Canary & Home Assistant Integration: A Troubleshooting Guide

A Guide to Troubleshooting the Canary Integration for Home Assistant

Integrating Canary cameras into Home Assistant can enhance your smart home by allowing you to create automations based on motion, temperature, or air quality data from your Canary devices. However, because there is no official integration from Canary, the connection relies on a community-developed custom component. This can sometimes lead to setup and stability issues. This guide will walk you through the common problems and how to solve them.

## Important: This is a Custom Integration

It's crucial to understand that the Canary integration is not part of the core Home Assistant software. It is typically installed via the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS). This means:

• API Dependence: The integration relies on reverse-engineering Canary's private API. If Canary makes changes to their API, the integration can break without warning.
• Community Support: Support comes from the community and the developer of the integration, not from the Home Assistant or Canary teams.
• Potential for Instability: While often working well, it may be less stable than official, cloud-polling integrations.

## Common Issues with the Canary Integration

• Installation Problems: Difficulty finding or installing the integration through HACS.
• Configuration Errors: The integration fails to set up after you provide your Canary account credentials.
• Invalid Authentication: A persistent error message about incorrect username, password, or two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Devices and Entities are Unavailable: The integration appears to load, but all your Canary devices are shown as "unavailable" in Home Assistant.
• Sensors Not Updating: Data from sensors (like temperature, humidity, air quality, or motion) is not refreshing.
• Live Stream Fails: The camera entity exists, but you are unable to view a live video stream on your dashboard.

## How to Fix Your Canary Home Assistant Integration

Follow these steps to resolve the most frequent problems.

### 1. Correct Installation via HACS

First, ensure the integration is installed properly.

1. Install HACS: If you haven't already, you must install the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS). This is the package manager for most custom integrations.
2. Add the Custom Repository: The Canary integration might not be in the default HACS repository. You may need to add a custom repository. Go to HACS > Integrations, click the three dots in the top right, and select "Custom repositories." Add the URL for the Canary integration's GitHub page.
3. Install the Integration: Search for "Canary" in HACS and install it.
4. Restart Home Assistant: After installation, you must restart Home Assistant for the integration to be available.

### 2. Check Your Canary Credentials

Simple typos are a common source of authentication errors.

• Verify Username and Password: Go to the Canary website or open the mobile app and log out. Then, log back in to be absolutely certain you are using the correct credentials.
• Handle Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If you have 2FA enabled on your Canary account, the integration will need to be configured to handle it. The setup process should prompt you for a 2FA code. Be ready to receive this code via SMS or your authenticator app and enter it quickly.

### 3. Reconfigure or Re-add the Integration

If the integration was working and suddenly stopped, your authentication token may have expired.

1. Restart First: Always try restarting Home Assistant before removing configurations.
2. Reconfigure: Go to Settings > Devices & Services. Find the Canary integration. If there is a "Reconfigure" button, click it and follow the prompts to re-enter your password or 2FA code.
3. Remove and Re-add: If reconfiguring doesn't work, the next step is to remove the integration completely. Click the three dots on the Canary integration card and select "Delete." Restart Home Assistant, and then try adding the integration again from scratch.

### 4. Examine the Home Assistant Logs

The system logs are your best friend for diagnosing complex issues.

• Find Your Logs: Go to Settings > System > Logs.
• Filter for Errors: Look for any entries that contain the word canary or custom_components.canary. The error messages here are often very descriptive. For example, you might see "Authentication failed" or "Unable to connect to Canary API," which can help you narrow down the problem.

### 5. Check for Updates

• Update the Integration: Periodically check in HACS to see if there is an update available for the Canary integration. Developers often release updates to fix bugs or adapt to API changes.
• Update Home Assistant: Ensure your Home Assistant Core is up to date, as this can sometimes resolve underlying issues.

Due to the unofficial nature of this integration, patience and a willingness to check logs and GitHub issue trackers for solutions are key to maintaining a successful connection.