First off, I’ve gotta say ESPHome is amazing. Seriously great work!
Correct me if I’m wrong: It appears that even with a manual IP, mDNS is required for ESPHome to register a node as online. If not registered as online, even though OTA uploading and logging via the ESPHome dashboard continue to work, HA reports entities associated with the node as unavailable.
I seem to be having a problem stemming from a WiFi access point that refuses to pass mDNS (Netgear R7000 in AP mode.) If I set up a node with a manual IP address in my workshop - where my Pi hosting hassio lives, and close to another access point that apparently does well with mDNS (TP-Link AC1750 as AP) - everything works. The ESPHome dashboard shows the node online, and HA actively reports status of associated entities. However this changes when the node is deployed, and connecting to the R7000 AP instead.
In the FAQ I found reference to these alternatives to mDNS:
- On hass.io add the “status_use_ping=true”
- On esphome docker dashboard use the env “ESPHOME_DASHBOARD_USE_PING=true”
I’m sure this comes down to my lack of knowledge, but it is unclear to me how to implement these solutions. How do I add “status_use_ping=true” to hass.io? Where in the ESPHome docker dashboard do I use the env “ESPHOME_DASHBOARD_USE_PING=true”?
Edit to add: a node will work in HA when moved to the R7000 AP it at first, even as it is listed as offline in the ESPHome dashboard. It is after a HA restart that the node is listed as “unavailable” in HA.