Front View 
Rear View
I got some of these Arlec Smart Plug In Sockets from Bunnings. Apparently they are Tuya devices but I decided to take the brute force approach to putting ESPHome on the.
First challenge was getting the tri point screw out. I had to buy a special screwdriver for this.
Once I got the screws out, it was easy to unclip the case and open it.
Arlec Smart Plug In Socket Circuit Board Underside View 
Arlec Smart Plug In Socket Circuit Board Topside View 
After tracing the circuit, I decided to solder wires to the board and connect them to my USB->Serial adapter. The only tricky part was that you have to hold GPIO0 at ground when you power up the esp8266 to get it into flash mode. I just held a wire on the tiny GPIO0 pad on the TYWE2S.
5 responses to “Putting ESPHome on Arlec Smart Plug In Socket”
Hi Jason,
Can I please have a copy of your esphome config.
thanks,
Ben
Hi Ben,
Sure, ESPHome configuration for Arlec Grid Connect Smart Plug-in Socket
Hi there, I’ve struggled with these screws also. Do you have a link where you got the driver to remove them or even just the description?
Thanks
I had to pay the Jaycar tax to get a suitable set. I think it was this set I bought:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/22-piece-long-bit-screwdriver-set-with-case/p/TD2114
Would you ever put together a comprehensive guide on modding these? It’s been so annoying finding that I cannot easily code a way to control them with my Python projects. Unlike how you can control the TP-Link products.