Home Assistant (HA) is a powerful home automation system, but its support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices has always been somewhat lacking. BLE_Monitor is an excellent custom component created to address this issue. It can passively monitor a wide variety of BLE devices from different brands and types, greatly expanding HA’s capabilities and enhancing your smart home experience.
What is BLE_Monitor?
BLE_Monitor is a custom component for Home Assistant that can passively scan and monitor a large number of BLE devices. Unlike active scanning, which requires actively connecting to devices, passive scanning consumes fewer system resources, is more energy-efficient, and is more stable. It supports a wide range of BLE devices, covering various sensors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, motion, and some smart home devices. This means you no longer have to worry about compatibility issues with different brands of devices.
Core Features of BLE_Monitor:
-
• Passive Monitoring: Monitors BLE devices through passive scanning, reducing system resource usage and improving system stability.
-
• Wide Compatibility: Supports a variety of BLE devices from many brands, easily handling everything from common temperature sensors to smart scales, and even some less common devices.
-
• Device Tracking: For BLE devices with static MAC addresses or UUIDs, BLE_Monitor can be used as a device tracker.
-
• Data Forwarding: Can integrate with platforms like ESPHome to forward data from more BLE devices.
-
• DIY Sensor Support: BLE_Monitor also supports DIY sensors, providing great flexibility for personalized needs.
Installing and Configuring BLE_Monitor:
The installation process for BLE_Monitor is relatively simple, with the main steps as follows (for detailed steps, please refer to the GitHub project page):
-
1. Download Component Files: Download the BLE_Monitor code from the GitHub repository.
-
2. Place Component Files: Copy the downloaded code to the custom components directory of Home Assistant.
-
3. Configure YAML File: Configure BLE_Monitor in the Home Assistant’s configuration.yaml file. This includes specifying the scan interval, device list, and other parameters.
-
4. Restart Home Assistant: Restart Home Assistant to apply the configuration.
Once configured, you will be able to see the devices monitored by BLE_Monitor and their data in the Home Assistant interface. Note that you need to configure according to the type and brand of the devices you are using, such as specifying the correct UUID and service characteristics.
Supported Device Brands:
BLE_Monitor supports a wide range of device brands, including but not limited to: Acconeer, Amazfit, ATC, BlueMaestro, Blustream, BTHome, Govee, Xiaomi, Ruuvitag, Sensirion, Switchbot, etc., covering almost all common BLE devices on the market. A specific list of supported devices can be found on the project’s GitHub page.
Collaboration between BLE_Monitor and ESPHome:
Although ESPHome Bluetooth Proxies cannot directly transmit data to BLE_Monitor, the two can work together. You can configure your BLE devices in ESPHome, then have ESPHome forward the data to Home Assistant, which will be processed by the BLE_Monitor component provided by Home Assistant.
Conclusion:
BLE_Monitor is a powerful, easy-to-use, and highly compatible custom component for Home Assistant that greatly expands HA’s support for BLE devices. While it may eventually be replaced by core integration in Home Assistant, it remains an indispensable tool during the transition, helping users fully utilize the data from BLE devices to build a more complete smart home system.
Project URL: https://github.com/custom-components/ble_monitor