I’ve published an alternative Edge driver for the Tuya-based Zigbee soil sensor that uses the private EF00 cluster. It works with the **_TZE284_0ints6wl / TS0601** variant commonly sold on popular online stores.
This soil sensor is a handy little device for anyone monitoring their garden or indoor plants. Rather than having to remember to check moisture levels by hand, you can set up automations in SmartThings to get alerts when your plants are getting too dry — or even trigger a watering system automatically. The sensor reports back soil moisture percentage, ambient temperature in Celsius, and illuminance (lux) readings, along with battery level so you know when it’s time to replace the CR2032 cell.
What makes this edge driver particularly useful is that it accesses the Tuya device’s private EF00 cluster, which isn’t exposed by the default SmartThings Tuya integration. This means you get much more detailed sensor data than what’s available out of the box.
Capabilities
- Soil Moisture (%) — monitor your plant soil water content in real-time
- Temperature (°C) — ambient air temperature for frost or heat warnings
- Illuminance (lux) — measure light levels to determine if your plants are getting enough sun
- Battery (%) — know when the CR2032 battery needs replacing before it dies
Install
- Subscribe to my channel: crashtestoz SmartThings Edge Drivers
- Install Zigbee Soil Sensor from the available drivers list
- Put the sensor in pairing mode and search for nearby devices in the SmartThings app
Tips & Notes
The soil moisture readings are most accurate when you insert the probe into actual soil rather than leaving it in air. For best results, place your sensor near plants you care about and set up routines that alert you via the SmartThings app when moisture drops below a threshold you define.
If you’re growing tropical plants or have an indoor garden, the temperature and illuminance sensors are especially useful for maintaining ideal conditions. You can combine these readings with SmartThings automations to trigger grow lights or ventilation systems when thresholds are crossed.
The CR2032 battery typically lasts 6–12 months depending on how frequently the sensor transmits data. The low-battery notification makes it easy to swap the cell before you lose connectivity unexpectedly.