Laptops not detected reliably

Configuration
1

Dear forum, newbie here.
I have set up my first automations based on device tracking for phones. It works well. Now, I am trying to do the same with laptops. Out of three laptops, only one changes between “home” and “away” states.
The information comes from an integration with the router.
This is an entry from the known_devices.yaml:

a3_d6_04_9e_45_5d:
  name: PlutoWifi
  mac: A3:D6:04:9E:45:5D
  icon:
  picture:
  track: true

It is completely dead and always displays as “home” regardless. The status in the router shows properly.

The one that works looks like this:

bc_34_e5_4d_66_f1:
  name: Yoga
  mac: BC:34:E5:4D:66:F1
  icon:
  picture:
  track: true

What am I doing wrong?

2

That looks like entries from the old nmap device tracker, that was replaced by the new nmap tracker a few versions ago. The new one does not write in known_devices.yaml any more.

3

Ah, that sounds like it could be something! Where can I read more about how it works now?

4

was changed here:

5

Thanks for reaching out, but I don’t quite understand this. On the “Nmap Tracker” page, it says: “As an alternative to the router-based device tracking, it is possible to directly scan the network for devices by using Nmap.” Well, I am using router based device tracking as described here.
The announcements link to 2021.9.0 include a reference to the Nmap tracker page above. I am going in circles…
Is router based device tracking deprecated? Replaced by what - Nmap?
The history tab is not updated correctly. What populates it - apparently not known_devices.yaml?

Thanks for any insights.

6

Perhaps you should tell us what integration you are using, and how it is configured?

7

I am using “router based device tracking”. I followed this guide: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/device_tracker/

Configuration.yaml looks like this (for the device tracker part - there is other stuff there as well):

device_tracker:
  - platform: luci
    host: 192.168.0.1
    username: root
    password: secret
    interval_seconds: 10
    consider_home: 300
    new_device_defaults:
      track_new_devices: true

Thanks for reaching out!