Hi! Obviously, this thread is old and your question probably not relevant for you anymore. However, since it kept popping up on my recent search how to set up tado valves/thermostats with HA without using the tado cloud / server / app, I would like to quickly share my experiences.
In short: In my setup (HA OS installation on RP4, tado bridge, 2 tado valves) I could set everything up without any tado software/app/integration. Valves are in manual mode (“hand” instead of “house” in display), but temperatures can be set nicely set via HA/lovelace or in automations.
These steps have been working for me without the tado app or any prior registration, hence, out of the box
- Connect tado bridge to power and LAN, wait until all three lights are lit
- Install HomeKit-Controller (!) integration in HA - in my case tado bridge was immediately found
- Unpack valves, take off back part, pull out paper to connect batteries
- On the bridge, press and hold front “pair” button for 3 sec until light flashes quickly
- On the valve, press and hold pairing button for 3 sec, wait for valve to show: - - -
- On bridge, quit pairing mode by again pressing and holding the pairing button for 3 sec
In my case, the first valve appeared in HA as a device of the HomeKit-Controller integration after some minutes. For the second valve, it took an HA restart to show the device (or I have been too impatient).
Downside of not registering the equipment with tado might be that I am left out of updates etc., but for now, the functionality fully covers my needs.
Hope this helps. Have great start into 2022 everyone, Henry.