Future Motion has since the introduction of the Onewheel Pint and the later HW on the XR added a paring feature between the BMS and the controller. This activity disables the possibility to do battery modification on the Onewheel boards.
JW Batteries did release a chip, the JWFFM, bypassing this paring. Now the community has released an open-source version built on the standard ESP8266 like the cheap Wemos D1 Mini. You can now unlock your board for around $3-5 for the chip some wires and soldering skills.
Get the code from GitHub here.
DIY JWFFM Modchip – Project Owie
There is no hesitation that the project is inspired by the JWFFM modchip and it was only a matter of time until someone actually put an OpenSource version into the community’s hands. The project aims to unlock battery expansion possibilities on otherwise locked Onewheels such as Onewheel XR with FW version 4210+ and Onewheel Pint with FW 5059+.
The project Owie is an open-source project so remember that it comes with no guarantees. Installing the chip is done at your own risk and could potentially lead to property loss, injuries, or even death. Install it at your own risk, like the JWFFM or an upgrade to your board.
Basically doing any upgrade on your Onewheel will void your warranty so keep that in mind. If you are thinking of a battery upgrade either you want more range or actually, your old battery has died. If you are already out of warranty you then have nothing to lose.
The team has released the code on GitHub to the public so it’s absolutely free and the good thing is that it runs on a very cheap ESP8266 board, the Wemos D1 Mini Lite. One of the best features of the board is the WiFi. This will enable the possibility to upgrade the chip without opening the Onewheel for reflashing the chip!
Get the code from GitHub here.
What Does The Code Do?
Removes BMS pairing – Enables you to use BMS boards from any Onewheel of the same model in your board. (Currently tested between different Pints of the same revision)
The following updates are based on the commit released on Feb 9, 2022
Upcoming Features:
- Fix the battery percentage reporting for Vamp-and-Ride setups and expanded battery packs.
- Removes the factory locking of battery capacity expansion, implemented in OW XRs with revisions 4210+ and Pints with revisions 5059+.
Tools For The DIY BMS Bypass Pairing Chip
Flashing and Installing the chip is quite a simple modification still you need to have some essential soldering skills and tools. To install the chip between the BMS and the controller you will need to open the battery box.
- Soldering iron, some 22 gauge wires, and tape for isolating the chip
- Torx 5-point security bit, size TS20.
- Wemos D1 Mini Lite (5-pack) – The team recommends buying a version without the metal shield or ceramic WiFi antenna on it as they’re too bulky to fit inside of the battery enclosure.
Uncertain which firmware you have and if you need the chip?
FallmanTech or contributors of the Owie project are in no way affiliated with Future Motion Inc. Onewheel, Onewheel XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Plus, etc are registered trademarks of Future Motion Inc.
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