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If an automation stopped firing immediately after you disabled an integration’s polling, the usual cause is a stale entity: nothing is fetching new data, and the integration has not replaced polling with push updates. Home Assistant state triggers react to a new state_changed event, not to a value that remains true. First open the automation trace, then verify the trigger and raw entity state, look for an actual change in History, and confirm that the integration still has a working update path. You can restore polling, use a carefully timed Update entity action, or rely on a supported push subscription. The right choice depends on the integration’s capabilities, API limits, and how quickly the automation must react.
Why did disabling polling stop the automation?
Polling is the process of asking a device or service for its current data on a schedule. Home Assistant uses those responses to update entities. When polling is disabled, the integration may stop receiving fresh values altogether. If it does not also subscribe to push notifications, the entity keeps its last known state and no new state_changed event is generated for a state trigger to observe.
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Home Assistant’s developer documentation describes the synchronization problem this way: “An entity mirrors something outside Home Assistant: a device, a cloud service, a file. Something has to keep the two in sync.” Polling and push are the two common ways to do that. Polling is periodic and usually simple; push lets the device or service notify Home Assistant as soon as it knows about a change.
A friendly label can make the problem look different from what the automation sees. An interface may display “Open” or “Detected” while the raw state is on. State trigger comparisons use the raw value. Likewise, a device changing in its own app does not prove that Home Assistant received an update.
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What should I check first?
Start with the trace and work outward from the trigger. This sequence separates a disabled automation, a mismatched state, a failed condition, and a missing data update.
- Open the automation trace. Go to Settings > Automations & Scenes, open the automation, and select Traces. Home Assistant documentation notes that most problems show up in the trace. If there is no new trace at the time of the expected event, the trigger did not react. If a trace exists but stops, inspect the condition or action at that point.
- Confirm the automation is enabled. The automation’s enable switch must be on. In the automation editor, inspect each trigger as well; an individually disabled trigger cannot start a run even when the rest of the automation is active.
- Inspect the raw entity. Open Settings > Developer tools > States (shown as Settings > Tools > States in some interface versions). Select the entity and record its exact state and attributes. Compare that raw state with the trigger’s
from,to, and attribute tests. - Check History and Activity. Look at the entity around the time the device changed. A state trigger responds to a transition, not to a value remaining true. If the entity was already
on, setting it toonagain normally produces no new state-change event. - Check for unavailable recovery. A common sequence is
off→unavailable→on. A trigger requiringfrom: offwill not match that recovery because the immediate previous state wasunavailable. Remove or broaden thefromrequirement when recovery should count. - Evaluate conditions at the trigger time. Conditions are checked once, immediately after a trigger fires. They do not hold a run open and retry later when a condition becomes true. If another entity changes later, add a trigger for that change or use a template trigger designed for the combined condition.
- Verify the update path. Determine whether the integration supports push updates. If not, re-enable polling or schedule an automation that calls Update entity for the affected entity or entities.
- Review integration logs. If the entity is stale or unavailable, open the integration’s diagnostics and logs. Enable debug logging only while reproducing the issue, then disable it to limit log volume. Integration-specific troubleshooting is necessary for authentication failures, API outages, and device-side errors.
How can I tell whether the trigger or the data update is failing?
Use the timestamp of the expected change as your dividing line. If the entity’s raw state changed at that time but no trace was created, the trigger definition or trigger enablement is the likely fault. If the entity never changed in History, the automation cannot react yet; investigate polling, push delivery, connectivity, or the integration itself.
| What you observe | Most likely explanation | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| No new trace and no state change in History | Home Assistant did not receive fresh data, or the automation is disabled | Entity update path, integration logs, automation and trigger enable switches |
| New trace appears but stops at a condition | The condition was false at the instant of the trigger | Trace values; add a trigger for the event that changes the condition |
| State changed, but trigger did not match | Raw state, attribute, or from/to filters differ from the trigger |
Developer Tools → States and the trigger’s exact comparisons |
Entity cycles through unavailable |
Connectivity or integration failure; recovery may not match a strict previous-state filter | Integration diagnostics and a broader recovery trigger |
| Device app shows a change but Home Assistant does not | Polling was removed without a functioning push subscription | Re-enable polling or configure supported push updates |
What does a Home Assistant state trigger actually listen for?
A state trigger listens for a state_changed event. The event is emitted when Home Assistant records a new state or a relevant attribute change. It is not a continuous “is this value true?” test.
Raw state versus the displayed label
Use the value shown in Developer Tools, not the human-friendly label in a dashboard card. A binary sensor displayed as “Detected” may have raw state on; a contact displayed as “Open” may likewise use on. A trigger comparing to: "Detected" will not match either of those entities.
Repeated values do not retrigger
If an entity is already on, another update that leaves it on generally does not create the transition a state trigger needs. For periodic work, use a time pattern or time trigger and test the current state in a condition instead of expecting a repeated state value to fire.
Events are different from states
Buttons, remote-control presses, and some activity notifications do not represent a lasting entity state. They are delivered as events. Use an Event received trigger and match the integration’s event type and event data when the action itself—not a resulting state—is what matters.
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Most entity-targeted device triggers do not react to recovery from unavailable or unknown. A generic state-change trigger can handle that transition. If a recovery should run the automation, avoid an overly specific from value or explicitly allow unavailable and unknown cases in the trigger design.
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How do I restore updates after turning off polling?
You have three practical paths: turn polling back on, add controlled custom polling, or use push updates supplied by the integration. Choose one update mechanism deliberately; duplicating them can create unnecessary traffic and confusing timing.
Option 1: Re-enable the integration’s polling
- Open Settings > Devices & services.
- Find the integration that owns the stale entity and open its configuration.
- Choose System options.
- Enable the integration’s polling option, then save.
- Watch the entity in Settings > Developer tools > States and in History until a fresh update appears.
- Trigger the real-world change and confirm that a new automation trace is created.
This is usually the safest recovery because the integration controls its own request interval, batching, authentication, and retry behavior. It also resumes automatically after a Home Assistant restart when the integration loads normally.
Option 2: Schedule the Update entity action
When the integration permits manual refreshes, an automation can call the built-in Update entity action at a time pattern. The official custom-polling workflow uses this action for selected entities rather than globally restoring every poll.
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- Add the Update entity action and select the affected entity or entities.
- Save, enable, and watch the entity’s last-changed timestamp.
- After confirming that updates arrive, test the original state trigger and inspect its trace.
Many integrations update at most once every 10 seconds when custom polling is used. That is an implementation caveat, not a universal Home Assistant refresh guarantee. Faster requests may be delayed, ignored, or rejected. Set an interval that respects the integration’s API limits, the device’s capacity, and the importance of the data.
alias: Refresh selected sensor
triggers:
- trigger: time_pattern
minutes: "/1"
actions:
- action: homeassistant.update_entity
target:
entity_id:
- sensor.example_status
mode: singleThe exact YAML schema can vary with Home Assistant releases and the visual editor’s saved format. If the editor presents an Update entity action, prefer selecting the entity there; then inspect the generated YAML rather than copying a schema from an unrelated version.
Option 3: Use a supported push integration
Some integrations subscribe to a device or service and write a new state when a message arrives. Push can make a change visible with little latency and less periodic traffic, but it depends entirely on the integration’s implementation and the upstream service. Verify in that integration’s documentation and diagnostics that push is supported and connected; disabling polling does not create push capability by itself.
Which update method is best for my automation?
Compare the choices on freshness, load, restart behavior, and diagnosability rather than assuming that “no polling” is always better.
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| Method | Freshness | Network/API load | After restart | Failure visibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration-managed polling | Periodic; interval is integration-specific | Controlled by the integration, often with batching and rate-limit handling | Normally resumes when the integration initializes | Usually exposed through integration status and logs |
| Automation calling Update entity | As frequent as your schedule, subject to integration limits and delays | Your responsibility; too-frequent calls can hit limits or overload a device | Automation resumes if enabled, but the first refresh depends on its trigger schedule | Trace shows the action; integration logs show request failures |
| Push subscription | Near-immediate when the upstream message is delivered | Low periodic traffic, but requires a maintained subscription or connection | Depends on reconnection and subscription setup during startup | Connection, event, and integration logs are important; no message means no state change |
For a safety or security decision that must react quickly, use push only when the integration documents reliable delivery and reconnection. For a noncritical status sensor, a moderate custom interval may be adequate. When you do not know the integration’s behavior, restore its managed polling first and optimize later.
How do I fix a trigger that is enabled but still does not match?
Once History proves that a state change occurred, compare the event with the trigger line by line.
Check the entity ID
Confirm that the trigger references the entity that actually changed. Renaming a device or replacing an entity can leave an automation pointing at an old ID. Developer Tools → States is the authoritative list for the current ID.
Remove filters temporarily
For diagnosis, create a temporary state trigger for the entity without from, to, or attribute filters. If that trace appears, reintroduce each filter and test again. This reveals whether the problem is a value mismatch rather than missing updates.
Use a template trigger for combined logic
If the automation should run when several values jointly become true, a template trigger can express that relationship. Ensure that every entity referenced in the template can cause reevaluation; otherwise the template may not be checked when the relevant data changes.
Separate “changed” from “became true”
A state-change trigger can run on any transition, while a condition can test the current value. If you need a notification every time a sensor changes, do not add a condition that silently excludes half of the transitions. If you need an action only while a value is true, trigger on the transition into the true state and put other requirements in conditions.
What should I do when conditions become true later?
A condition is a gate, not a waiting room. Home Assistant evaluates it once after the trigger event. Suppose a motion trigger fires while a person entity is marked away; the automation stops. When the person entity later changes to home, nothing resumes unless that change is also a trigger.
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- Add a second trigger for the entity that changes the condition.
- Use a template trigger that evaluates the complete expression and references all relevant entities.
- For a scheduled check, use a time trigger and a condition so the state is tested at predictable times.
After changing the design, run each trigger independently and inspect traces. A trace that stops at the condition is useful evidence that the data path and trigger are working.
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An unavailable entity is a data-path problem before it is an automation problem. Check the integration’s configuration, authentication, network reachability, device power, and service status. Review the integration-specific troubleshooting page and logs; generic automation advice cannot identify an expired token or an upstream outage.
- Open the entity in Developer Tools and note its state, attributes, and last-changed time.
- Open the integration under Settings > Devices & services and inspect repair notices or reauthentication prompts.
- Enable debug logging for the affected integration, reproduce one update attempt, and read the resulting error.
- Disable debug logging after capture, then correct the reported network, credential, or device issue.
- Confirm that the entity returns to a normal state and test the automation’s recovery path separately.
If a device changed while Home Assistant was disconnected, the eventual state may jump directly from unavailable to its current value. Design recovery automations around that reality instead of assuming that every intermediate state was observed.
How do polling and push behave after a Home Assistant restart?
Managed polling generally starts again when the integration initializes. A custom polling automation starts according to its own trigger, so a minute-based schedule may not refresh an entity immediately at startup. Add a startup trigger when an initial refresh is important, or choose a schedule whose first run is acceptable.
Push integrations must reconnect and resubscribe after a restart. During that gap, entities may remain at their last value or become unavailable. Check the integration’s connection status and logs before changing automation logic. A restart test—stop Home Assistant, start it, wait for the integration to report ready, and then observe one real update—can distinguish startup timing from a permanent failure.
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What common fixes make the problem worse?
- Changing the automation before checking History. If no state update arrived, rewriting conditions cannot create a trigger event.
- Comparing display text instead of raw state. Use the exact state and attribute values shown in Developer Tools.
- Polling every few seconds by default. Many integrations limit updates to about once every 10 seconds, and some services impose stricter limits. Excess requests can be delayed or blocked.
- Using a state trigger for a button press. Use an event trigger when the integration emits an event without a lasting state transition.
- Requiring an impossible previous state. A strict
fromvalue will reject recovery fromunavailableorunknown. - Leaving duplicate update mechanisms enabled. Simultaneous managed polling, custom polling, and push can increase load and make timing difficult to interpret.
- Keeping debug logging enabled indefinitely. Capture the failure, then turn it off to avoid excessive logs and storage use.
What is a reliable end-to-end test?
Use a controlled test that proves each layer in order rather than repeatedly changing settings.
- Record the entity’s raw state and attributes in Developer Tools.
- Confirm the automation and its target trigger are enabled.
- Make one real-world change that should alter the entity.
- Verify a new timestamp and state transition in History.
- Open the automation trace and confirm that the trigger fired.
- Check each condition’s evaluated value in the trace.
- Confirm the action’s result and any service response.
- Repeat after a Home Assistant restart if startup behavior matters.
If step 4 fails, concentrate on polling, push delivery, connectivity, or integration logs. If step 4 succeeds but step 5 fails, refine the trigger. If the trace reaches a condition or action and stops, fix that specific branch instead of altering the data-update mechanism.
When should I leave polling disabled?
Leave polling disabled only when the integration has a functioning push path or when the entity is intentionally refreshed by a controlled action that respects the service’s limits. Push is attractive for low latency and reduced periodic traffic, but it is not universally available and can have reconnection gaps. Managed polling is often the more predictable choice for integrations that do not document push updates.
Document the selected interval, the entities being refreshed, and the expected behavior after a restart. That makes future trace and log checks faster, especially when an integration changes its update implementation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I force an entity to refresh manually while troubleshooting?
Yes. In Developer Tools, call the integration-supported update service or use the automation editor’s Update entity action for the selected entity. Watch its last-changed timestamp afterward; a successful service call that leaves the value unchanged may still produce no state trigger.
Why does changing an attribute sometimes trigger an automation and sometimes not?
A state-change event can include attribute changes, but the trigger must be configured to observe the relevant entity or attribute. If the integration writes the same attribute value again, there is no new change for the trigger to process.
How can I make an automation run once when Home Assistant starts?
Add a Home Assistant start trigger and, if necessary, a short delay before reading entities so integrations have time to initialize. Guard the action with conditions that confirm the required entities are not unavailable.
What if the integration updates only when its app is open?
That behavior indicates the upstream service may not provide continuous push delivery or background access. Check the integration’s documented limitations; otherwise use managed or custom polling at a rate the service permits.
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