What in the heck am I missing?

Configuration
1

I used the Developer’s Tools template engine with this code:

sensors:
  justin_driving_car:
    value_template: |-
      {% set connect = state_attr('sensor.sm_s918u_bluetooth_connection', 'connected_paired_devices') %}
      {% set car = "['98:67:2E:C9:A6:A5 (Hesh ANC)']" %}
      
       {{connect}}
       {{car}}

      {% if connect == car %}
        Connected
      {% elif connect != car %}
        Not Connected
      {% endif %}

and it gives me this in return:

sensors:
  justin_driving_car:
    value_template: |-
     
      ['98:67:2E:C9:A6:A5 (Hesh ANC)']
      ['98:67:2E:C9:A6:A5 (Hesh ANC)']

              Not Connected

Clearly they’re identical, so it’s gotta be some formatting I’m doing wrong. I only did the {{connect}} and {{car}} lines to show you they’re returning the exact same thing.

Please tell me I’m an idiot and this is simple lol

2

Check in Dev tools under “States” what the attribute connected_paired_devices for the sensor actually is. Can they be the same?

3

It’s literally this:
[‘98:67:2E:C9:A6:A5 (Hesh ANC)’]

4

Should work. Double check that the strings are actually the same without extra spaces or anything.

5

I’ve got a car driving binary sensor helper. The template code is :

{{(state_attr('sensor.sm_s911b_bluetooth_connection','connected_not_paired_devices')!=None) and ('1C:50:1E:50:AA:29 (DMX5020DABS)' in state_attr('sensor.sm_s911b_bluetooth_connection','connected_paired_devices'))}}
7

And?
{{ state_attr('sensor.sm_s918u_bluetooth_connection', 'connected_paired_devices')}}

8

If I see it correctly both values are not a string, but an array containing an identical string. I think it is concluding the array is a different array, even though the contents are the same. Try to compare car[0] and connect[0].

3 Likes
9

This is probably it. I’m not going to mark a solution because I did a temporary workaround including double sensors (I think now they’re returning both as strings, and not arrays, so it’s showing as True), but I’m guessing this is the answer. Thanks! Once I get back to working on it this weekend, I’ll try this and mark as solution if it worked!

10

I’ll try and mess with this!

11

That seems like a great idea, once you have a binary sensor for it, you have a simple way to visualize and automate.

12

So much easier to just refer to a binary sensor as to or false rather than comparing MAC addresses every time lol