Bluetooth (& LE) tracking ESPhome

Configuration
1

I’m a little confused with how to set up BT properly for tracking - looking for some guidance.

I have been using Bluetooth for connectivity to a Yale lock, using a USB BT adapter configured using the Bluetooth integration. However, because my HA server is in a metal rack, I had to run a long cable to get the adapter close enough to the lock to work.

To get rid of the long cable and adapter I bought 2 x ESP32 devices, added as Bluetooth proxies, one next to the door with the lock. I removed the USB BT adapter and HA is using the ESP32 device fine for BT - it locks and unlocks the door; BT proxy is working.

As there is no longer a connected BT adapter I removed the Bluetooth integration (it will only work with a bluetooth adapter).

With ESP32 proxies in the house I’d like to use Bluetooth Tracker and Bluetooth LE Tracker.

Following Bluetooth Tracker - Home Assistant and Bluetooth LE Tracker - Home Assistant I put the following in configuration.yaml:

device_tracker:
  - platform: bluetooth_tracker
    new_device_defaults:
            track_new_devices: true
  - platform: bluetooth_le_tracker
    new_device_defaults:
            track_new_devices: true

Both fail.
BT LE tracker:

2023-01-06 21:52:35.454 WARNING (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.bluetooth_le_tracker.device_tracker] No Bluetooth LE devices to track!

2023-01-06 21:52:35.455 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.device_tracker] Error setting up platform legacy bluetooth_le_tracker

BT Tracker:

2023-01-06 21:52:47.455 ERROR (SyncWorker_1) [homeassistant.components.bluetooth_tracker.device_tracker] Couldn't discover bluetooth devices: [Errno 19] No such device

2023-01-06 21:52:47.456 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.bluetooth_tracker.device_tracker] Error looking up Bluetooth device

My ESP32s are setup with:

esp32_ble_tracker:
  scan_parameters:
    interval: 1100ms
    window: 1100ms
    active: true
bluetooth_proxy:
  active: true

I’ve obviously misunderstood something fundamental… It looks like I can’t setup trackers without an adapter, but I thought the whole idea of using ESP32s with BT proxy was so a local adapter was not needed?

How should I setup to get BT and BT LE Tracking to work using the ESP32s?

2

Nobody? No-one has worked out how to use all the components between Bluetooth integration, Bluetooth Tracker, Bluetooth LE Tracker and ESP32?

It appears that BT LE Tracking is doing something, despite log error messages saying “Error setting up platform legacy bluetooth_le_tracker” as a known_devices.yaml has appeared with 2 devices in it. Given that the only BT connectivity currently active is through the ESP32s I assume this has come from them.

So BT LE Tracker perhaps is working, just with misleading error messages??

BT Tracker itself doesn’t appear to work at all over ESP32, or again am I doing something wrong?

BT in HA seems to be exciting, but I see a lot of confusion in threads here and not much clarity on how to actually make it all work.

What am I missing?

3

I can’t help with the trackers, but am curious if you did anything special to get the Yale Access Bluetooth integration working with the Bluetooth proxy?

I have two Yale locks. One of which is reachable by the integrated Bluetooth. For the other I installed a Shelly Plug to use for my proxy device. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work.

4

You’ll need to have it setup and working with the ‘normal’ cloud-driven Yale/August integration first, as that is how HA gets the ‘key’ to drive the lock. Once that is done, setting up the Yale BT integration should be smooth, as long as it is in BT range.

5

Did you ever solve this?