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Ecoflow contacted us #521
Replies: 53 comments 57 replies
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As usual, in case something bad happen (and I hope not) the integration is installed on your local system, with AI help you can prolong it's life with new HA updates, so nothing to worry about. |
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If their official API actually had all the important features, maybe more people would use it? Some extremely critical ones missing for the Stream Ultra - e.g. it can't set the base load. Your API also seems to be a lot more reliable (thanks for all your hard work!) Most likely they just want more people to pay their for their own cloud automation service, rather than automating via HA? (Though none of their automations are even supported for my other EcoFlow battery, and pretty sure they'd anyway be worse than my own ones.) I just hope they don't try and push firmware updates to break your BLE integration, that would be horrible. |
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This is the main reason why I'm not responding to issues right now, I'm waiting on how it pans out. Just a note that this contact was quite friendly and they seem to be open to discussion so this is not necessarily bad news. They did already publicly announce Local Mode for STREAM 5000 devices working over LAN and other devices might follow so there is a possibility that it will make this integration obsolete - that would be a good outcome. There is a second reason for my absence - I wanted to take a longer pause from development of this integration as it was taking more time that I'd like to admit so I'm was thinking about taking this opportunity to focus on my other projects for some time. This integration was feature complete for me a year ago and it was and still is fun to keep developing this, but work on personal projects keeps piling up as I was giving this more priority. If we receive a positive response, I will continue development, but in a limited mode. |
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Hope they choose to support Matter with all the sensors, switches and knobs exposed 🤞 Thank you for all the work on this project! |
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I am using this integration because it is local, and it exposes all of the features of my device to me. I have been afraid that ecoflow would pull the rug on this operation, so I proactively removed the cloud connection for my device and am relying on the bluetooth connection for the majority of my needs, and I also have it connected with USB as a UPS. I am only using a River 3 plus as a network backup UPS. I am happy with it so far, but I do not trust this company. Disconnecting from network and the internet is going to prevent firmware updates which will hopefully keep this thing working for as long as I choose. I understand this is not likely an option if you have a whole home battery system. For those that are using this just for like a UPS, now may be the time to disconnect and avoid firmware updates. |
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Couple weeks ago I was traveling across Europe in my van and while waiting in a queue to pass the border control, I opened the app to see how my Ecoflow battery is doing, which is River 2, but what I saw was completely different battery - Ecoflow Delta from another camper next to me. Right in the official app I could see the energy flow, turn on and off AC/DC, control all the settings - X-boost, schedules, everything fully exposed via Bluetooth So I get why they want to keep it hush hush and prevent wide spread usage of BLE protocol, because anybody with the app (or with HA) can control any Ecoflow device (or at least the older ones) in a proximity without proper authorization. |
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I would have preferred to use a local TCP based protocol. But they have a different way of handling every battery system differently and it's a PITA. This plugin allows me to simply get my data and monitor my units locally which I really appreciate. |
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I keep my skepticism; if there is no clear implementation, it's just another BS corpo lang. "your integration is not safe, we want users to use our app; we want to create this local API, but nothing actually worked yet". Let say ecoflow did it, which devices? how it works? How far the timeline? |
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Thank you, @rabits and @GnoX, for your work and for keeping us informed. As a STREAM Ultra / Ultra X user, this integration has made my EcoFlow hardware much more useful. I built a Home Assistant PI controller around it to manage charging and discharging based on actual household power demand. Local control is an essential part of my setup. Honestly, I am sceptical about the promised local API. I have seen no firmware updates for my device for months—which, with a working BLE setup, is actually a relief—and no updates to MQTT support either. Based on that experience, another announcement alone does not give me much confidence. Before asking a working community project to stop, EcoFlow should provide a usable alternative for existing customers. Which devices will be supported? Will that include STREAM Ultra and Ultra X? Will we retain control over charging, discharging and base load? Will it work fully offline? And what is the timeline? If there are specific security concerns with the existing BLE protocol, those deserve a proper technical solution. Stopping this integration would not, by itself, fix a vulnerability in the devices. It is encouraging that the contact was friendly. I hope it leads to concrete cooperation and a working migration path. Until then, I remain cautious. This community has added real value to EcoFlow’s products. Thank you to everyone who made that possible—you certainly do not owe us unlimited unpaid support. |
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Same - using because this integration is local. Them them engaging I see as a positive, and @rabits thanks for offering our assistance. I'm sure I'd speak for many here that we'd want the API available on the LAN interface, and for it to work alongside the phone app. |
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The fact that Ecoflow contacted you is both good and hilarious. Users have been asking Ecoflow for years to allow full local api access to their products. The cloud dependency goes against the very heart of the use-case for their products.....but I guess they would rather force their customers to keep using their app and their cloud rather than let their products be 100% controllable without their cloud....like, for instance, is necessary in an off-grid situation with no internet! ...so I'm not holding my breath but it would be nice if they finally release a 100% local api for ALL their current and older products! I have stopped buying their products specifically because they lack a real local api. |
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Folks, disable ANY possible auto-upgrade you might have configured. Here, they "oopsie" disabled the access, even for developers to their own API: and With EcoFlow, it's always promises (and likely even lies..) The BLE integration, is local, and works well. Don't succumb to whatever Ecoflow is trying to pull on you guys. |
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Please don't stop this project unless Ecoflow give a local API to support |
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TBF, i think there is a long road ahead of us. even if we give ecoflow the benefit of the doubt and assume they follow through with the local API, there will still be a whole bunch of stuff that need to be tested to verify it’s as feature rich as the BT API. |
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Basically, this was just a ruse from Ecoflow to be able to control a proper open integration, that's arguably working better than their own options. They have no intention do to a proper open local API. Ecoflow will be Ecoflow.. |
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I see the repository is now "maintenance-only" thanks to Ecoflow :-( Just curious: what gives them the right to do this? |
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I understand the frustration, but I think it's worth clearing a few things up. Nobody signed anything, there is no contract and nothing legally binding. The maintenance-only mode was actually our own proposal: I suggested it in my very first reply to them (quoted above) and rabits confirmed it with them. EcoFlow simply said they're ok with it. rabits can correct me if I'm wrong. We chose to work with them rather than against them, mostly because fighting wouldn't really get us anywhere:
We get that it's not ideal, the ideal would be everything fully open, but both sides had to make some compromises. So I think this is still a good outcome: the repo stays up, supported devices keep getting fixes and everything keeps working locally. If they ship a local API that is actually usable, great. If they don't, nothing changes for devices that are already supported. It's also worth saying that the freeze doesn't change much in practice. I was the one adding most of the new devices, and doing that without owning almost any of them took a lot of time: every one meant working out fields and going back and forth with reporters over diagnostics. And it's getting more painful with every new generation: the newer devices are a lot more complex, and trying to add the STREAM AC 5000 or Ocean Pro took a lot more time than the earlier ones, even with AI help. I was already planning to step back from that, and there isn't anyone else with the time to add and check new devices anyway. This reply was written with AI assistance, mostly to put my thoughts into better English. I reviewed and refined all of it. |
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My personal impression is that EcoFlow simply does not want ha-ef-ble to keep growing within Home Assistant. I suspect EcoFlow is uncomfortable with an independent project that gives users this much control over their hardware. It allows customers to build their own local automations without relying on EcoFlow’s ecosystem. In my view, that conflicts with parts of their business model. That is why I remain sceptical about the promised local API. So far, the concrete outcome is that this community project stops expanding, while a usable official replacement for existing devices remains unclear. To me, this looks more like an effort to contain ha-ef-ble than a commitment to support independent local control. I would be happy to be proven wrong by a documented, fully local API for our existing devices. I fully understand why the maintainers want to avoid a conflict and reduce their unpaid workload. My criticism is directed at EcoFlow. Your work has made their products more valuable to customers like me. |
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I have two points: First, you have done great work here and getting this into HA is very much appreciated by me and obviously others that are using it. Thank you. Second, these companies are bananas. The technical people are using HA and their hardware. When someone asks me [tech person] what to use I will recommend what I use if there is a decent product for them. IOW, I want the control of HA. People that ask me what to use are mainly not going to use HA because it is "too hard". But, if EcoFlow has an app [which they do] that is decent then I will tell the people that their product is good and they can use their app. I am not going to suggest to someone that they get HA so that I support them. |
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Thank you for keeping this project maintained—I rely on local Home Assistant control for my DELTA 2 and DELTA 3 Max, and both are working after the v1.3.0 update. I hope EcoFlow supports a documented, fully offline API for existing devices while preserving the functionality this community has made possible. |
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I'll echo some of the previous sentiments but I think it's important for EcoFlow to understand just how crucial local integrations are to many of their customers. I live on an island, me and many of my fellow islanders have sporadic internet access or none at all. This is the case all across my area (coastal BC) for people living both on grid with backup power or off-grid with solar and generators. Removing our ability to use Home Assistant to manage our power system locally isn't just an inconvenience it's a matter of safety and without it EcoFlow products become dumb batteries instead of being power stations. |
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I use this integration fairly heavily. This is really a message to EcoFlow, if this project stops working and I can't manage my EcoFlow products locally via Home Assistant, I will sell them and buy replacement products from another company that does support local management. Requiring internet access to manage a product that is designed to work during a power outage i.e. when the internet is likely to be down, is nonsensical. I bought and paid for my EcoFlow products, they are mine to do with as I wish. |
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WTF Ecoflow? I was sooo happy that there is finally a way to control my Delta2Max and Powerstream locally without being dependent on some Cloud. Now this? I am very sceptical that Ecoflow will provide a working local-only LAN mode, especially for „older“ devices. |
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Reddit discussion about this discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1xcg3hf/ecoflow_asks_developers_of_opensource_home/ |
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I'll just say this one thing: Any device that can be put into an unsafe condition via Bluetooth is fundamentally unsafe by design. Whether or not Ecoflow is telling the truth about a safety issue or the "safety" argument is just a ploy as part of a control/money grab, either way, no one should be buying any more of their products if their preference is to tell people that their devices are fundamentally unsafe by design. I was considering purchasing an EcoFlow product but they are now permanently off of my list of consideration for any product. |
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I read a lot about the fact that the bluetooth interface is unsafe because in theory it's possible to send values outside their safe range which may cause the device to malfunction, be bricked....maybe even catch fire? I'm wondering if this also applies to the official cloud based api? I assume it does because it controls the same registers in the devices as when using bluetooth!? Surely there are safeguards in the cloud api to prevent this (like there are in the ha-ef-ble integration) but what if the cloud api is hacked? Would it then be possible for the hackers to brick (or destroy) all connected Ecoflow devices? Not a nice thought and only makes the case for 100% local api stronger! It's not that the cloud api being hacked is un unlikely scenario these days......and Ecoflow should really already have built-in safeguards for this in all the devices firmware! |
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Honestly, if this is one of their concerns, unsafe value ranges, they should simply SEND THE CREATORS OF THIS INTEGRATION THOSE CONSTRAINTS.
…On October 24, 2026 1:04:34 AM PDT, Ton ***@***.***> wrote:
I read a lot about the fact that the bluetooth interface is unsafe because in theory it's possible to send values outside their safe range which may cause the device to malfunction, be bricked....maybe even catch fire?
I'm wondering if this also applies to the official cloud based api? I assume it does because it controls the same registers in the devices as when using bluetooth!?
Surely there are safeguards in the cloud api to prevent this (like there are in the ha-ef-ble integration) but what if the cloud api is hacked? Would it then be possible for the hackers to brick (or destroy) all connected Ecoflow devices? Not a nice thought and only makes the case for 100% local api stronger!
It's not that the cloud api being hacked is un unlikely scenario these days......and Ecoflow should really already have built-in safeguards for this in all the devices firmware!
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~2 weeks ago we were contacted by Ecoflow - in short they want us to stop the operations on this project, because the integration uses their ble protocol, which is for some reason is unsafe. They are creating some sort of local API that will allow a safe managing of Ecoflow devices. I hope they will do that and we offered our help in order to make sure the local API is usable, but so far there is no reply from them on our response email.
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