Rtl_433 stopped working

viniisiggs · September 28, 2022, 10:10am

TL;DR data is received but not forwarded to home assistant.

To preface the whole thing, nothing about the configuration or setup was changed. The only possible change was an update to the OS or core or something.

rtl_433 stopped updating my accurite outdoor temperature sensor. At first I thought that the batteries died and I put in some new ones, no change. Then I thought the SDR died. I have a second one and after changing it out, no change. Then I thought the sensor died. I then used the second SDR to sniff and I can see the acurite transmissions.

rtl_433 seems to start up ok with the following log.

[s6-init] making user provided files available at /var/run/s6/etc...exited 0.
[s6-init] ensuring user provided files have correct perms...exited 0.
[fix-attrs.d] applying ownership & permissions fixes...
[fix-attrs.d] done.
[cont-init.d] executing container initialization scripts...
[cont-init.d] done.
[services.d] starting services
[services.d] done.
[16:48:43] WARNING: rtl_433 now supports automatic configuration and multiple radios. The rtl_433_conf_file option is deprecated. See the documentation for migration instructions.
Starting rtl_433 -c /config/rtl_433/rtl_433.conf
rtl_433 version 21.12-101-g9eec4611 branch  at 202204282249 inputs file rtl_tcp RTL-SDR
Use -h for usage help and see https://triq.org/ for documentation.
Publishing MQTT data to 192.168.0.4 port 1883
Publishing device info to MQTT topic "rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/devices[/type][/model][/subtype][/channel][/id]".
Publishing events info to MQTT topic "rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/events".
Publishing states info to MQTT topic "rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/states".
Registered 4 out of 218 device decoding protocols [ 40 91 73 192 ]
Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner
Exact sample rate is: 250000.000414 Hz
[R82XX] PLL not locked!
Sample rate set to 250000 S/s.
Tuner gain set to Auto.
Tuned to 433.920MHz.
Allocating 15 zero-copy buffers
MQTT Connected...
MQTT Connection established.

rtl_433 is at least partially working. I have some Govee 433 water leak sensors and I can trigger a water leak warning that sends a push notification to my phone. Also the rtl_433 log eventually (don’t know why this is but after like 2 days) starts to spit up received information. It clearly sees the acurite transmissions. It also see other ones that are in range and they don’t update either.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2022-09-28 06:01:43
model     : Acurite-Tower
id        : 9360
channel   : A
Battery   : 1
Temperature: 10.6 C
Humidity  : 88 %
Integrity : CHECKSUM
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2022-09-28 06:01:49
model     : LaCrosse-TX141Bv3
Sensor ID : 28
Channel   : 01
Battery   : 1
Temperature: 9.80 C
Test?     : No
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

All the sensors were added with rtl_433 MQTT Auto Discovery for other than the Govees. The lead detection portion was added manually.

Also some time ago after a core update the sensor started working again for a short time but in less than a day stopped.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling rtl_433 with no change.

WallyR · September 29, 2022, 2:06pm

Temperature can affect the crystals used to set the frequency.
Try to move the sensor inside and see if that helps when it is heated up.

viniisiggs · September 29, 2022, 2:13pm

From the rtl_433 log above, the integration sees the messages. They just aren’t forwarded to MQTT, or something.

WallyR · September 29, 2022, 2:15pm

Use MQTT explorer to see if is posted to the MQTT broker.
You need to figure out where the error is.

viniisiggs · October 3, 2022, 11:35am

Using mosquitto_sub command in the terminal I can see the messages but they are not updating in home assistant.

WallyR · October 3, 2022, 1:27pm

They are not updating because there are no change in values.

Normally the time would change, but it stays the same here, so look at the sensor to search for a reason why time is not updated.

viniisiggs · October 3, 2022, 1:42pm

The time not changing is an artifact. The messages are flying so fast that I can only capture a small section. Why there are 3 messages at a time I don’t know but here are two other captures from today. The time on them is different.

viniisiggs · October 4, 2022, 9:27pm

Not sure how the this is related. I turned the Acurite sensor to channel B. It didn’t seem to show up in MQTT. The Auto discovery should have taken care of that. I switched the auto discovery to debug level log and rebooted it. The B sensor showed up. Switched the sensor back to A and it works now.

The other two devices that are in range also started working.

WallyR · October 5, 2022, 7:49pm

I can’t see the relation, but sometimes the world is clouded.

viniisiggs · October 6, 2022, 11:14am

Could it be possible that because auto discovery made the MQTT entries that it is now responsible for updating them?

I thought that auto discovery made the entry and then it was up to rtl_433 to update them but I guess I was wrong.

marpelto · November 17, 2023, 5:27am

I have the same problem.

@viniisiggs How did you get the thermometer readings?

time : 2022-09-28 06:01:43
model : Acurite-Tower
id : 9360
channel : A
Battery : 1
Temperature: 10.6 C
Humidity : 88 %
Integrity : CHECKSUM

UPDATE: I think this is possible when commented out the “output” from rtl_433.conf.template file

#output mqtt://localhost:1883,user=user,pass=pass,retain=0

I have several 433MHz sensors. They have been working for months without issues.
However, since yesterday all sensor readings are stuck. No updates coming

MQTT exprorer does not show any updates.
However, the SDR dongle works on laptop normally.
I have resetted everything, taken an older backup, changes the USB port…etc

Nothing seems to help…??

marpelto · November 17, 2023, 5:38am

rtl_433 starts normally

Blockquote
s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner: starting
s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner successfully started
s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs: starting
s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs successfully started
s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init: starting
s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init successfully started
s6-rc: info: service legacy-services: starting
s6-rc: info: service legacy-services successfully started
Starting rtl_433 with rtl_433.conf…
[rtl_433] rtl_433 version 22.11 branch at 202211191645 inputs file rtl_tcp RTL-SDR
[rtl_433] Use -h for usage help and see https://triq.org/ for documentation.
[rtl_433] Publishing MQTT data to core-mosquitto port 1883
[rtl_433] Publishing events info to MQTT topic “rtl_433[/model][/id]”.
[rtl_433] Registered 176 out of 223 device decoding protocols [ 1-4 8 11-12 15-17 19-23 25-26 29-36 38-58 63 67-71 73-81 83-87 91-94 96-100 102-105 108-109 111-116 119 121 124-128 130-139 141-149 151-155 157-161 163-167 170-175 177-179 181-185 187-197 199 202 204-215 217-223 ]
[rtl_433] Detached kernel driver
[rtl_433] Found Fitipower FC0013 tuner
[rtl_433] Exact sample rate is: 250000.000414 Hz
[rtl_433] Sample rate set to 250000 S/s.
[rtl_433] Tuner gain set to Auto.
[rtl_433] Tuned to 433.920MHz.
[rtl_433] Allocating 15 zero-copy buffers
[rtl_433] baseband_demod_FM: low pass filter for 250000 Hz at cutoff 25000 Hz, 40.0 us
[rtl_433] MQTT Connected…
[rtl_433] MQTT Connection established.

marpelto · November 17, 2023, 6:08pm

This will be a mystery as the rtl_433 started suddenly to pull data again!!
Weird, I really didn’t do anyting.

WallyR · November 17, 2023, 9:43pm

The crystal on those sticks is really temperature sensitive and that affects the frequency its listening to.
So if your gear near the stick increase the surrounding air a degree then it might affect the reception.

marpelto · November 20, 2023, 9:57am

It works fine on another Raspi and I also tried on VM running Ubuntu

WallyR · November 20, 2023, 4:39pm

You can’t just move it and test it.
You need to let it run for a longer period, becausenthe temperature need to settle and you need to see it in all conditions.

marpelto · November 20, 2023, 6:29pm

I have been trying already for days…nothing. And other devices starts to show data almost immediately

marpelto · November 20, 2023, 6:33pm

I even tried with fresh HA install with only RTL_433, file editor and MQTT broker installed in…still nothing.

I would like to give a try with an older HA…but is it available for download? Need to check.

WallyR · November 20, 2023, 7:56pm

I do not use it directly on the HA host.
I prefer to use standalone devices for radios, so I am running it on a Raspi0W.

marpelto · November 21, 2023, 8:15am

Ok…as a workaround I might do that as well. But just wondering…it used to work just fine for a year or so. And now suddenly stopped working.

I will still troubleshoot this.
I will try with fresh install and on another hw.