the bluetooth: integration is required in configuration.yaml for all hardware. Without adding it to configuration.yaml, bluetooth will not work.
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It’s in default_config
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Adding the word “bluetooth” into configuration.yaml did not do anything. There is still a Bluetooth integration with an address in integrations, but still not a single bluetooth device from within the house is registered, or found.
Not everything is discoverable, it depends on the integration. You might have to manually configure devices through the integration menu or yaml.
I also have a the bluetooth: in configuration.yaml, yet nothing is discovered.
Is there a documentaiton to explain how the manual discovery works?
There are no information in the documentation regarding this or in the Integration itself.
I do appreciate the detail son getting the BT radio working. Way more than usual documentation details.
It’s not manual discovery, you search the integrations for your Bluetooth device and add it.
Just like adding any other integration.
Got it. So, as you describe it and I thought the Bluetooth integration does nothing by itself. An other integration must take advantage of the Bluetooth integration.
This is not what the documentation implies. The documentation starts with:
The Bluetooth integration will detect nearby Bluetooth devices. Discovered devices will show up in the discovered section on the integrations page in the configuration panel.
Does the Integration automatically gets added when a new BT/BLE device is detected and matches a specific Integration? Or, do I have to add the matching integration manually?
If you have discovery off, you won’t discover anything. Discovery is an integration, enabled by default. Lets tally the integrations…
bluetooth: - enables bluetootth
discovery: - enables discovery for integrations that opt into discovery
Now lets look at an example integration: ibeacon. The ibeacon integration uses bluetooth to commuicate with ibeacon devices. That means, the ibeacon integration uses the bluetooth integration. And for things to automatically appear without manual device creation, it uses the discovery integration.
Yes
If the integration doesn’t support discovery, then you have to manually add it by searching for the integration.
Sometimes integrations support discovery, but doesn’t discover your device. In that instance you have to manually add the device.
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This has been the most succinct, well written answer to my questions. Thank you.
It is unfortunate that the documentation is contradicting what you are writing, but still this is a win for me!
Thank you, again!
Main problem here is that the new BT integration is actually a component or building blocking. It doesn’t offer any device integration on its own. For that you need to install other integrations. This is a totally different concept compared to most other integrations. Also this is not well explained in documentation.
Feels a bit that the Core team is too much focused on expanding the BT usage with nice extra’s but forget to make it as simple as possible for end-users.
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No it’s not. Everything in home assistant is an integration. zero_config scans your network and lets home assistant know about devices found on your network. discovery adds them if zero_config finds them. Both of those integrations are old. Other integrations that work like this are usb, http, media_source, and cloud. I’m sure there’s others that I can’t think of off the top of my head. Regardless, all of these are included in default_config. Meaning you don’t have to add them yourself. All you have to do is add the integration that you would normally add.
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@petro I see your point… but then my statement is still correct because I said “most other integrations”
Also for most of these examples I did not need to configure them or activate them in the UI front-end (as far as I am aware). And to be honest also in the YAML time I always thought that these kind of “lower level communication” things are not the kind of integrations that end-users should care about.
If zero_config doesn’t find your device on your network, you 100% have to manually add it. Nothing has changed in this regard.
You’re telling me that in the 4 years that you’ve used home assistant, you’ve never had to manually add a network device? So you’ve never gone into your integration list in the UI, searched for an integration, and added it by using the hostname or the IP address?
I am glad that it is that clear for you… but are you an end-user?
A real end-user has no clue what zero-config is and what it does. And he also should not care.
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Right, and you don’t need to know about any of that. All you need to know is that if your device isn’t found then you have to add it yourself. Like every other device in home assistant.
If your new camera isn’t found, you add the integration for the camera.
If your new hue hub isn’t found, you add the phillips hue integration.
If your new bluetooth switch isn’t found, you add the integration for your bluetooth switch.
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Correct …. And:
if I want to track devices that are connected to my router, then I add my router integration
If I want to track devices that are connected to my iCloud account, then I add the iCloud integration
if I want to track devices that are connected to my Home Assistant via BT, then I add the BT integration … oh NO I do not see any device appear let’s raise a WTH
That is what happened here…
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Yes, I think it should discover everything, but this was released 11 days ago. Is it really to much to ask for you to manually add a device while all the other bluetooth integrations get up to speed?
No it is not a lot of work… it only needs good explanation
Sorry that my explanations don’t meet your standards.