The problem
Starting from June release, Template entities support the device tracker platform because device_tracker.see is deprecated. The point is that is missing the high flexibility/customizability of device_tracker.see.
E.g.:
- device_tracker.see was able to be valued as output of different sensors. E.g. my wife and I have a common car, so I was populating my device_tracker.see with the gps coordinates of the last person that used the car in order to save the parking position. Then I was able to visualize on phone dashboard the position of the car (no matter who parked it).
So my following automation cannot be replicated (than I have the same automation for my wife Androdi Auto sensor that works on my same device_tracker.see):
alias: Car_Parking position
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id:
- binary_sensor.my_phone_android_auto
from: "on"
to: "off"
actions:
- action: device_tracker.see
metadata: {}
data:
dev_id: car_parking_location
gps_accuracy: 10
gps:
- >-
{{ state_attr('device_tracker.my_phone','latitude') |
float(0) }}
- >-
{{ state_attr('device_tracker.my_phone','longitude') |
float(0) }}
source_type: gps
attributes:
friendly_name: Car parking location
icon: mdi:car
parking_time: "{{ now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') }}"
mode: single
- With template device tracker I cannot create a state home/not home unless using the longitude/latitude. For having a "state" instead of longitude/latitude probably I could create a template sensor, but it could not join my "Family" group of device trackers.
So my following automation cannot be replicated:
alias: Smartphone_Tracker Wi-Fi
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id:
- sensor.my_smartphone_wi_fi_connection
to: null
actions:
- variables:
tracker: "{{ trigger.from_state.object_id }}"
zone: >
{% set zone =
[
{'ssid': '', 'zone': 'not_home'},
{'ssid': 'My Home', 'zone': 'home'}
]
%} {{zone | selectattr('ssid', 'eq', trigger.to_state.state) |
map(attribute='zone') | first | default('not_home')}}
- action: device_tracker.see
metadata: {}
data:
dev_id: "{{tracker}}"
location_name: "{{zone}}"
mode: single
What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?
2026.6.2
What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?
2026.5.4
What type of installation are you running?
Home Assistant OS
Integration causing the issue
Template
Link to integration documentation on our website
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/template/#device-tracker
Diagnostics information
No response
Example YAML snippet
Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?
Additional information
No response
The problem
Starting from June release, Template entities support the device tracker platform because device_tracker.see is deprecated. The point is that is missing the high flexibility/customizability of device_tracker.see.
E.g.:
So my following automation cannot be replicated (than I have the same automation for my wife Androdi Auto sensor that works on my same device_tracker.see):
alias: Car_Parking position
triggers:
entity_id:
from: "on"
to: "off"
actions:
metadata: {}
data:
dev_id: car_parking_location
gps_accuracy: 10
gps:
- >-
{{ state_attr('device_tracker.my_phone','latitude') |
float(0) }}
- >-
{{ state_attr('device_tracker.my_phone','longitude') |
float(0) }}
source_type: gps
attributes:
friendly_name: Car parking location
icon: mdi:car
parking_time: "{{ now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') }}"
mode: single
So my following automation cannot be replicated:
alias: Smartphone_Tracker Wi-Fi
triggers:
entity_id:
to: null
actions:
tracker: "{{ trigger.from_state.object_id }}"
zone: >
{% set zone =
[
{'ssid': '', 'zone': 'not_home'},
{'ssid': 'My Home', 'zone': 'home'}
]
%} {{zone | selectattr('ssid', 'eq', trigger.to_state.state) |
map(attribute='zone') | first | default('not_home')}}
metadata: {}
data:
dev_id: "{{tracker}}"
location_name: "{{zone}}"
mode: single
What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?
2026.6.2
What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?
2026.5.4
What type of installation are you running?
Home Assistant OS
Integration causing the issue
Template
Link to integration documentation on our website
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/template/#device-tracker
Diagnostics information
No response
Example YAML snippet
Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?
Additional information
No response