# Gaggia Classic 2019 / Classic Pro WiFi Smart switch turn on mod



## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

I've been investigating the ability to have a new Classic 2019 / Classic Pro turn on from a Smart App / Alexa / Google Home with scheduling etc. recently. It's been a challenge!

The stupid Classic 'eco' PCB - that is identical in the 2015 machine and the 2019 machines - is a real pain, and coupled with the new momentary on/off switch of the 2019 Classic makes this a slightly awkward process.

I'll start by saying that the optimal solution is going to be obtained by using a smart PLUG in combination with this smart on/off mod. This is because the new mod can power the machine ON but it can't power it off again (blame the stupid PCB, not me!).

So - using a Smart Plug as well as the Smart Mod - you'd do the following (if you want it on from 0700 to 0830 every day).

0655 - turn Smart Plug ON

0700 - turn Smart Mod ON

0701 - turn Smart Mod OFF

0830 - turn Smart Plug OFF

If you simply try and turn the Smart Mod off, the machine ignores you and it stays powered on.... unless you have previously (or subsequently) pressed the 0/1 switch on the front of the machine. (So the "0701 Smart Mod OFF" above, then allows you to use the 0/1 switch to turn the machine off as normal - without it the machine will stay on until the power is killed at 0830).

Here's a video of me using it - so you can see what it does (I didn't bother with a full Amazon Alexa demo, this is just using the smart app):






Doing this mod is pretty simple - hence I'm just publishing the details for all here.

I used a Sonoff Mini wifi switch from Amazon UK that's available here if you want the same one.

I then attached three pieces of silicone wire, each one around 3-4 inches long with a piggyback connector on the ends.

You then wire as follows:

N in - goes to the rear power socket and piggybacks the N (blue) cable

L in - goes to the rear power socket and piggybacks the L (brown) cable

L out - goes to the front switch bank 0/1 switch and piggybacks the orange cable (second one in from the left, top row, next to the blue cable).

That's it.

As I said, you can power ON using the Smart Mod now - but you can't power OFF; so if you do want to power off then it makes sense to combine this with a Smart Plug as well to kill the power to the entire machine (and when you power the Smart Plug back on again, the machine will do nothing - except the Smart Mod will be connecting to wifi - so leave a few minutes for that to safely happen before then asking the Smart Mod to turn the machine on).

A few photos are attached to show the wiring and also the size of the Smart Mod Sonoff device (I don't recommend you mount it where shown in the pictures, it's just there so you can see the small size).

Hope this helps!!


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## RMcG (Dec 21, 2019)

Excellent!

Does your smart mod override the 20min timer, or is that an additional fix using the method you outlined in another post? (I apologise for my lack of electric understanding in advance!)

I'm tempted to give this one a go, it'd be nice to have the machine warmed up on a schedule!


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

You need the other mod (short piece of wire) to override the timer - this doesn't do it.

Or at least I don't think it will - I'll do some testing and advise.

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## John_s (Jan 29, 2020)

So, if you're planning on manually switching off the Gaggia when you're finished, there is no need for a smart plug am I right? Only the sonoff mini switch, you press on, then off and when you're done brewing, just hit the off switch on the machine.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

John_s said:


> So, if you're planning on manually switching off the Gaggia when you're finished, there is no need for a smart plug am I right? Only the sonoff mini switch, you press on, then off and when you're done brewing, just hit the off switch on the machine.


 Yes, completely correct - if you are happy turning the machine off manually then you don't need a smart plug, and you'd just set a schedule on the Smart mod to something like:

0700 - Smart Mod ON

0701- Smart Mod OFF (it won't go off, but it will allow the machine to be switched off with the 0/1 switch).

(Obviously for maximum benefit you also want the timer disable mod, otherwise the damn thing will go off on it's own at 0720!)


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## LiquidLogic (Apr 16, 2020)

I've been researching my first espresso set up and this might tip me over the edge to the Classic over a Sage machine.

Warm up time was the big one for me due to my weekday morning schedule. If I could turn my machine on before I go downstairs then this solves my problem!


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Being thick here but what just stops you putting it on a timer plug?


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Cuprajake said:


> Being thick here but what just stops you putting it on a timer plug?


It won't turn on - as you need to press the power button

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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Ah, is that different to the older machines with a flick switch then

Still learning atm,

I was looking at the pid kits are they still 100


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Cuprajake said:


> Ah, is that different to the older machines with a flick switch then
> Still learning atm,
> I was looking at the pid kits are they still 100


Yes, it's different - older machines have a permanent rocker switch, new machines have a momentary push switch.

PID kits are £94 with UK shipping

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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Ah so my old school machine i could do that if i wish.

Still undecided on a pid its same cost as the machine haha

Do you have a link to a guide for fitting


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## LiquidLogic (Apr 16, 2020)

I've obviously not played around with it since I don't have one, so this is for you MrShades....

I'm assuming the power rocker switch is a normally open contact, flicking it completes the circuit to close it? Could you short this contact so it was always closed ("on") and control only from the plug at the wall?


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Cuprajake said:


> Ah so my old school machine i could do that if i wish.
> Still undecided on a pid its same cost as the machine haha
> Do you have a link to a guide for fitting


No, you only get the full guide when you buy the kit. If you look at the thread about the kit then there's a link to a few pages of sample.

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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

LiquidLogic said:


> I've obviously not played around with it since I don't have one, so this is for you MrShades....
> 
> I'm assuming the power rocker switch is a normally open contact, flicking it completes the circuit to close it? Could you short this contact so it was always closed ("on") and control only from the plug at the wall?


On the 2018+ model it's not a rocker switch - that's the problem.

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## LiquidLogic (Apr 16, 2020)

MrShades said:


> On the 2018+ model it's not a rocker switch - that's the problem.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 I see...

A 555 IC could be used to generate a pulsing signal in place of the switch? This would consistently "refresh" the auto switch off function. Fairly simple circuit but purely speculation on my part!

Edit: playing with timings for the 555 I'm not sure the timings would be easy to get with off the shelf parts as you'd need ~900s high 1s low for it to be workable


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

LiquidLogic said:


> I see...
> A 555 IC could be used to generate a pulsing signal in place of the switch? This would consistently "refresh" the auto switch off function. Fairly simple circuit but purely speculation on my part!
> 
> Edit: playing with timings for the 555 I'm not sure the timings would be easy to get with off the shelf parts as you'd need ~900s high 1s low for it to be workable


That would just cause it to switch on and then off etc.

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## LiquidLogic (Apr 16, 2020)

MrShades said:


> That would just cause it to switch on and then off etc.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 Yes, but if the low was only 1s, the high 900s, it would only flick off briefly every 20 minutes resetting the auto-off. Not ideal if you were using it but unlikely.

The machine could then be controlled through the socket only. I think the timings are a real issue with this anyway....


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

No, it's normally low and then it flip/flops on and off whenever it goes high - so it would turn on and off every 20mins.

Anyway a defeating the 20min timer is simple - and I have a separate thread about that. This primarily concerns how to turn the machine ON.

Once it's ON it's simple to make it stay on, and any smart switch can be used to kill the power and turn it off.

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## hazzeruk (Jun 28, 2019)

Hey Mr shades hope you are well, I've had the pid running in my classic pro for a while now absolutely mint still would you be willing to sell this as a kit even if it's just the wires as that would be really great

Cheers,

Harry


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## flyboy320 (Mar 9, 2020)

MrShades said:


> On the 2018+ model it's not a rocker switch - that's the problem.


 I have a 2020 N.A. model and the switch is a rocker switch (not a momentary switch). I have a couple of the Sonoff devices kicking around and would like to try this mod out. Is it possible to wire this similar to the way you did in your first post? I assume I could just tap off the rear power live and rear power neutral and just leave the front power switch left ON?


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## hazzeruk (Jun 28, 2019)

@MrShades hi mate, didn't know whether you saw my above comment, I'd be interested in this and the timer disable mod if possible to sell it


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

hazzeruk said:


> @MrShades hi mate, didn't know whether you saw my above comment, I'd be interested in this and the timer disable mod if possible to sell it


 Hello.... I'm not comfortable selling something that doesn't work properly. The Sonoff wifi switch is still a bit of a compromise - and you have to use it with a wifi power switch to get full on/off functionality etc. - so it's a bit of a "workaround". As such I just published the idea on here and anyone who wants to do it, can make it up and use it.

We sell the timer disable cables on our website - www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk

As a compromise, and to help you... if you order 2 x timer disable switches - I'll make up the three cables that you need for the Sonoff, and ship those instead of one of the timer disable cables - so you'd get 1 x timer disable cable and 3 x wires for the Sonoff. You buy your own Sonoff from Amazon.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

flyboy320 said:


> I have a 2020 N.A. model and the switch is a rocker switch (not a momentary switch). I have a couple of the Sonoff devices kicking around and would like to try this mod out. Is it possible to wire this similar to the way you did in your first post? I assume I could just tap off the rear power live and rear power neutral and just leave the front power switch left ON?


 Yes, that SHOULD be fine... though obviously I've never tried it on a US machine, but at least you have the luck of having a proper power rocker switch.

Easiest route on yours is just an external wifi smartswitch on your plug socket - but if you have spare Sonoff devices lying around then why not try it, yes.


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## flyboy320 (Mar 9, 2020)

MrShades said:


> Yes, that SHOULD be fine... though obviously I've never tried it on a US machine, but at least you have the luck of having a proper power rocker switch.
> 
> Easiest route on yours is just an external wifi smartswitch on your plug socket - but if you have spare Sonoff devices lying around then why not try it, yes.


 I did it last week and it's working great. Even with your PID mod there was still enough room to place the switch inside the machine and now I have it programmed to come on/off when I want and also the ability to just ask Alexa to turn the machine on/off as well.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

flyboy320 said:


> I did it last week and it's working great. Even with your PID mod there was still enough room to place the switch inside the machine and now I have it programmed to come on/off when I want and also the ability to just ask Alexa to turn the machine on/off as well.


 Great news! Well done. If only we had a sensible rocker switch too... 😉


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## hazzeruk (Jun 28, 2019)

Hey @MrShades Thanks for the reply have put in an order now, order no #40001437, Thank you


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## hazzeruk (Jun 28, 2019)

Hey mate got her installed today absolutely brilliant 👍


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

hazzeruk said:


> Hey mate got her installed today absolutely brilliant 👍


 Excellent - I'm also working on a different solution for this, which may (or may not!) be better... we shall see! Hopefully it'll make the use of wifi switches a little easier - but still early days.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

An update on this - as this new mod may well be better for wifi smartswitch users:

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/53648-gaggia-classic-2019-simply-turn-it-on-and-off-great-for-wifi-smart-switches/?do=embed


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

...and as mentioned above, at Shades of Coffee we now have the proper solution for this - a cheap and simple swap of the stupid switch, with a proper 0/1 rocker switch - along with a small amount of additional / rewiring. This will allow you to use the latest Classic 2019 / 2020 on an external wifi smartswitch in exactly the same way as you could always do with a traditional Classic.... just turn it on with the switch on the machine, and then use the wifi switch to turn power on and off. Simples. Check out the video on this page for a demo and example of how it works under Alexa control.

https://www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk/post-2018---gaggia-classic-pro-gaggia-classic-2019/gaggia-classic-2019---ri9480---power-switch-mod


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## dave1818 (Sep 7, 2020)

@MrShades @flyboy320 Wonder if you can help - I liked the idea of this mod so have had a go but can't get the Sonoff to turn the machine on - my Classic just stays off even when the switch is set to "on". The machine still works fine otherwise and turns on/off normally with the rocker switch. Have I messed up somewhere with wiring? Or misunderstood somewhere? Can work out where I'm going wrong!


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

What you've done looks ok - so you're using the internal sonoff with some other WiFi smartswitch - or are you just using the sonoff?

To be honest, after my post (above yours) about the mod to change the power switch to a proper on/off rocker - and hence (if you do that) the ability to simply control the maxhine with a WiFi smart switch in the usual way - I wasn't really expecting many people to go down this more complicated and less effective route ;-)

The issue with the sonoff internally is that you can turn the machine on - but can't turn it off (which is why you need an additional
WiFi switch to actually kill the power to the machine). I'm struggling to see how you've managed to set it up and have an issue turning on.... hmmmm - it should be a simple case of making sure that the plug WiFi switch is on, and then turn the sonoff on (and then turn in off again a minute later - and the machine will stay on, as it's emulating the pressing of the power switch)

If you followed my wiring guidance in the original post I'm struggling to see how it's not working like that.

Just do the switch mod ;-)

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## dave1818 (Sep 7, 2020)

@MrShadesThanks for the reply. I actually thought this mod was pretty good - the ability to turn on remotely but just turn off at the switch seemed pretty neat to me (I wasn't planning on combining with a wifi switch). I.e the time when I'm away from the machine is when I want to turn it on remotely, it's pretty easy to turn off when I'm standing next to it! Plus it means me (and the wife) not having to remember to keep it switched "on" after use and just use the machine as normal.

Anyway I'll have another tinker later - if no joy then yes I'm sure you'll be getting an order for another switch mod!


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## fvates (Jan 31, 2021)

I didn't like the idea of having 2 commands like Mr. Shades suggested (7:00 ON -> 7:01 OFF) so I checked the settings of the eWeLink App and found something called "Inching" where you can set a short duration after which the device turns off automatically. I set it now to 1 sec, this basically simulates you pressing the button and holding it for a second before releasing to really make sure it's on.

You can find it in Device Settings / Inching Settings. There you can set your own preferred duration. I hoped that setting the external trigger mode to "pulse mode" would simulate a relay nicely but this doesn't seem to be working, so I have it setup as "edge mode" now.


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