Found out that xiaomy component was added to entity registry - which finally gives us the possibility to rename those nasty 843B43812 into something more sensible.
But can we also change the device type? Say i have an aquara button which is reported as
binary_sensor.switch_xxx
Can i make it a switch by just renaming to
switch.sensible name?
Or the hell will break loose?
No, that won’t work. Every time you start home assistant Xiaomi will create the entity binary_sensor.switch_xxx and then hass will just do a lookup in the registry to see if the unique id of the switch defines an entity_id for it or if it should create a new name.
What’s the best way to change the device type nowadays? For example, I just added a z-wave dual relay to control a dual switch in a single gang box. All is well, but the device shows up as a switch. It’s not hard to change the icon, but when doing automation, I can’t just use “light.turn_on” for switches and lights together it appears. I can use homeassistant.turn_on it appears, but would be nice to just have these switches categorized as lights.
I am also looking for that feature.
At this moment I am looking at HA as replacement for my Fibaro HC2 to be able to use Zigbee devices too.
But in the HC2 I can just select a type with almost every device. For example I can change a switch to a light and it will be seen as a light.
Same for the binary sensor, can change type to a motion sensor, or something else.
I think this would be great to have in HA too.
But if it is already there and I just couldn’t find it please let me know.