New Google Home device tracker Component - Introduced in HA 0.83

[martikainen (Mattias Martikainen)]

Just wanted to add to the thread. Adding one GH mini works fine, adding 2 or more breaks alot of stuff

device_tracker:
  - platform: googlehome
    host: 192.168.1.206

  - platform: googlehome
    host: 192.168.1.226

  - platform: googlehome
    host: 192.168.1.162

  - platform: googlehome
    host: 192.168.1.174

[Gmartin314 (George Martin)]

My google home mini has trouble staying connected to my Bluetooth speaker for music with this component running, which makes sense but is a bit of a nuisance. Anyone else having the same problem or found a work around?

[baz_12312]

Yeah I have a similar issue. Adding several devices makes the system grind to a crawl with a lot of things timing out.

[mcfrojd]

The “track_new_devices: false” dont seem to work on the Googlehome device_tracker

device_tracker:
  - platform: googlehome
    host: !secret googlehome_host
    new_device_defaults:
      track_new_devices: false

This would be needed to not fill upp your known_devices.yaml

[sunglass_guy]

I also tried adding multiple devices and my hassio has slowed to the point of barely usable!

[forums2012]

@masterkenobi

So far nothing is random. The MAC for each BLE devices I want to track is same every time it is rediscovered.

@Klagio

Why random? It is advertised with mac address, so you know which ble device is. Needs some programming though

All these Away MAC addresses keep on adding as time passes …
So I am assuming these are random mac advertisements from phone.
Only devices in range: iPhone, MacBook. Both added as known devices. A bluetooth keyboard which isn’t in pairing mode (connected to Macbook)

[baz_12312]

Strange, I don’t have this issue. I wonder what could be causing that, or why something would be broadcasting random mac addresses. Can you eliminate what it is by turning the devices off and seeing if it continues?

[forums2012]

And strangely enough, iPhone goes to away after 2 minutes. Until I go to bluetooth settings

Monitor on a pi zero w: doesn’t have that problem with the iphone.

[gregg098]

Can you share what your setup is on the RPiZero? I used to use a Bluetooth scanner that would send updates via MQTT. It worked really good and allowed me to put it in my garage which would detect me as home very quickly, but I found that it degraded my wifi quite a bit in that area.

[forums2012]

Checkout monitor in the forums.
Amazing work.

[monitor] Reliable, Multi-User, Distributed Bluetooth Occupancy/Presence Detection

I apologize if I missed it but is there a mqtt topic that can be published to to force a status refresh. Since depart and arrive publish status change, they don’t force a refresh if I restart home assistant so I stick at unknown until a status change or restarting the service on the pi(s) Thanks.

[Klagio]

Are those mac addresses all different I suppose? Then in known_device you hide them. They will finish unless you are near a public place where lots of people with ble devices pass

[anderstbl (Anders Tore Boye Lauridsen)]

I would like to know as well

[anderstbl (Anders Tore Boye Lauridsen)]

Me too having this issue

[baz_12312]

if you go to:
http://google_homes_ip:8008/setup/bluetooth/scan_results

you should see what it found in the recent scan.

[cicero222]

I can confirm that Android devices are only tracked when they actively scan for other BT devices. Tested with Samsung Galaxy S8 and A3.

[baz_12312]

Mine are hidden and have been detected

edit: if you go to the link i sent above yours, can you see your mac addresses in there, even when the phones themselves aren’t scanning?

[matto]

Came here to ask exactly this.
I get the same behaviour. If my phone is not scanning, the Home does not see it.

I also have a Galaxy S8+

I guess there is no workaround for this, right?

[forums2012]

I am at my home with no other devices around.

[mobile.andrew.jones (Andrew Jones)]

There is a good chance that the reason people are seeing multiple random MAC addresses is due to all the people who complained about privacy several years ago - who did not want to be tracked by MAC address. iOS devices since iOS v8 use random MAC addresses when they are scanning for networks to connect to.

the device needs to be locked to start randomzing its MAC address.

from: More details on how iOS 8's MAC address randomization feature works (and when it doesn't) - 9to5Mac

Android devices since v8 (Oreo) also give random MAC addresses out when probing for networks to connect to.

See: Implementing MAC Randomization  |  Android Open Source Project

EDIT2: More information about Bluetooth LE privacy - https://blog.bluetooth.com/bluetooth-technology-protecting-your-privacy in general both iOS and Android will only present the REAL MAC address of the device when they are paired to another device. But the address they advertise while scanning for a device / network to connect to - is NOT the real address.

[BendedArrow]

Without arguing about the Randomization stuff too much, the bluetooth location tracker with the RPI works just fine with Android as well as IOS bluetooth devices and we never had to pair them.