Having previously bought the fully assembled AirGradient One, I decided to buy the kit version. Delivery to the UK was quick
The kit was simple to put together, all that needed doing was to plug in the three sensors and screw the case together
The Plantower PM sensor was already fixed to the board and plugged in. There was no reason to flash the ESP32 as it had already been done and it booted up as v 3.1.1.
I don’t know if supplying the Plantower already fitted is now a permanent thing or if it was a one-off.
Because this is a kit, there is no Test Report to retrieve (from Dashboard / Hardware) like there is with the pre-assembled and tested version.
A torx 6 screwdriver is supplied to tighten the case screws. However you may be better off using a bigger screwdriver (I have a precision bit set from Lidl) as I found it difficult to fully tighten the screws enough to hold the case in place.
Comparison between the kit and the fully assembled version
The PCB is the same (v9) and the sensors are the same. The only difference is that the PCB is held in place with screws in the kit (already fitted), but the full one has no screws - when closed, the case holds the PCB fully in place.
The only real difference I could see is the case. (This is the one shown on the instructions YT link). The cable path at the back of the kit case ends above the screw hole, whereas it is next to the screw hole on the full one. I only found this out when I went fix the feet. On the full one, I’d fitted the feet in the screw holes area (this means that the feet are clear of the rectangular vents on the base), but putting them in the same place on the kit one meant that the USB cable couldn’t be fully pushed into place at the bottom. The rectangular access on the back next to the USB is an open hole, on the full one it is a plastic push-out
I assume that the case on the pre-assembled ONE is an updated version, possibly because of this reason.
The kit was supplied with the ESP32 already flashed to v3.1.1. Once the kit was up and running and connected to the browser, the ESP32 automatically updated itself to v3.1.21.
If anybody is thinking of get a kit to save money, I would say go for it! The downside is that it won’t be fully tested and there will be no guarantee.
One problem I did have, and it’s not related to the kit, is setting the AirGradients up for the internet. I have an OUT and two ONEs and had the same problem with all three. I set them up using a mobile with Android 12 on. I got to the point where the phone connects to the AirGradient SSD and entered the cleanair password, bt couldn’t seem to get any further from there. Connecting direct to the stated IP address from the phone’s browser made no difference either. I’m not sure why, unless there was another window that was hidden somewhere. In the end, I just switched my PC’s wifi on, did a factory reset on the AG, and started again. This time it all went smoothly and the network connection was set up straight away.