HomeKit Controller won't detect the device while it is available

[ngrigoriev]

The problem

I have installed Mysa V1.1 thermostat recently. I have read about HomeKit devices everything I could. Here is what I have done:

• I have paired it with iOS HomeKit application and then removed it from the app
• now the thermostat is connected to my WiFi network
• it is accessible from Homeassistant (pings)
• it sits on a different network than HomeAssistant. I have a dedicated "IOT" wireless network for these devices. I have activated and configured wlan0 interface on my Raspberry Pi 3+ so it is connected to the same network as Mysa thermostat (10.10.10.0/24 network in my case).
• when I try to install "HomeKit Controller" add-on, I am getting "No unpaired devices could be found"
• the thermostat is visible from Home Assistant host when using netdisco Python module

Environment

• Home Assistant Core release with the issue: 0.116.4
• Last working Home Assistant Core release (if known): n/a
• Operating environment (OS/Container/Supervised/Core): HassOS 4.15
• Integration causing this issue: HomeKit
• Link to integration documentation on our website: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit_controller/

Problem-relevant configuration.yaml

I have "default_config:" in my configuration.yaml

I have also attempted to add this without any result:

zeroconf:
  default_interface: true
  ipv6: false

Traceback/Error logs

Here are my network interfaces:

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr B8:27:EB:E6:51:F7
          inet addr:192.168.8.86  Bcast:192.168.8.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:14406 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:14251 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:3164964 (3.0 MiB)  TX bytes:13478597 (12.8 MiB)
...(Docker interfaces skipped)
wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 06:52:98:4F:65:66
          inet addr:10.10.10.111  Bcast:10.10.10.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:11 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:972 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:1316 (1.2 KiB)  TX bytes:109463 (106.8 KiB)

As you can see, I have two networks and two interfaces. wlan0 is directly connected to the same network where my Mysa thermostat lives.

➜  ~ python3 -m netdisco
Discovered devices:
homekit:
[{'host': '10.10.10.103',
  'hostname': 'Mysa-da6a40.local.',
  'name': 'Mysa-da6a40',
  'port': 57959,
  'properties': {'c#': '1',
                 'ci': '9',
                 'ff': '1',
                 'id': 'C4:44:0D:E6:94:4C',
                 'md': 'Mysa-da6a40',
                 'pv': '1.1',
                 's#': '1',
                 'sf': '0',
                 'sh': 'PcTZ1Q=='}}]

...

I can ping the device:

➜  ~ ping 10.10.10.103
PING 10.10.10.103 (10.10.10.103): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 10.10.10.103: seq=0 ttl=255 time=14.263 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.103: seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.984 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.103: seq=2 ttl=255 time=7.902 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.103: seq=3 ttl=255 time=4.085 ms

I can also connect to 10.10.10.103:57959 over TCP.

Additional information

[probot-home-assistant]

homekit_controller documentation
homekit_controller source
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[probot-home-assistant]

Hey there @Jc2k, mind taking a look at this issue as its been labeled with an integration (homekit_controller) you are listed as a codeowner for? Thanks!
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[Jc2k]

This is a great ticket! You have already tested most of the things I would want to check.

The problem appears to be that the sf flag in the zeroconf record is 0. That indicates the device thinks it is paired and is not allowing any new pairings at this time.

[ngrigoriev]

I did some more tests and GOT IT WORKING.

By the way, I have omitted one interesting detail in my original post. I was never able to actually connect this thermostat to the original Mysa app on iPhone, e.g. the app from the manufacturer :) But! I was able to connect it to Apple's Home app. Original app always timed out while Home app worked consistently. I am not familiar with the protocol but this hinted me that there is something that the original app expects but the Home app ignores. However, once connected to the Home app, the thermostat would be visible in Mysa iPhone app as well.

Here is what I have done yesterday and this morning:

I have attempted the process again, from scratch, several times. Reset -> add to Home app on iPhone -> "Forget the accessory" -> Install Homekit Controller. ONCE I have noticed that the controller actually detected the thermostat, prompted me for the PIN code but then failed, sayins something like "device no longer available".

I have also added "Mysa-da6a40.local" to my DNS to make sure this device can be resolved by this hostname and tested it from Homeassistant host to confirm that it worked.

Finally, I have tried to perform the same sequence I described above as quickly as possible, within ~2-3 minutes. And I was able to add the thermostat to Homeassistant! And I did reboot the host after that to confirm that it does not disappear.

So, I think the ticket can be closed now, sorry for the false report. I wonder if this thermostat has some sort of timer that drops that "sf" value to 0 after some kind of fixed timeout expires, regardless of how did pairing work. And never sets it to a different value once the device is removed from the previous controller (e.g. Home app). This would explain, probably.

I have two more identical thermostats to install in next couple of days, I am going to do more debugging and watching for this value. Now, once one of them is hooked up, I can play with others a bit longer, knowing that I will get them to work eventually :)

I also need to figure out if there is a way to use, for example, the humidity sensor from this thermostat. Homeassistant seems only to show the temperature and temperature control.

[Jc2k]

Glad you got it working! :-)

homekit_controller sets the humidity value if its known as an additional attribute on the climate entity, but the climate UI doesn't show it for some reason (or it never used to). I know some users use a template entity to break it out into its own seperate entity. If yours does this then you should be able to see it with "State" under "Developer Tools" (/developer-tools/state) in the UI. But it is an optional characteristic so it may not be set.

I'll go ahead and close this ticket then!

Cheers

[ngrigoriev]

Got everything working, two additional thermostats. And the sensors, as per https://www.freesoftwareservers.com/display/FREES/Add+Mysa+to+Home-Assistant.

I just wanted to add more info to this ticket if someone gets into the same situation as me. Here is what you need to do to connect Mysa V1.1 to Homeassistant.

1. Get both thermostats and HA on the same network. One way or another, WiFi or cable, but as all HomeKit devices, it is a must
2. Make sure your Mysa can connect to your WiFi. There is no MAC address written anywhere on it, unfortunately. You have only two options: ask Mysa support to provide your the MAC address (they can do it using the serial number) or drop the MAC filtering on your AP for a little while. And make sure the thermostat can get DHCP configuration.
3. Get Mysa into the pairing mode as per manual - hold UP and DOWN buttons for ~10 seconds.
4. Grab the manual with the bar code
5. The moment the thermostat shows the triangle (indicating it is in the pairing mode), launch Apple Home app. Do not bother with Mysa app, for me it did not even work. From this point you have to be quick.
6. Add device, scan the bar code. Accept the popup about connecting to the device. Watch the thermostat. After ~30..60 seconds it will display the temperature instead of the triangle. Then 10-30 seconds after that Home app will prompt you for the room for the new device. Pick anything.
7. Get to your HA UI. On the phone, remove the device from the Home app.
8. Immediately refresh your Homekit Controller view (or try to add Homekit Controller integration).
9. If you are lucky, you will see the new entity found by HA. Select it, proceed to the next screen.
10. Enter the PIN that is written right above the bar code in the manual. Click and pray.
11. HA may say that the device is no longer available or it may register it.
12. If you was not quick enough with Added simple process state monitor source. #3-Fix typo in doc #12 - you have to do it again. I was able to add one thermostat with the first attempt and for the next one it took me like 4 or 5 attempts.

Note: if the pairing failed after you entered the PIN, do not bother retrying, it won't work. Restart HA server and try again.