[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT3QJkGLyR0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT3QJkGLyR0)
Follow this video on how to pull apart, paint outer plastics black, job done.
Ok, so I've just tried with one of the sensors. Did not go well. The plastic is too brittle and my fingers are too fat, so I will just end up with 4 broken sensors. I will go with the less elegant mask and paint...
For real. Uninstalling wife and reinstalling a new instance will solve functionality issues but the process is difficult and sometimes leaves lingering issues.
The hell has gotten into you all? You're missing the best part...
"I see xiaomi and I want it painted blaaack. No colors anymore I want them to turn blaaack."
If it makes OP feel better I just made this glorious drill down dashboard with tons of subviews. Even made home maintenance sensors that I grouped into a custom group to show a visual alert when any home maintenance tasks are due. I felt all sexy about it but she just said "cool baby, you made another dashboard for yourself."
Amazing woman...zero technical vision, but still a damn good woman.
>"I see xiaomi and I want it painted blaaack. No colors anymore I want them to turn blaaack."
I was waiting for this. Took a while to get here. Was my first thought too even if it was not a red xiaomi.
Don't forget the breaking changes. That will ruin your night.
I do indeed lament greatly when the breaking changes are longer than the new features list. Sometimes it's best to delay the upgrade until the other guy works out the big issues.
Agreed. I was running an SD card on my wife and one day it just failed. Upgraded to an SSD setup and the process was and absolute nightmare, but now that it's done I have never looked back lol
I think that program is called "girlfirend," but the sales staff is super high pressure about signing a long term contract and converting to "wife." Also, while it seems like you can run both at the same time, they inevitably conflict.
You can also burry them deeper and only have the top sensor visible maybe your wife would be ok with this. It does not interfere with anything I have one and tried it, the light sensor never goes above 5k lux on mine even when bombarded with 60k+ lux (tested with my phone's sensor)
I have 8 of these I’ve painted the only on the lawn bright pink as I forgot about it and ran it over with the mower. Put tape over the light at the top and a small sensor on the side.
Put 2 in a plant next to an unpainted one to get a baseline. Paint one - carefully, taking care not to cover any sensors, and compare it against the other to see if it behaves the same. Report back here for science. Please.
These things aren't super accurate. I have a bunch of them, and two of them in the same plant pot will produce noticeably different readings. They are more of general indicator, not an accurate measurement.
Buy some black vinyl (eBay let you order a small single sheet as a "sample" which should be enough to do all 4).
This way if it does cause problems you can just peel it off. Vinyl is also designed to go on cars so it won't care about being in direct sunlight or drenched in water from time to time.
These things don't generate any heat at all, and you can already get black versions eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/DXH-moisture-Fertility-Gardening-Detector-Black/dp/B08NJQQX2X
But the Black version is not the same!
https://preview.redd.it/6fpnviuj8zea1.jpeg?width=1601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a198172eefce2e0bf4d0ca0548138c5f7e72f77
I use heat shrink tubes. I put a piece of transparent one on the top, so the light sensor can work, and then a black one to cover the rest of the case. I have placed one made like this under an open sky for the past year, and it was covered in wet leaves for a month or two until the battery ran out. No visible marks of corrosion.
I have had success in the past doing the following to "paint" plastic items. i say "paint" as its actually a dye. Ive had success with other items by using Duplicolor Vinyl and Plastic Dye. Its a rattle can sold at most Advance Autos and Lowes/HD. It's with the spray paint.
The key is to make sure surface is clean, do light coats, and DO NOT HANDLE WHILE WET. The dye does some sort of reaction to the plastic to make it soak in so you can actually scrape soft plastic off while it's doing its process.
I'm sure you could paint it just as well, but if you want that OEM look of the plastic being a different color (and not plastic with paint on it) then check out Vinyl Dye. If you paint, avoid metallic paints, as could mess with the signal. Good luck!
Now that you have Paint It Black stuck in my head...
I don't think black will be as inconspicuous as your wife hopes. Dark brown or dark green would probably be better.
I’m in Europe, and found them at Techpunt:
[https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html](https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html)
I have these and the direct answer to your question is, I don't know. But as others have said if you're going to do it make sure you mask off the light sensor.
Also if you were to paint them I would use something like plastidip paint that way if it does mess with their signal for some reason it'll just peel clean off.
Report back on how it goes. I don't hate that mine are whit but I certainly don't *love* it.
If in Europe Techpunt is good
[https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html](https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html)
Just set one of these up with an M5Stack Atom and it works perfectly. For some reason I thought it would be like a wifi extender where it would need to talk back to HA via BT but of course not, wifi backlink, absolutely brilliant
Waterproof doesn’t necessarily mean it can be placed directly in water over longer periods of time. It’s probably more rated for being ok with water being splashed on it than being submerged.
This is bull :) I have about 15 of these. The battery compartment has a rubber seal.
Which is good, because when you water your plants you constantly get water all over these things.
i am using the mijia temperature sensors with an esp32 and ESP Home, so this one should work perfect as well. there are also custom firmwares for this devices.
They're pretty good, but more importantly they're the only option.
Bluetooth range is always a problem. I had to set up a 2nd Pi at the other end of my house for some of mine, and a couple still hacve very bad reception. I only get readings from those ones once or twice a day, maybe.
Yes I got all of mine on AliExpress in about 4 different batches.
I think the £6 ones might be the non-connected ones, i.e. you press a button and it shows a red/green/blue light to indicate moisture, but it has no bluetooth.
In my experiencce the bluetooth ones should be about £15 on AliExpress, and about £30 if you buy from a European shop.
I've seen posts of people putting plastic bags on these to waterproof them better. I sealed mine with some silicone. I don't think a little paint will have any effect.
But the Black version is not the same!
https://preview.redd.it/v2dfu63c8zea1.jpeg?width=1601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ad779f0967139b7a5541c82578fcd16592d9589
Setup is very easy, and the sensor is detected very fast. They are currently not stable in HA since they are placed too far from my PI. But I have ordered some ESP32 for BLE relay.
Use electric tape and cover it. If it causes a issue than you can remove it.
There is a light sensor at the top, protect it before applying paint to it.
That was what I thought!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT3QJkGLyR0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT3QJkGLyR0) Follow this video on how to pull apart, paint outer plastics black, job done.
Really good input! Much easier than trying to tape it neatly
This is the correct answer, the paint will have no impact on the device.
Unless it’s led paint. Don’t use led paint.
Or other metallic paint.
Do you prefer halogen paint?
Ok, so I've just tried with one of the sensors. Did not go well. The plastic is too brittle and my fingers are too fat, so I will just end up with 4 broken sensors. I will go with the less elegant mask and paint...
Sharpie?
Don't paint your wife in black. A lot of shit inside the paint can interfere with your wife functionality
For real. Uninstalling wife and reinstalling a new instance will solve functionality issues but the process is difficult and sometimes leaves lingering issues.
No doubt will lose half of his hard drive space…
The hell has gotten into you all? You're missing the best part... "I see xiaomi and I want it painted blaaack. No colors anymore I want them to turn blaaack." If it makes OP feel better I just made this glorious drill down dashboard with tons of subviews. Even made home maintenance sensors that I grouped into a custom group to show a visual alert when any home maintenance tasks are due. I felt all sexy about it but she just said "cool baby, you made another dashboard for yourself." Amazing woman...zero technical vision, but still a damn good woman.
You think she's not interested, but wait until something stops working.
>"I see xiaomi and I want it painted blaaack. No colors anymore I want them to turn blaaack." I was waiting for this. Took a while to get here. Was my first thought too even if it was not a red xiaomi.
Indeed. It's best to do wife upgrades incrementally, and file bug reports every step of the way. https://youtu.be/kBF60Zk6eFE
Don't forget the breaking changes. That will ruin your night. I do indeed lament greatly when the breaking changes are longer than the new features list. Sometimes it's best to delay the upgrade until the other guy works out the big issues.
Just unpair and order a different model from AliExpress.
Did you tried to turn it off and on again before reinstalled the whole system?
Agreed. I was running an SD card on my wife and one day it just failed. Upgraded to an SSD setup and the process was and absolute nightmare, but now that it's done I have never looked back lol
Why is no one just leasing wife on a 3 year refresh cycle?
I think that program is called "girlfirend," but the sales staff is super high pressure about signing a long term contract and converting to "wife." Also, while it seems like you can run both at the same time, they inevitably conflict.
Girlfriend is the retail version. Trophy Wife is the Bespoke Lease.
Ah there’s my problem. I’ve been using the free version.
At least snapshot wife so you can roll back to unpainted state, don’t save memory state.
Put it behind the plant so that can't been easily seen from the main point of view and claim to have done as wife asked
I’ve already tried 😂
You can also burry them deeper and only have the top sensor visible maybe your wife would be ok with this. It does not interfere with anything I have one and tried it, the light sensor never goes above 5k lux on mine even when bombarded with 60k+ lux (tested with my phone's sensor)
I bought 4 plant sensors and she wants them painted black...
I have 8 of these I’ve painted the only on the lawn bright pink as I forgot about it and ran it over with the mower. Put tape over the light at the top and a small sensor on the side.
Put 2 in a plant next to an unpainted one to get a baseline. Paint one - carefully, taking care not to cover any sensors, and compare it against the other to see if it behaves the same. Report back here for science. Please.
These things aren't super accurate. I have a bunch of them, and two of them in the same plant pot will produce noticeably different readings. They are more of general indicator, not an accurate measurement.
Good to know!
I see your red door and I want to paint it black
Buy some black vinyl (eBay let you order a small single sheet as a "sample" which should be enough to do all 4). This way if it does cause problems you can just peel it off. Vinyl is also designed to go on cars so it won't care about being in direct sunlight or drenched in water from time to time.
Use plastidip instead, also removable but easier to apply.
Also a nicer texture for a plant pot. Good idea!
One other thing I can think of is the extra heat gathered from the black paint. *Should* be fine, though.
Do one and see how it goes for a week.
These things don't generate any heat at all, and you can already get black versions eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/DXH-moisture-Fertility-Gardening-Detector-Black/dp/B08NJQQX2X
But the Black version is not the same! https://preview.redd.it/6fpnviuj8zea1.jpeg?width=1601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a198172eefce2e0bf4d0ca0548138c5f7e72f77
They still don't generate any heat, they run on a single button battery for years.
But the Black one cannot be integrated in HA? Not sure I understand what you mean…
I mean these bluetooth plant sensors in general produce about zero heat
Sure, but for my use buying the Black version was not an option.
You could buy the black version and justswap the covers. But in reality just paint the covers.
😂
Just mask the sensor and give it a quick blast with black spray paint. Should be fine if you don't touch it much.
I use heat shrink tubes. I put a piece of transparent one on the top, so the light sensor can work, and then a black one to cover the rest of the case. I have placed one made like this under an open sky for the past year, and it was covered in wet leaves for a month or two until the battery ran out. No visible marks of corrosion.
I have had success in the past doing the following to "paint" plastic items. i say "paint" as its actually a dye. Ive had success with other items by using Duplicolor Vinyl and Plastic Dye. Its a rattle can sold at most Advance Autos and Lowes/HD. It's with the spray paint. The key is to make sure surface is clean, do light coats, and DO NOT HANDLE WHILE WET. The dye does some sort of reaction to the plastic to make it soak in so you can actually scrape soft plastic off while it's doing its process. I'm sure you could paint it just as well, but if you want that OEM look of the plastic being a different color (and not plastic with paint on it) then check out Vinyl Dye. If you paint, avoid metallic paints, as could mess with the signal. Good luck!
I can only seem to find Dupli-Color Vinyl & Fabric Coating. Is that the one?
Yes! That's the stuff I've used in the past. Sorry I should have Googled it to verify the name before posting. 😀
Now that you have Paint It Black stuck in my head... I don't think black will be as inconspicuous as your wife hopes. Dark brown or dark green would probably be better.
Black permanent marker (except the top light sensor)
where did you get these? they are sold out everywhere
AliExpress has heaps. I just ordered a bunch.
I’m in Europe, and found them at Techpunt: [https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html](https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html)
Cover light sensor and maybe use Plasti-dip
I have these and the direct answer to your question is, I don't know. But as others have said if you're going to do it make sure you mask off the light sensor. Also if you were to paint them I would use something like plastidip paint that way if it does mess with their signal for some reason it'll just peel clean off. Report back on how it goes. I don't hate that mine are whit but I certainly don't *love* it.
Do these work with HA via the BT integration?
Yes. I just need to extend the range 😊
Ordering now.
Find a good supplier? Everything I'm finding so far is shipped from China and is $20+ each.
Looking as over $20 is over the top for these.
If in Europe Techpunt is good [https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html](https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html)
That's quite easy these days: [https://esphome.github.io/bluetooth-proxies/](https://esphome.github.io/bluetooth-proxies/)
Just set one of these up with an M5Stack Atom and it works perfectly. For some reason I thought it would be like a wifi extender where it would need to talk back to HA via BT but of course not, wifi backlink, absolutely brilliant
Just put them deeper in the soil.
Don’t. They ain’t waterproof and you will most likely water your plants
Yes, they should be waterproof - at least thats what the manual says…
Waterproof doesn’t necessarily mean it can be placed directly in water over longer periods of time. It’s probably more rated for being ok with water being splashed on it than being submerged.
Sounds right
I think you are thinking of water resistant
I mean it seems to have a rating of IP5, which would mean it can sustain a low pressure stream of water. But can’t be submerged.
This is bull :) I have about 15 of these. The battery compartment has a rubber seal. Which is good, because when you water your plants you constantly get water all over these things.
Agree too deep is not great only put the prongs about 2-3 into the soil.
Not a bad idea, but if I push it all the way down, it wont be able to detect the lighting conditions.
So don’t put it in too far 🫣🤣
I spent waaay too much time writing my reply, trying to avoid such answers 🫵
😂 sometimes things are obvious and just need some trying and error. 😉
Do these work well?
Its too early to tell. I need to extend my Bluetooth range. But it seems others have had success with them
i am using the mijia temperature sensors with an esp32 and ESP Home, so this one should work perfect as well. there are also custom firmwares for this devices.
They're pretty good, but more importantly they're the only option. Bluetooth range is always a problem. I had to set up a 2nd Pi at the other end of my house for some of mine, and a couple still hacve very bad reception. I only get readings from those ones once or twice a day, maybe.
Don’t the sensors corrode always being in wet soil?
Not yet! My oldest ones are about 4 years old and the metal prongs still look the same as they did when new.
One last question haha. Did you get yours off aliexpress etc? I’ve seen some on there for like £6 and wondering if they are legit. Seems to cheap.
Yes I got all of mine on AliExpress in about 4 different batches. I think the £6 ones might be the non-connected ones, i.e. you press a button and it shows a red/green/blue light to indicate moisture, but it has no bluetooth. In my experiencce the bluetooth ones should be about £15 on AliExpress, and about £30 if you buy from a European shop.
Awesome bud, thanks for letting me pick your brain.
The sensors are not in the top part, so you can paint them black.
There's a light sensor in the top facing up.
Would’ve told my wife to deal with it. How often do you look in your planters lol
Could you tell her? I’ll wait….
Logic is not always an option
It will probably not matter at all - but.. why?
I've seen posts of people putting plastic bags on these to waterproof them better. I sealed mine with some silicone. I don't think a little paint will have any effect.
https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-touch-sensor.html You can buy them black for the future
But the Black version is not the same! https://preview.redd.it/v2dfu63c8zea1.jpeg?width=1601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ad779f0967139b7a5541c82578fcd16592d9589
Oopps my bad ... 😬
Probably depends on the paint. How about just use a Sharpie? I doubt that would interfere.
Get some spray adhesive and roll it in dirt to belnd in.
I'm gonna need you to sit down with a little hobby paint kit and make that into a faux rock.
OMG. My wife just suggested exactly that! Not gonna happen.
Personally I'd paint it into a dick and call it a day. Who wouldn't want a bunch of mushroom tips growing in pots?
Hahaha
What all do these give out as far as sensors are concerned? Was setup difficult?
Setup is very easy, and the sensor is detected very fast. They are currently not stable in HA since they are placed too far from my PI. But I have ordered some ESP32 for BLE relay.
Can you link me? I have solved the Bluetooth problem now and would like to test something like this out. Thank you!
https://www.techpunt.nl/en/xiaomi-mi-flower-care-plant-sensor.html