW controller. These dimmers can be used throughout the SmartThings ecosystem as regular dimmers. Now it is extremely easy to use one of these controllers and have up to 5 separate LED strips on them.

Instructions can be found here:


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