Errors in Homebridge Status Console - mtalk.google.com

[GP-16]

I'm getting the following sequence repeated in the console. I thought mtalk was shutdown a few years ago. Is this safe to ignore or suppress, or is something else going on?

[25/01/2026, 20:35:29] [homebridge-ring] Client destroyed
[25/01/2026, 20:35:45] [homebridge-ring] Connection to the push notification server has failed unexpectedly
[25/01/2026, 20:35:45] [homebridge-ring] If this happens repeatedly, verify connections to TCP/5228 are not blocked by firewall or IDS/IPS policies, and that DNS Adblock rules allow mtalk.google.com

[tsightler]

You won't be able to receive motion/ding events from cameras/intercoms until you fix it. I'm not sure why people think mtalk was shutdown. Maybe it's some kind of confusion that Google Talk/Hangouts (GTalk) frontend services were shutdown, but mtalk is a backend service which is still used by Firebase Push Messaging. The only reliable way to get motion/ding messages quickly from Ring cameras/intercoms is to receive push notifications, exactly what the message says.

[GP-16]

Thanks for the help. Pasting the errors in google search had a lot of results related to the Google Talk/Hangouts shutdown, and the domain seemed to be unavailable for many people.

My Homebridge v2 upgrade didn't go well and I had to revert and setup my plugins again. This one may have been throwing these errors for a while, but I didn't notice, or I may have fixed it a few years ago and forgot how. But, I think it's been working well, including notifications. Maybe my router updated to block mtalk recently or maybe the re-install changed a previous allow-list settings. Who knows? I added it to the allow list again and things seem back to normal.

Thanks again for the quick answer.