Serin Link technical reference

Specialist setup and display details. For everyday use, see the Serin Link manual.

Display behavior

When the idle display or the dark screen starts, Serin Link also returns to the home screen. It closes an open explanation and ends the on-screen tips. The Wi-Fi and home-pairing screens are the exception. These screens stay bright until their own timeout. Refer to setup troubleshooting.

A Serin Controller can also control the screen, if its firmware has that function. With this control:

• The screen becomes dark after approximately 30 seconds. The Idle screen setting does not apply.
• The screen shows the Glance display immediately when the controller removes the dark condition.

With more than one zone, a request to show the display has priority over a request to make the screen dark.

Display differences

With Settings → Advanced → Night enabled, the controller can limit brightness at night. On the VIEWE 1.5 display, the limit is normally 20%. The controller can supply a different limit. A Brightness adjustment temporarily lifts the limit. Inactivity restores it. Ordinary knob activity wakes a dim display, but does not itself remove the night limit in this firmware revision.

The VIEWE 2.1 display does not use the same idle brightness ramp or night cap. Its Idle screen → Off option still makes the screen dark. Check the board name in About → Details → DIAL before comparing display behavior.

Wi-Fi credentials

The HomeKit-compatible controller firmware accepts Wi-Fi network names up to 32 bytes, passphrases up to 63 characters, and 64-character hexadecimal keys. It keeps the full network name and key when reconnecting or restoring the previous network after an unsuccessful change. Non-ASCII characters can use more than one byte of the network-name limit.

Google Home test firmware

For Google Home, first prepare a compatible Matter hub and enable IPv6 on the home network. This controller's test firmware also needs a Google Developer Console Matter integration with matching device identifiers. Check the controller web interface's About → Matter ID before configuration. The audited firmware uses Vendor ID 0xFFF1 and Product ID 0x8000.

Use the same Google account for the developer project and the Home app. Follow Google's test-device setup instructions. Then open Google Home. Select Add → Device and scan the QR code on Link. Complete the app's setup prompts. App versions can offer Set up without QR code for manual entry. Follow Google's current pairing instructions if the labels differ.

ESPHome updates

The official Serin ESPHome board configurations enable Link firmware updates through serin_link.link_ota_credentials: true and require ESPHome 2026.7.4 or newer. Install an updated controller build to apply the setting; existing Link pairings remain valid.

In the website's ESPHome YAML generator, select Connect a Serin Link. Allow Link firmware updates is selected by default when Link is enabled. Clear that checkbox to keep wireless controls without sharing Wi-Fi credentials. The generated configuration explicitly records this choice. All generated configurations require ESPHome 2026.7.4 or newer. The generator uses fixed component revisions and ESP-IDF 5.5.5; its Link component is currently a beta release. Install the generated configuration on the controller before using Update on Link.

When Link requests an update, the controller sends its Wi-Fi network name and key over the encrypted connection to the paired Link. To disable this sharing, set link_ota_credentials: false under serin_link: in the controller YAML and install that configuration. This hides Link's Update action. WPA-Enterprise networks require this setting to be disabled. Link needs direct internet access for HTTPS downloads and time synchronization.