I would delete the integration and reinstall it then. It may just be an authentication error.
OK, I have deleted and re-added the integration. I will see how it goes.
thanks
I use a YoLink LoRa hub for this, with LoRa open/close sensors. When I see an open and a close, I know that the mailman visited.
LoRa protocol has a 1/4 mile range. The sensors are designed for outside use.
Hub: Amazon.com
Sensor: Amazon.com
In my last home I used a zigbee contact sensor but it ate up batteries trying to hold signal.
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We have just published our take on a very low power consumption esphome compatible (mailbox) sensor with 2 inputs.
Check ET-SW01 - A very low consumption mailbox sensor - espthings.io
I am using it myself in my mailbox which has a lid and a door and use it to flag new mail and to turn off the flag when the doos has been opened (and the mailbox is emptied).
I cant find this board anywhere?
Is there a newer revision or something?
Looking for something similar 4G ESP32 low power consumption.
Thanks
I have experimented with several kinds of mailbox projects 
.
The principal challenges include power consumption, signal attenuation, and withstanding external elements.
The best solution Iāve found is the LPWAN protocol LoRaWAN, which combines long range and low power consumption.
You can now use either the Helium Network or the TTN Network, both of which are widely deployed. Iām pretty sure thereās a gateway near you.
Iāve described my projects here if you want to dive deeper into this technical solution completly integrated with Home Assitant : LoRaWAN Mailbox
Iāve got this setup and it works pretty well except my one issue - anyone have any ideas?
I was ready to go for the Hue indoor motion sensor for my mailbox mail detection, but then I saw that Hue has an Outdoor Motion Sensor that claims to have longer range and wider temp range. Should I go for the Indoor or Outdoor sensor (Iām in Michigan), but didnāt know if the sensing was any different ?
Really wish I had a mailbox setup like what most folks haveā¦ I am stuck with a mailbox that is built into a roadside wall with the only open and close access is on the back with a padlockā¦ still trying to think of a way to make a sensor for it.
This thread wonāt die! Thanks for the reminder that Iām always thinking about doing this (see my post from July 2021.)
I found what looks like a good option on Amazon. Itās a Zigbee garage door tilt sensor. It claims to work with HA and two reviews confirm this. Iām ordering it and will try to remember to post back here when Iāve had a chance to try it out.
Edit: My tilt sensor came. It seems like a pretty good device. Works great with ZHA. Only problem is itās not only not weatherproof, but there are vent holes in the top of the case. So if I mounted it inside the door of the mailbox, and the door wasnāt closed tight, it could rain right into it. Since itās a tilt sensor, there is only one option for mounting which side is āup.ā
I stuck it on my garage door, now Iāll know when I forget to close it. And back to the drawing board for the mailbox.
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The ongoing quest for the perfect mailbox solution is quite amazing. After reviewing all the solutions I could find, none of them accounted for all possible scenarios, so I came up with something unique, and so far, after a couple of weeks of use in rain and snow and 20F weather itās been quite foolproof.
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Nice! I like how you incorporated the flag.
It got me thinking about my own mailbox. It has two flags. The big red one they all have, and a smaller yellow one which is pushed up any time the door is opened. As long as I remember to push it back down when I take out the mail, it will always be a good indicator that the mail has arrived:
If I could stick a typical door sensor on that small flag it would probably work. My mailbox is close enough to the house that it should be within Zigbee range. Of course most of those sensors are built for indoor use, so Iām not sure about that aspect.
[Note: on my mailbox the yellow is on the back of the little flag, so I can see it from the house. Not sure why that photo shows it displaying on the front.]
thats what epoxy & hotglue were invented for! Iām an EE. The ToF sensors will be fine in this application. just cover them in hot glue EXCEPT for the little laser port. Leave that exposed. Now you have a waterproof sensor.
I like your write-ups a lot - especially with considerations and thought processes towards decisions.
Are we going to see some diagrams / schematics, to see which wire goes where, and do we need any signal shifter of some sortā¦ so that to help someone uninitiated like me?
Thanks. Electrical Engineering has been kind to meā¦ mostly 
I like to outline each problem area and discuss things I tried that worked and those that didnāt. That way when I have projects in the future that use similar technology, itās a great reference. Plus folks who arent EEās like myself can get a glimpse into the thought process and debugging that goes into designing circuits and the software that control them. Too many folks take for granted the complexities of all this stuff. But we all had to start at the beginning at some point.
honestly, wiring it couldnāt be simpler, the GPIOās are defined in the yaml config file. No level shifters required. Standard i2c + enable pins, and one switch that goes to ground. But Iām happy to draw something up. I did just get the solar charge module the other day and need to hook that up.
I realize this was over 2 years ago. I am researching Yolink and saw your comment. I am just wondering if you ever resolved this or ended up ditching yolink. I am trying to build a mailbox sensor.
Hi @vhuynen this looks very promising! I have been using this mailbox-sensor GitHub - PricelessToolkit/MailBoxGuard: Lora Long Range Mailbox Sensor for Smart Homes or for Standalone use which is quite nice, however I somehow got a lot of false positives after like 3 months. I am using the motion-sensor and maybe some vibrations triggered it.
Is there a way to use a local Lora-Gateway and process the data directly via MQTT? something like: sensor sends data to the Lora-Gateway ā data goes into MQTT ā from MQTT to HA.
Basically the same data-route like GitHub - PricelessToolkit/MailBoxGuard: Lora Long Range Mailbox Sensor for Smart Homes or for Standalone use does.
That looks like it uses a PIR sensorā¦
I am using one to monitor the newspaper /junk mail big round hole in my letterbox. (the parcel and letter flaps have micro switches)
Issues with PIR :
- sunlight can set them off, either direct or shining on your letterbox and heating it up. A person, bird or object throwing a shadow can then make enough difference to set it off, even if it didnāt see their āmovementā
- insects, moths, antsā¦ They might be small, but if they crawl over the sensor they look very BIG
- spiders (see above) AND their little barely noticeable thin wispy webs are excellent at reflecting UV and infra-red light. So up close they look like someone waving an arm in front of the sensorā¦
- The plastic used to make the lens / dome on cheap PIR sensors gets destroyed by UV / sunlight pretty quickly outside
I donāt think vibration would trigger it that much if the sensor is securely mounted to the mailbox. If there is vibration (like wind for example) the sensor and the mailbox interior is moving as one, so = no relative motion.
On really windy days, my fence moves in the wind enough to trigger the micro switch for the gate, but itās never set off the PIR (mailbox is mounted in the fence)
ā¦ But on a still night when a moth wants to have a look, or a spider wants to eat the mothā¦ I get a lot of newspapers ādeliveredā apparently 
thats a fancy mailbox 
thanks for your insights. I will give this sensor a try: CONTACT SENSOR: detect an opening | Adeunis love the fact that its weather-proof