MQTT Device Tracker configuration question

Configuration
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Hi Community,

I’m trying to setup some device trackers in order to monitor my phone connecting to a specific Wifi connection that is separate to my HA network. I would use my Unifi router or a ping setup to deal with this but as its a separate network and I need to rely on something else.

I would ideally like to have an automation update a device tracker associated to my person entity based on my phone being connected to a specific SSID. I use owntracks for GPS tracking. I have stumbled onto the MQTT device tracker page (MQTT Device Tracker - Home Assistant) but am confused when it refers to “devices”.

Will this create new devices or update existing devices states when a MQTT payload is published? I’ve tried both new entities and existing but cannot see any difference.

Any advice or examples would be appreciated.

Thanks

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For anyone struggling with device creation - solution can be found here: Can't get mqtt device tracker entity to show up. Ensure the MQTT configuration is setup to auto discover devices…