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4-Zone Wall Controller Setup Guide

This guide is for customers setting up a TekOnline 4-Zone Wall Controller with Home Assistant for the first time.

Before You Start

You will need:

  • a powered 4-Zone Wall Controller
  • a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network
  • Home Assistant on the same local network
  • a phone, tablet, or laptop

What The Shipping Firmware Does

The standard firmware is designed to be easy to adopt:

  • each front button controls its matching zone locally
  • a short press toggles that zone
  • a press-and-hold adjusts the zone level
  • each button LED follows the effective zone output
  • each zone drives its matching relay
  • the controller can be added to Home Assistant over your local network
  • if Wi-Fi is not set yet, the controller opens a temporary setup hotspot called TekOnline 4 Zone Setup
  • the current public firmware reports its firmware version in Home Assistant

Recommended Setup Method

Use the temporary setup hotspot first. It is the most reliable path for first-time users.

Step 1: Power The Controller

Power the controller and wait about 15 to 30 seconds.

If the controller does not already know your Wi-Fi details, it will create a setup hotspot called:

TekOnline 4 Zone Setup

The setup hotspot does not require a password.

Step 2: Join The Setup Hotspot

On your phone, tablet, or laptop:

  1. Open Wi-Fi settings.
  2. Join TekOnline 4 Zone Setup.
  3. If a setup page opens automatically, continue there.
  4. If it does not, open a browser and go to 192.168.4.1.

Step 3: Enter Your Home Wi-Fi

On the setup page:

  1. Select your home 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.
  2. Enter the Wi-Fi password.
  3. Save the settings.

The controller will reboot and join your home network.

Add It To Home Assistant

After Wi-Fi is saved:

  1. Open Home Assistant.
  2. Go to Settings > Devices & Services.
  3. Wait for the controller to appear as a discovered ESPHome device.
  4. Click Add.

If Home Assistant does not discover it automatically within about a minute:

  1. In Home Assistant, go to Settings > Devices & Services.
  2. Click Add Integration.
  3. Search for ESPHome.
  4. Enter the controller IP address.

If you prefer to add it by hostname, the controller hostname format is:

tek-4zone-wall-xxxxxx.local

The xxxxxx part is the last part of that controller's MAC address.

How The Buttons Behave

With the current firmware:

  • Button 1 controls Zone 1
  • Button 2 controls Zone 2
  • Button 3 controls Zone 3
  • Button 4 controls Zone 4

A short press toggles the zone between off and its last on level.

A press-and-hold ramps the zone level up or down, similar to a single-button dimmer.

Each change updates:

  • the local zone state
  • the matching front LED
  • the matching relay output

This means the wall controller still works locally even if Home Assistant is offline.

Current Firmware Download

The current public ESPHome YAML is:

tekonline-4zone-wall-controller-v2026-05-17.yml

Firmware version shown in Home Assistant:

2026.05.17-v2-hold-dimmer-unique-spill-invert

For WordPress downloads, the same file may be supplied as .txt. If so, download it and rename it from:

tekonline-4zone-wall-controller-v2026-05-17.txt

to:

tekonline-4zone-wall-controller-v2026-05-17.yml

before adding it to ESPHome.

Updating An Existing Controller Over The Network

If the controller is already online and already running ESPHome firmware, you can usually update it over the network:

  1. Add the YAML to your ESPHome Dashboard.
  2. If ESPHome cannot find the device by name, find its IP address in Home Assistant or your router.
  3. Temporarily add use_address under wifi: in your local copy of the YAML.
  4. Click Install.
  5. Choose Wirelessly.

Example local-only OTA targeting:

wifi:
  use_address: 192.168.1.123

Replace 192.168.1.123 with the controller's actual IP address.

Do not use someone else's IP address in a public or shared YAML file.

If A Zone Works Backwards

Some HVAC relay interfaces are active-high and some are active-low. If a zone appears inverted, for example off in Home Assistant turns the zone on, use the per-zone inversion setting.

In Home Assistant, look for:

  • Zone 1 Relay Inverted
  • Zone 2 Relay Inverted
  • Zone 3 Relay Inverted
  • Zone 4 Relay Inverted

Turn on the inversion switch only for the zone that behaves backwards.

If every zone behaves backwards, turn on all four inversion switches.

Optional Bluetooth Setup

Some phones and Home Assistant setups can also provision the controller over Bluetooth using ESPHome Improv.

If that option appears in your app or browser, you can use it instead of the setup hotspot.

If Bluetooth provisioning is not obvious, use the hotspot method above.

If You Cannot Find The Device In Home Assistant

Check these items:

  • your phone or computer is back on your normal home Wi-Fi after setup
  • Home Assistant and the controller are on the same local network
  • your Wi-Fi network is 2.4 GHz
  • the controller had the correct Wi-Fi password entered

If needed:

  1. Power-cycle the controller.
  2. Wait one minute.
  3. Check Settings > Devices & Services again in Home Assistant.

Important Notes

  • Button 2 is on an ESP32 boot-related pin, so avoid holding that button while the controller is powering up or rebooting.
  • OTA updates only work once ESPHome firmware is already running on the controller and the controller is reachable on your network. If the flash has been wiped, use USB flashing first.
  • The public firmware is intended to make first setup easy while still allowing advanced Home Assistant configuration.

Need Help?

If you need support, contact TekOnline and include:

  • your Home Assistant version
  • the controller IP address if known
  • the firmware version shown in Home Assistant
  • a screenshot of any error you see
  • whether the setup hotspot appeared