Is this a bug with "select"?

SeaMonster · July 22, 2024, 9:49pm

I built an ESP32 device that publishes to MQTT and does auto-discovery. It seems to be working right. In the HA MQTT integration, my new device appears and contains multiple entities. One of those entities is a sensor that is a “select”. The HA auto-discovery json that is sent to MQTT identifies it as a “select” component, it contains the valid options, and it specifies the state_topic and command_topic. I see the Select appear in HA, and it all seems to work. It knows what the current state is, and when/if I change the state in the UI, a callback is sent to my device informing it of the change. This all seems to be working.

My issue comes up when the state of that select entity changes on the device. If the HA UI is open to a page that is showing the select and the device changes state, then I see the UI correctly update what it is displaying to show the new state. If no pages are open and showing the select, then when I go to such a page, I see the select show the correct new state. BUT, (here is the bug) if I have a UI page open which shows the select, but that page is in a tab that is NOT in the foreground, then when I switch to that tab, I get the wrong behavior. Instead of updating the UI, it seems that the UI sees the old value on my page as more recent than the new state from the device and it pushes that to the command topic which initiates a callback which incorrectly tells my device to change the state.

Any ideas how I can better understand where the bug is? As best I can tell, I do think my device is working right. But I don’t know enough to point a finger at the true culprit. Some more info:

I see the same behavior in tabs in Google Chrome, and in the Android App. In both cases, the issue arrises when the page is open, but not in the foreground.

On the same page, I have another sensor from the same device that is a number box which also has a callback. This one does NOT exhibit this behavior. If the device state changes, the number box properly updates what it is showing, whether the page is foreground/background.

In MQTT Explorer, I see this in the topic “homeassistant/select/Dispatch_Mode”

{
  "component": "select",
  "device": {
    "name": "A2M-AL8002221090041",
    "model": "Smile-BAT-8.2PHA",
    "manufacturer": "AlphaESS",
    "identifiers": [
      "A2M-AL8002221090041"
    ]
  },
  "name": "Dispatch Mode",
  "unique_id": "A2M-AL8002221090041_Dispatch_Mode",
  "device_class": "enum",
  "options": [
    "Stop",
    "Only charge via PV",
    "ECO Mode",
    "FCAS-Mode",
    "Load Following",
    "Maximise consumption",
    "Normal mode",
    "Optimise consumption",
    "PV power setting",
    "SOC control"
  ],
  "state_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL8002221090041/Dispatch_Mode/state",
  "command_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL8002221090041/Dispatch_Mode/command",
  "availability_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL8002221090041/status"
}

Thanks for any/all help.

tom_l · July 22, 2024, 10:59pm

Go to your profile settings and check what this is set to:

If the connection closes the tab should auto reload when made visible and it re-connects, if the tab is set to stay connected it should be continuously updating in the background.

SeaMonster · July 22, 2024, 11:52pm

Thanks for the response. Where is that settings page? I don’t see it in Chrome (on MacOS). Are you using a different browser/ Also I have the same issue in the Android app if I let the app go in the background.

Also, should this matter?? Does it matter if the connection closes? The situation is that there are N valid states. In an example situation, the device is in state “One” and this is properly reflected in the UI. Then the device changes to state “Two”. If the UI is in the foreground, then it properly updates to indicate that the state is now “Two”. But if, instead, the UI was in the background, then when it is brought to the foreground, it notices that it is in state “One” and the device is in state “Two” and it updates the MQTT command_state to indicate a change, and that causes my device to get a callback and think that the state should change back to “One”. The “correct” behavior should happen whether the connection closes and reopens, or not.

My number box (which can also be change by either the device or UI) doesn’t not have this issue. It only publishes an MQTT command_state update when I actually type in a new value. In the select case, it “seems” that something about the graphical presentation of the select options is having something to do with the UI thinking that the old UI value is new.

tom_l · July 22, 2024, 11:53pm

Circle icon with your initials in it bottom of the left hand menu.

It is something you should investigate.

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 6:20pm

Got it. Thanks for showing me where to find that. Indeed my setting was set to auto-close the connection. I can confirm the following:

With auto-close set, if I wait < 5 minutes then I do not see this behavior.
With auto-close set, if I wait > 5 minutes then I DO see this behavior.
With auto-close NOT set, if I wait > 5 minutes then I do NOT see this behavior.

So I can avoid this behavior by disabling auto-close in the settings. But that seems to just be masking the real issue (bug?). Any further suggestions?

It seems that I can now describe the issue as this: My UI select and my device start in sync. If the device changes state while the UI is connected all is fine. But if the device changes state when the UI is disconnected, then when the UI reconnects, it will tell the device to update to the OLD state that the UI had.

Edwin_D · July 23, 2024, 6:26pm

What card do you use to show the data? Because seeing stale data on a disconnected tab would be expected, but on a reconnect the UI should not submit that old data to the server.

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 7:54pm

I’m on the settings device page. Settings->“Devices & services”->Devices. Then I see my (MQTT auto-discovered) device and I click on that and I see a page with all the auto-discovered entities for that device. This select is one off those entities.

The two selects (“A2M Test” & “Dispatch Mode”) under “Controls” are exhibiting this issue.

Edwin_D · July 23, 2024, 7:58pm

Are you just looking at these selects when they send the stale data back to the esp, or are you clicking the select when it happens?

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 8:13pm

Just looking. No clicking. Here’s the scenario:

The “A2M Test” select has three valid options: “One”, “Two”, & “Three”. I set the device to state “One” and the (connected) UI properly shows “One”. Then I switch tabs in Chrome so that UI page isn’t showing and I wait 5 minutes. Then (without touching Chrome) I change the device state to “Two”. I can see in MQTT Explorer that the device updates the MQTT broker. Then in Chrome I simply switch to the UI tab, and the UI is then sending a state change (using the command_state) to sat the state back to “One”.

Also, the UI isn’t always sending a state change when it reconnects. If the state of the device (which the UI gets from MQTT) hasn’t changed, then it knows not to send an update. Only when they are different does it send the update. It appears to connect the UI, then get the latest MQTT data, then it “assumes” that it’s state is new (newer?) than the MQTT data.

Edwin_D · July 23, 2024, 8:28pm

That seems like a bug to me. You should report it in github, because the developers do not actively scan the forum so they won’t see this.

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 8:47pm

Also of note: The Box entity (shown on the above screenshot, right below the selects) does NOT have this behavior. It correctly updates the UI on reconnect and does not send the stale data as an update.

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 8:50pm

Any suggestion for which tracker? Ia this Frontend?

tom_l · July 23, 2024, 9:36pm

Yeah frontend.

SeaMonster · July 23, 2024, 10:15pm

Issue opened:

github.com/home-assistant/frontend

"select" erroneously updates on UI reconnect

opened 10:13PM - 23 Jul 24 UTC

carrel-gr

### Checklist - [X] I have updated to the latest available Home Assistant versi…on. - [X] I have cleared the cache of my browser. - [X] I have tried a different browser to see if it is related to my browser. - [ ] I have tried reproducing the issue in [safe mode](https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/01/release-202311/#restarting-into-safe-mode) to rule out problems with unsupported custom resources. ### Describe the issue you are experiencing If the UI disconnects while displaying a "select" sensor entity, then when it reconnects, it can erroneously update that entity with stale data. The issue arises with my MQTT auto-discovered device. It has a "select" sensor entity so that either the device can change the state or the UI can. When the UI is connected, this all works correctly. However, IF I have a UI page open that displays this "select" entity, and then I put that browser tab in the background, then after 5 minutes (as per profile settings) the UI will disconnect. Then IF the device (not the UI) changes the state, and following that I reopen the tab that shows the "select", the UI will update the entity state with the old/stale UI data. Of note: I also have a "box" sensor entity and this does NOT have this issue. On reconnect, the box entity is properly updated with the latest device state (which was delivered via MQTT). The UI does not send old/state UI state to the device. Also of note: If the entity state doesn't change, then when the UI reconnects, the UI does NOT attempt to send an update. So it does appear that the UI is indeed reading the new device state (via MQTT). However, when the device state and the UI state are not equal, it is erroneously choosing to update the device's entity state to the older/stale UI state. Also, if I put the UI tab in the background for less than 5 minutes (so it doesn't disconnect) then this issue doesn't happen. Instead, when the device updates the entity state (via MQTT) the UI simply notices the change and updates its state appropriately. Also, if the select entity is NOT currently being displayed in a tab, then there are no problems switching to a page that shows the select entity. (And disconnecting or not disconnecting makes no difference to this.) I see this in chrome tabs as well as in the Android app. ### Describe the behavior you expected The UI should not send old/stale state for a "select" entity to a device on UI reconnect. ### Steps to reproduce the issue 1. Create a "select" entity for a MQTT device with a state_topic and command_topic so the state can be changed either by the device or the select element in the UI. (This might also be an issue for non-MQTT entities, but I don't know.) 2. In Profile Settings->Browser Settings, make sure it is set to auto-disconnect after 5 minutes. 3. Have the "select" UI entity showing on a browser page/tab. 4. Switch to any other browser tab and wait 5 minutes for the UI to disconnect. 5. without using the UI, change the entity state to something else. (Ensure the device properly informs the MQTT broker.) 6. Switch to the tab from step 3 above which shows the "select" entity. 7. You will then see the command_topic used to update the device with the old/stale UI state for that "select" entity. ... ### What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue? 2024.7.3 ### What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core? _No response_ ### In which browser are you experiencing the issue with? Google Chrome 126.0.6478.183 ### Which operating system are you using to run this browser? macOS Sonoma 14.5 ### State of relevant entities _No response_ ### Problem-relevant frontend configuration ```yaml The entity is autodiscovered by MQTT. In the MQTT topic: homeassistant/select/A2M-AL9876543210987/A2M_Test/config there is the following JSON: { "component": "select", "device": { "name": "A2M-AL9876543210987", "model": "FAKE-BAT", "manufacturer": "AlphaESS", "identifiers": [ "A2M-AL9876543210987" ] }, "name": "A2M Test", "unique_id": "A2M-AL9876543210987_A2M_Test", "device_class": "enum", "options": [ "One", "Two", "Three" ], "state_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL9876543210987/A2M_Test/state", "command_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL9876543210987/A2M_Test/command", "availability_topic": "Alpha2MQTT/A2M-AL9876543210987/status" } ``` ### Javascript errors shown in your browser console/inspector ```txt none ``` ### Additional information The issue was discussed in the forums in this post: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/is-this-a-bug-with-select/752416 There is a somewhat useful screenshot there as well as further descriptions.

Thanks for the help.