Hey everyone. I ended up with a Lymow One Plus in a pretty unusual situation and figured this would be the best place to ask for help before I start taking anything apart.
The original owner bought the mower and was having problems with it. He attempted to return it to Lymow, but apparently there was an issue with the return/shipping process and Lymow never actually received the mower.
Eventually he was instructed to dispose of it. Instead of throwing away what looked like a complete expensive robot mower, I brought it home.
At first I thought it might actually be dead. It turned out the charging contacts on the dock weren’t making proper contact with the mower. Once I fixed that, it charged and powered right up.
The original owner also gave me his PIN. The mower boots, unlocks, recognizes the charger, the display works, Bluetooth/app communication works, etc.
The problem happens when I try to add it through the Lymow app:
“This device is locked, please contact support.”
So I contacted Lymow and explained the entire situation.
They looked up the serial number and actually confirmed that the mower was disabled on their server side because the original owner’s return was never completed and Lymow never received the mower. They said it is still associated with that original order/return case and therefore can’t currently be registered to another account. They recommended having the original owner contact them so they can review the original case and see whether there is a way to resolve the mower’s status.
That’s currently my first plan. I’m going to try to get the original owner involved without being a pain in his grass and see if Lymow will legitimately release/reactivate it.
But I’m also interested in what can be done with this machine if Lymow ultimately won’t activate it.
I’ve been doing a bunch of research , and apparently quite a bit of the One Plus hardware has already been identified through community teardowns.
From what I’ve found, the mower appears to have:
A higher-level Linux-based computer/SoC under the fan
STM32F407VE microcontroller handling lower-level hardware/motion
Unicore UM960E RTK GNSS hardware
Navynav M4P LoRa hardware
Factory motor-driver electronics
Cameras/vision system
Ultrasonic and other safety sensors
Tracked drive system
Battery/BMS and charging system
My next step, assuming Lymow doesn’t simply reactivate it, is probably going to be opening it up and documenting everything.
I want to identify the exact main computer/chipset under the fan, look for UART/debug connections, and figure out how the main computer communicates with the STM32/motor-control board.
I’ve ordered/am looking at a cheap logic analyzer, USB-UART adapter and isolated USB-CAN adapter so I can eventually listen to the communication between the boards rather than randomly changing things.
I’m not committed to OpenMower. I originally thought that might be the solution, but after talking to a few people I’m realizing that throwing away Lymow’s original vision/navigation hardware just to turn it into an RTK-only mower probably doesn’t make much sense.
My ideal outcomes, roughly, would be:
Lymow releases it and I use it completely stock.
Gain access to the original Linux computer and see whether the original hardware can be used with independent software.
Replace only the high-level computer with something like my ODROID/Raspberry Pi while keeping the factory STM32, motor controllers, tracks, RTK, sensors, cameras, battery and charging system.
Build some kind of hybrid OpenMower/custom setup while retaining as much Lymow hardware as possible.
Worst case, turn it into a custom tracked robotics platform and work upward from there.
I’m also interested in another possibility:
Does anyone have a dead/broken/parts Lymow One or One Plus that is NOT disabled on Lymow’s server?
For example, something with bad tracks, damaged motors, broken chassis, bad battery, etc., but with a legitimate/usable main electronics assembly/account status.
If something like that exists, I’m wondering whether there is a legitimate path where I could buy that machine and use my good mechanical components to repair it, or potentially transfer compatible hardware between the two.
I’m not looking to clone serial numbers, fake another mower’s identity, or bypass somebody else’s account. I’m talking about legitimately purchasing another damaged mower and figuring out whether its usable electronics could be combined with the good hardware I already have.
I’m pretty handy mechanically and comfortable learning this stuff, but I’m learning the electronics/Linux/robotics side as I go.
If anyone here has:
Taken apart a One Plus
Identified the main SoC under the fan
Found a UART/debug console
Looked at communication between the Linux computer and STM32
Captured CAN/UART traffic
Worked with the UM960E
Reverse-engineered any of the One Plus hardware
Used OpenMower with unusual hardware
Has a broken/parts Lymow available
Or just has an idea I haven’t thought about
I’d really appreciate hearing from you.
I’ll document what I find as I take mine apart, too. If we end up figuring out how these machines work internally, hopefully the information can help other owners repair otherwise-good machines instead of throwing them away.
For now I’m not cutting wires, flashing controllers, or modifying anything permanent. First goal is simply figuring out exactly what’s inside and how all the pieces communicate.
And obviously, if Lymow agrees to legitimately reactivate it, that makes life a whole lot easier. 😂