So that must have been the problem because I just reflashed the latest firmware onto the box with a -fs 1MB instead of 4MB (which is what it detects automatically??)… and I can now OTA update flash \o/
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Hey @dalec thanks for the videos and step by steps… I’m having an issue after flashing that I’m hoping you can help with…
After a successful flash (and more after it just to be certain), I powered up the H801 (using my 12V 3A power supply) and was ready for the WiFi access point step. I jumped over to my phone and waited… and waited… and well nothing. First off, I’m not sure the SSID of this but from your video, I assumed it was a long one. But nothing seemed to match up. Any ideas why I can’t find the access point??
Helpful other things: I checked the voltage on my connection to VCC and ground… 12V (well like 12.35) coming through. When I plug in the power to the H801, the power LED does not come on but the signal one will flash every now and again. When flashing, I tried a few things like flipping the rx and tx but everything I tried created more issues so I’m pretty sure everything flashed the way it should’ve (plus my cmd screen looked exactly like yours after 4 successful flashes).
I used the links in your YouTube video (this one) so if any of those links are not the ones I should use or have since been updated, let me know!
Steps:
Downloaded the ESPEasy from SourceForge and extracted
Connected the FTDI and checked COM port (COM4 for me)
Downloaded the H801 Firmware from Eric’s github link (in your video) and put it into the extracted ESPEasy folder
Command Prompt (Admin), changed directories, entered the string of code, watch the dots make progress until the screen said “starting app without reboot” garble garble “closing bootloader” garble garble then the command line just waiting to go.
Huge thanks to you and @erocm1231 for all this and your support. I’m a lighting designer IRL and can’t wait to play! Plus I’d love to bring you guys some killer programs once I get this all up and running! Also, sorry if this question’s been brought up, I scrolled forever to find if it was on here somewhere!
TL;DR: I’m stuck on the WiFi access point part because after everything appeared to flash correctly to the H801, I cannot find the access point.
This makes me think you left J3 jumpered? Make sure that’s not the case when powering back up after the flash. And remove the FTDI when applying 12v power.
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Did you try @michaelahess advice? I think he nailed it. It has to be something really basic.
The H801 should have a red LED “on” near the W2 terminal corner and the WiFi access point that your phone will show up is going to look something like this with the espRGBW.{devicemacaddress} Here are the screen captures of what you should be seeing.
After you select the espRGBW access point give you phone a little time to connect and it will ask for you to enter the password. Use “configme”, when the menu comes up select your home WiFi and credentials and save it. Your phone will automatically disconnect and should reconnect back to your home network. The H801 will be rebooting with the new credentials you just entered.
Yes, I had already followed @michaelahess advice… jumper was removed, and FTDI chip was removed before 12v applied.
Just thought of something else to try on your phone… if it isn’t seeing the espRGBW access point, try cycling the WiFi off for a couple seconds then back on. If still no luck, rebooting your phone and trying again.
Ok, check out this screen shot in this post for me [OBSOLETE] SmartLife (H801) RGBW LED Strip Wifi Controller & Bulb - #323 by dseg
and verify that your screen report exactly the same as in the screen shot at the end of all the dots…
I am just trying to make sure you are getting a good upload.
If that is all good then lets verify by doing a reset to try and force it into an AP mode again. It is helpful but not critical when doing a reset if you have RGB strip wired up because the RGB will change colors as you cycle the power. The color changes will help us know that the flash really did take. Reset instruction below.
Here is how to do the reset below. FYI: I don’t have a plug strip on my H801 so an easy way to cycle the power is by unplugging the green terminal block itself, The screw-in terminals are actually plugged into the printed circuit board so it is easy to cycle the power.
Is there a way to set a default color that includes W1? I want it to go to a custom color when I power the device via a switch, but the HEX code only allows for programming RGB values. Just want to make sure I’m not missing something.
interesting… why are you not keeping the device powered all the time?
If it is a single channel wouldn’t it just be a certain “level” of that channel. For example, choosing W1 as the default and a level of 50 would be the same as changing it to hex value of 80. level of 100 would be the same as a hex value of ff.
For this project I have outlets at the top of our kitchen cabinets that were meant for under cabinet lighting… they are wired to a switch that the wife likes to use to turn them on/off.
What I would like to do is have a mix of RGB&W. My example in Hex would be FF3300 for RGB and 80 for W1. Pretty much a mix of colors + white to get me to a match of our current lighting.
You might consider not using the switched power but instead plug into the other half of the outlet for constant power to the H801’s. Then use a smart switch but it won’t have any loads on it but instead only the status will be used for triggering the H801 via Smart Lighting or CoRE etc. I have been doing this way every since I put it in and works great. Makes the wife happy for local control and me happy to do some other control that isn’t typically possible. So using one HS-WD100+ smart switch for the kitchen lights can trigger the H801 on-off as well.
And you avoid negative consequences when taking away power like false status, health alerts, inability to control if switch is off, etc. just a thought.
Thats an option…never did think of switching my outlets to half switched outlets for constant power. I now need to buy a smart switch 
I still would like to see if we can pick a mixed color as default on powerup.
That is the way they are usually wired. It is a standard and the outlets are designed to do it like that. There is a little bridge that connects the two outlets together that the installer just bends and snaps off to make each outlet separately powered.[quote=“1000101, post:960, topic:51182”]
I still would like to see if we can pick a mixed color as default on powerup.
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You could still do that using a smartapp instead of the device handler if you want. That is child’s play for CoRE to do.
As @dalec mentioned, try resetting the settings. Also, I have noticed (with the Sonoff devices) that itead is using the same wifi connection library that I am. So, if you connect the device to your wifi network with their firmware and then flash my firmware, you will not see an access point because it is already connected to your network. This may not be the problem but it is something to check.
@1000101 I do recommend that you have constant power applied for best results. I will look into having all channels available simultaneously as the default color.
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Is it possible to do the same thing with a GE Z-Wave wall switch? Bringing power to the switch, but not connecting a load. Then using the switch status to trigger the H801.
I have to admit that I never thought about using a smart switch like that.
Absolutely. Load or no load doesn’t matter. It seems like a waste in one sense but the automation makes it well worth it. In fact I did exactly what @1000101 us doing originally and was using a wall switch to switch off my dumb RGBW LED strips. But when @erocm1231 came out with this awesome H801 solution I converted all my LED strips to smart H801’s and keep them powered all the time. 
Thanks,
I can see how it makes good sense in terms of automation. I was just a bit worried about leaving power supplies under power all the time. I assume that when there is no load, it does not matter.
All of mine are on semi reasonably good 2-3amp wall warts, no different than a cell phone charger really. They have a small vampire draw but even my Kill-A-Watt doesn’t show 1w when strips are off.
Keeping them on (LED’s, not the H801) a LONG time is not a great idea generally speaking, especially if they are waterproof strips with the silicone jacket. So a piston or SL rule to turn them off after a certain period of inactivity is not a bad idea.
Good point. Thanks