Finding Your Units

Finding your units

You need three things per unit: its IP address, its device id and its protocol version. V3 units additionally need a token and a key.

Step 1: discover-config

java -jar midea2mqtt.jar discover-config

Searching for air conditioners on the LAN (5 s)...
Wrote 2 device(s) to config.yml:
  ac-153931629647397       192.168.1.50:6444  id=153931629647397  model=00000Q1A  V3
  ac-151732605161920       192.168.1.51:6444  id=151732605161920  model=00000Q1B  V2

V3 units need 'token' and 'key' in config.yml before they work. Get them with:
  java -jar midea2mqtt.jar keys --ip <IP> [--cloud msmart --user U --password P]

This broadcasts on every network interface and writes each unit it finds into the devices section of config.yml.

Option	Default
--ip IP	broadcast	ask one address directly; works across VLANs as long as UDP gets through
--timeout N	5	seconds to wait for answers
--config FILE	config.yml	the file to write

How existing entries are handled:

• A unit whose id is already in the config overwrites that entry. The device name stays, everything else is reset to defaults, including token and key.
• New units are added as ac-<id>. You can rename them afterwards; the name is what appears in the MQTT topics.
• Entries of units that weren't found are left alone.
• The example device from the first start is removed.
• Units speaking the old V1 protocol are skipped, they aren't supported.

All written units are enabled: true. V2 units work right away. V3 units are skipped by the bridge with a warning until token and key are filled in.

Only want to look? java -jar midea2mqtt.jar discover lists the units without touching the config.

Step 2: token and key (V3 only)

V3 units only accept connections with a token and key handed out by the Midea cloud. Fetch them once:

java -jar midea2mqtt.jar keys --ip 192.168.1.50 --cloud msmart --user you@example.com --password secret

--id 153931629647397 --protocol 3 --port 6444
--token 4b2f...   (128 hex characters)
--key   9a1c...   (64 hex characters)

Use --cloud nethome or --cloud mideaair if your unit is paired with that app. Without --cloud the tool tries the shared account Home Assistant ships with, which often works too. Every candidate is tested against the unit, so what you get is known to work.

Copy the values into the unit's entry:

devices:
  ac-153931629647397:
    enabled: true
    host: 192.168.1.50
    port: 6444
    id: '153931629647397'
    protocol: 3
    token: 4b2f...
    key: 9a1c...

The cloud is never contacted again after this. Token and key stay valid until the unit is reset or paired again in the app; the app keeps working alongside the bridge.

More detail, including the other cloud options: midea-ac wiki: Finding your unit and token.

Careful: running discover-config again overwrites known units and empties their token and key. Keep a copy of the values, or edit the config by hand once your setup is complete.

Step 3: give the unit a fixed IP

The IP address is part of the configuration. Give every unit a fixed DHCP lease in your router.