FAQ

FAQ

Quick answers to frequent questions. For deeper guidance see Home or Troubleshooting.

Does this need internet?

No. The integration is purely local. The hub's only outbound internet use is for its own OTA firmware checks (every 24 hours), which is independent of HA. HA itself never makes outbound requests on behalf of the integration.

Do I need a SmartGhar account to use this?

No. A SmartGhar account is required to use the PWA at tanksync.smartghar.org (cloud + away-from-home access). The HA integration is local-LAN only and never authenticates against any cloud service.

What happens if my hub's IP changes?

DHCP rotations are handled automatically by zeroconf re-discovery. The hub re-broadcasts its mDNS service when it reconnects to Wi-Fi, and HA's zeroconf listener updates the integration's stored IP transparently — typically within an hour without any action from you.

Can I use this with multiple hubs?

Yes. Each hub broadcasts independently and gets its own HA device. Entities are namespaced by hub_id (MAC-derived) so collisions are impossible. See Multi-Hub-Setup.

What firmware is required?

Firmware version	What it enables
rx-v2.7.0	SmartGhar Protocol v1 — mDNS service + /api/v1/* REST + WebSocket
rx-v2.7.1	Identify endpoints (hub + per-tank), reboot endpoint
rx-v2.7.2	Per-tank identify in the local web UI (no functional change for HA)
rx-v2.7.10	MAC-anchored device identity (paired with tx-v2.0.11). Needed for HACS v0.8.0's async_migrate_entry and entity-cleanup hooks.
rx-v2.8.0	Buzzer alerts — physical buzzer on GPIO02 plays boot tone + critical-low + overflow + sensor-offline + opt-in events. Controllable today via the PWA and the hub local web UI. HA-native entities land in HACS v0.8.0 (requires rx-v2.8.4+).
rx-v2.8.3	sensor_stuck variance detection — second safety net alongside sensor_error. Catches defective JSN-SR04M / AJ-SR04M sensors that report a constant ~20-25 cm reading regardless of actual water level. Surfaces as state.sensor_stuck boolean in /api/v1/devices — HACS v0.8.0 exposes this as binary_sensor.smartghar_<hub>_tank_<n>_sensor_stuck.
rx-v2.8.4	HACS-friendly buzzer endpoints at /api/v1/hub/buzzer (GET / PUT) and /api/v1/hub/buzzer/test (POST). HACS v0.8.0 reads + writes buzzer config via these. Without this version, the buzzer entities in HACS won't register (they self-suppress when the endpoint isn't there — no permanent-unavailable clutter). Also fixes a false-positive Critical-low beep on tanks that haven't sent their first packet yet.

The integration silently degrades on older firmware — it'll fall back to polling if WebSocket is unavailable, or hide newer features.

Is the protocol open?

Yes. The full HTTP + WebSocket spec is at docs/protocol/v1.md, Apache-2.0 licensed. Anyone can write a third-party client.

Why is this v0.x?

Pre-1.0 SemVer allows occasional breaking changes during the early-feedback period. We'll cut v1.0 after a ~6-week stability soak and a HACS default-repo submission. The protocol itself (firmware-side) is stable v1; only HA-side entity shapes might shift in HA-side minor versions.

How do I report a bug?

GitHub Issues with diagnostics download attached. See Troubleshooting#filing-a-bug.

Will this work with PowerSync (and other future products)?

Yes — the integration is designed cross-product. When PowerSync ships, it'll auto-discover under the same SmartGhar integration without you needing a second HACS install. The integration's device_kind taxonomy already accounts for power, gas, pump_relay, soil, door, air.

Can I run this on a non-Indian network / 433 MHz region?

Yes — the LoRa frequency is configurable in the firmware (default 865 MHz for India/EU; switch to 915 MHz for US/AU). The HA integration is region-agnostic — it speaks to the hub via Wi-Fi LAN regardless of LoRa frequency.

Is there a native Lovelace card?

No, and not on the roadmap. We recommend the community lovelace-fluid-level-background-card paired with our assets/tank-silhouette.svg. See docs/lovelace-beautification.md.

This is a deliberate non-goal. The community card already delivers ~90% of the visual benefit at much lower maintenance cost than us shipping our own.

How do I track water consumption like electricity?

Energy-Dashboard has the full walkthrough. Quick version: Settings → Energy → Water consumption → Add water source → pick the SmartGhar tank's _water_consumed sensor.

Can I rename a tank in HA?

Yes. Use the text.smartghar_<hub>_tank_<n>_name entity. The change propagates to the SmartGhar PWA via the existing config-sync MQTT path within seconds.

Can I edit Wi-Fi settings from HA?

No, deliberately. Wi-Fi credentials are sensitive and editing them from HA is the kind of operation that should require physical proximity to the hub. Use the SmartGhar PWA or the hub's local web UI for that.

What if HA goes offline?

The hub keeps working. The TXs keep transmitting. The SmartGhar PWA keeps receiving cloud-mediated updates. When HA comes back online, the integration reconnects and resumes.

What if the hub goes offline?

HA entities go unavailable. The integration retries with exponential backoff. When the hub returns, entities recover automatically.

How do I force a re-poll?

Toggle any entity (e.g., LED brightness) — that triggers a coordinator refresh. Or restart HA, which re-runs the first config entry refresh.

My TX battery says 5.03 V — is that normal?

That's a TX-side voltage reading mode where it reports the input/USB voltage rather than the battery cell. It can happen during charging, on USB-powered TXs, or with TX firmware variants that don't have proper voltage-divider calibration. Not an integration issue. See Troubleshooting#tx-battery-voltage-shows-503-v.

Where are integration files stored on my HA install?

~/.homeassistant/custom_components/smartghar/

(or wherever your HA config directory lives). Don't edit these manually — HACS manages them.

How do I uninstall completely?

HACS → SmartGhar → ⋮ → Remove
Settings → Devices & Services → SmartGhar → ⋮ → Delete  (if entries remain)
Settings → System → Restart Home Assistant

Hub itself + PWA are unaffected.