Installing eWeLink on an Android Tablet

December 11, 2016

Note: There is already a new version of eWeLink and it is available on Play Store. Installation of this newer version no longer requires the trick described below; see see Update to Installing eWeLink on an Android Tablet . If the app had been installed on a tablet following the instructions below, it will be updated.

Novembre 22nd, 2016

It may be possible to install eWeLink on an Android tablet after all...

For those that may not know, eWeLink is the software by CoolKit Technolgoy that is used to control Sonoff switches made by ITEAD, through a cloud server. Officially, installation can only be done on intelligent phones. However newer versions of the software no longer require a telephone number to register, an email is sufficient. I mistook this to mean that eWeLink could be installed on any Android device. I was wrong.

Nevertheless, I managed to install that program on a Nexus 7 tablet a couple of hours ago after installing the app on a "borrowed" Android phone. I used an email address to register the app, and once everything was running, I accepted the update to the newest version 2.2.5 (2016-11-16).

On a hunch, I copied the downloaded file ( Android/data/com.coolkit/files/Download/updates/com.coolkit20161116) to my desktop computer, renamed it eWeLink.2.2.5.apk and downloaded that file to my Android tablet's Download directory. Using a third party file browser (ES File Browser & Total Commander both seem to work) on the tablet, I installed the app. It worked; I could log on to the account created on the server.

Of course, you have to twiddle permissions to install non Google Play applications (on both the tablet and the phone for the update). You probably have to enable USB debugging and you need to choose the correct connection mode when plugging in the USB cable to the phone and tablet to enable file transfer.

Bonus side effect: my mate gets her phone back, updated cleaned, and capable of turning the Christmas lights on or off. I find the Sonoff cute and very functional. Can't wait to flash mqtt and incorporate them in future home automation project.

I sincerely hope this isn't one of those recipes that will not work in a few days or weeks because the next version of the app will be modified. Of course, it will not work if you unluckily download the latest version of eWeLink from Google Play. In that case, you may be in luck once an update becomes available.