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Can I connect 230V to S1 and S2 on the SONOFF Mini? enter image description here

User manual: http://dl.itead.cc/mini/MINI-user-manual%20V1.0.pdf

Magnus
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  • Yes you can but maybe it will explode. What is a SONOFF Mini? Where is the link to the datasheet or user manual? Please put all the information into your question. – Transistor Mar 22 '20 at 20:12
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    From the sales page: "Note: To ensure safety of devices, please do not connect the wire with high current flowing to S1 and S2 wire connector, such as L and N wire." Given the lack of other information, I would not suggest trying. – nanofarad Mar 22 '20 at 20:13
  • The link you have given has no wiring information. – Transistor Mar 22 '20 at 20:25
  • S1 & S2 are switch terminals to connect a single switch to. They operate at 3.3V, so high voltage will likely destroy the unit and be unsafe. – elchambro Mar 23 '20 at 01:37

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This thing is rubbish

Sonoff is cheap Cheese junk, and the very fact that you have to even ask this question is the canary in the coal mine.

They also cut corners on safety; this thing is Alibaba-cheap. The CE mark is forged; CE is a European company's good word that they self-certified. Meaningless coming from a Chinese company. CE compliance is the responsibility of the importer, who is you. (that's why retail shops won't touch Sonoff and you have to mail order it from eBay, Banggood or Amazon Marketplace). Dropshipping via Amazon's warehouse does not make Amazon the importer, since Amazon is not the seller (it's Marketplace).

Product safety regs are things like "don't catch on fire, don't make toxic smoke if you somehow do catch on fire, actually handle your rated voltage and amperage with sensible safety margins, fail gently if overloaded, and provide for an appropriate means of physical installation", and on that, the mini is even worse than the original, which at least tried a cheap Cheese version of a strain relief.

The inability to mount this unit safely and to any country's electrical code is a dealkiller.

Anyway, that button is a remote

What you can glean from random documentation is the S1 and S2 buttons are for a remote switch. You shunt them, or you do not. Presumably one side is 3.3V through a resistor, and the other side is an input on the chip. This would be on the LV side. Having that on the same header as mains is super sloppy and I'm sure not allowed in the UL White Book or any other standard.

Like they say, don't put power on them. They're not for power.

In fact, don't put mains power on any Sonoff. Ever.

At least until they produce something approved by an actual NRTL (and I've heard Sonoff is trying to get legit).

Anything connected to AC mains must be NRTL approved, and you must obey labeling and instructions.

This is mandated by NEC 110.2 and 110.3, or your jurisdiction's equivalent.

You must also comply with all the other electrical codes regarding enclosures, wiring methods, manner of installation etc.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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    _"The CE mark is forged"_ - it's not exactly forged, that's a slightly different mark "China Export" – user11153 Mar 23 '20 at 09:49
  • Well done @user11153! – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 23 '20 at 16:45
  • Is there any alternative to the Sonoff mini? What about the Shelly 1? Is that also not safe? – Magnus Mar 23 '20 at 17:19
  • @MagnusErler Did a quick Google on that one. The only sellers are Shelly, Amazon Marketplace, eBay and BangGood. So same deal; no reputable retailer will sell it. Your local home-improvement store is choc-a-block with smart-home devices; everything from modules that plug in (and a lamp plugs into them) to smart bulbs to smart switches to smart modules that go in ceiling roses... *and every one of them came in legitimately, and has a sane answer for physical mounting, that being a big part of their product design*. And you can mail order that stuff too. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 23 '20 at 19:06
  • That's one problem with Sonoffs and other cheapies, they just figure out the electronic guts, toss it in a box, and declare victory. They don't like doing packaging, form-factor, safety, certification, and any of the other myriad details. That stuff matters. I know that makes stuff cost more, but it's also code-complete. It's a pro-grade install and not a science project. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 23 '20 at 19:20
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica I was unfortunately completely serious: https://starfishmedical.com/blog/conformite-europeenne-mark-vs-a-china-export-mark/ – user11153 Mar 24 '20 at 08:50
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica The Sonoff ZBMINI I have in front of me has an FCC ID which does show a result on the [official FCC's site]( https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=zvfNBo%2FgIo8ld3S29X5gTg%3D%3D&fcc_id=2APN5ZBMINI). I wonder if the comment "They also cut corners on safety" still holds. – Emiel Koning May 01 '21 at 10:19
  • @EmielKoning FCC is only interested in electromagnetic radiation (RF jamming), their standards don't relate to safety, and those are just declarations. They'll cheerfully give you an FCC ID for a box of Cracker Jack. **The only thing that matters is a mark from an [NRTL](https://www.osha.gov/nationally-recognized-testing-laboratory-program/current-list-of-nrtls).** – Harper - Reinstate Monica May 01 '21 at 19:23
  • In the official sonoff page there is a list of certification with links to those documents. I wonder how good they are https://sonoff.tech/product-document/diy-smart-switches-doc/zbmini-doc/ – distante Mar 04 '23 at 20:24
  • @distante *chuckle* nothing has changed. All those marks are voluntary self-certifications that every junk maker on Alibaba stamps on *everything*. CE is the only one that has anything to do with safety, and EU doesn't enforce the mark outside the EU. Making it mean "China Export" to everyone else. You want an NRTL mark like BSI, TUV, UL, CSA, ETL etc. I have heard Sonoff (or was it Shelly?) is shambling slowly toward getting one of those certs on a couple of products in their line, but not on the older stuff. But that's a bit like robbing banks to pay for college so you can get legit work. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 04 '23 at 20:37
  • Ah I see, I am in the EU and did not hear about NRTL before, but also, I am no professional I just like to read and learn. – distante Mar 05 '23 at 08:37
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From the sales page:

To ensure safety of devices, please do not connect the wire with high current flowing to S1 and S2 wire connector, such as L and N wire.

Magnus
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the switch inputs on the sonoff mini must be treated as mains wiring, but they must not be connected to the mains (except by the internal connections inside the sonos mini).

Documentation on the internals is scant, but from the information I can find the switch inputs appear to go to an input of microcontroller that is fed from a non-isolated power supply. Hence the signal ground (not to be confused with safety ground) will likely be live with a pulsating DC voltage that has a peak value equivalent to the supply voltage.

Therefore

Peter Green
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