ESPHome - UART issues

[Stefanux112 (Stefanux)]

Hi all,
I’ve been trying to integrate a Breckner BK77712 solar controller with ESPHome using UART parsing. The controller sends a continuous data stream over UART, and the parsing logic works perfectly on older ESPHome versions (2025.12 and earlier), using uart.read(), uart.available(), and on_data:.

However, after upgrading to Home Assistant OS 17.1 and ESPHome 2026.x, I discovered that:

1. ESPHome 2026 removed all previous UART raw reading methods

• on_data: is no longer supported
• uart.read() and uart.available() are no longer available
• uart_debug: is removed
• text_sensor: platform: uart no longer exists

This means there is currently no supported way to read raw UART data in ESPHome 2026.

2. Home Assistant OS 17 no longer exposes the “Versions” tab for add-ons

• The ESPHome add-on installed through HA OS 17 cannot be downgraded
• The official ESPHome add-on (with version selection) does not appear in the Add-on Store
• Adding the repository manually shows “already in the store”, but the selectable add-on does not appear
• Only “ESPHome Device Builder” variants are available, and none allow version selection

3. As a result, it is impossible to use UART parsing with ESPHome 2026 inside Home Assistant OS 17

The only working solution is to run ESPHome 2025.12 externally (Docker, PC, VM) and compile firmware there.

4. This is a regression

The same YAML configuration works perfectly on ESPHome 2025.12, but fails to compile on ESPHome 2026 due to missing UART methods.

5. Error example from ESPHome 2026:

Code

'class esphome::uart::IDFUARTComponent' has no member named 'read'

6. Request

I wonder if:

• Is raw UART reading intentionally removed in ESPHome 2026?
• Is there a new recommended method for reading arbitrary UART frames?
• Will UART raw access be restored, or is this a permanent API change?
• How can HA OS 17 users install older ESPHome versions if needed?

Right now, anyone relying on UART parsing cannot use ESPHome 2026 inside Home Assistant OS.

[WallyR (Wally)]

I use this to read and write to UART.

[How to] UART read without custom component

The UART Bus component provides a write action but no read actions. Typically the UART read is implemented in a custom component that also does the processing. The UART debug sequence can be exploited to act like a call back function whenever there is received data to process. So basically instead of creating a small custom component a large lambda call can be used in the UART debug yaml. This is shared to hopefully help make implementing UART devices a bit easier for average users. It seems t…

[Sir_Goodenough ((SG) WhatAreWeFixing.Today)]

• ESPHome Feature Requests GitHub - esphome/feature-requests: ESPHome Feature Request Tracker
• ESPHomeIssues GitHub · Where software is built

[zoogara (Daryl)]

@Stefanux112

• How can HA OS 17 users install older ESPHome versions if needed?

Legacy ESPHome versions repository

GitHub - khenderick/esphome-legacy-addons: ESPHome addons from previous versions. Just in...

[zoogara (Daryl)]

@Stefanux112

Is there a new recommended method for reading arbitrary UART frames?

I think you now use UARTEVENT, but I’m not clever enough to work out how…

https://api-docs.esphome.io/classesphome_1_1uart_1_1_u_a_r_t_event

[Karosm]

@zoogara

I think you now use UARTEVENT, but I’m not clever enough to work out how

If event is all you need, esphome has ready made component for that. Uart event.