Setting device_tracker platform source_type

Feature Requests
1

I am using the third party tool monitor to track bluetooth presence - it sends device_tracker information over mqtt to my home assistant instance (hassio/RPi3B+), but the mqtt based device tracking entities show up as source_type: gps. e.g.

home	source_type: gps
        friendly_name: scotts iphone bt

This defeats the logic in person presence detection that we are encouraged to use (priorities of gps, vs router). I can set them temporarily using the entity editing interface, but that doesn’t stick over a restart/reboot. I can imagine other mqtt sources that might be source_type either gps, or router, or bluetooth.

Please allow us to set source_type, by platform, in the device_tracker configuration.

2

Hi @Scott8586,
I had the same problem. You can persist the change using the customize section in your config file(s).

customize:
    device_tracker.scotts_iphone_bt:
      source_type: router
1 Like
3

So glad I found this topic. I have plenty of device tracker entities created the very same way: by e. g. TheengsGateway and several OMGs (OpenMQTT Gateways).

While source_type is correct in the MQTT topic…

3c920f18d547a8bf094a3222578ecef32fc59b58_2_1380x488
3c920f18d547a8bf094a3222578ecef32fc59b58_2_1380x4881380×488 45.1 KB

…the source_type (attribute) shown in the HA entity always was gps:

37cf3d60c0480b0b3138c0b1d8ab32a69ecbbf06
37cf3d60c0480b0b3138c0b1d8ab32a69ecbbf061104×876 37.2 KB

Still don’t know WHY this is the case, I suspect a bug either in the MQTT integration or even in HA directly.

For now I’m happy to “solve” (work around) this using customize.yaml :+1::+1::+1:

references: