Successfully Integrating Xiaomi Bluetooth Thermometer with OpenHAB3: Tips and Tricks

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Successfully Integrating Xiaomi Bluetooth Thermometer with OpenHAB3: Tips and Tricks

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share my recent experience integrating the Xiaomi Mijia Bluetooth Thermometer 2 with OpenHAB3. It’s been a journey of learning and problem-solving, and I thought it might be helpful to document my process for anyone else tackling a similar project.

The Challenge

I’ve been using OpenHAB for a while now, and I was excited to add the Xiaomi Mijia Bluetooth Thermometer to my setup. However, the journey wasn’t entirely smooth. Initially, I faced issues with detecting the device using the Bluetooth binding. After some research and troubleshooting, I managed to connect it using the bluetoothctl utility via SSH. But the real hurdle came when I noticed that while the temperature data was accurate, the humidity readings were displayed as 0.4200000 % instead of the expected 42%. This was a bit puzzling!

The Solution

After some digging, I realized the issue was with how the data was being formatted. The humidity value was being treated as a string rather than a numerical value. To fix this, I adjusted the configuration settings in OpenHAB3. Specifically, I modified the item definition to ensure the humidity value was parsed correctly. Here’s what I did:

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Number Temperature “Room Temperature [%.1f °C]”
Number Humidity “Room Humidity [%d %%]”

This adjustment ensured that the humidity value was displayed as an integer percentage, eliminating the unnecessary decimal places.

Tips and Tricks

Here are a few tips I learned along the way that might help others:

  1. Device Detection: If your device isn’t being detected by OpenHAB’s Bluetooth binding, try using bluetoothctl to manually connect. This can help identify if the issue is with the binding or the device itself.
  2. Data Formatting: Pay close attention to how your sensor data is formatted. Sometimes, values might be received as strings or with unexpected decimal places. Adjusting your item definitions can resolve these issues.
  3. Community Support: Don’t hesitate to reach out to the OpenHAB community forums. There’s a wealth of knowledge and helpful individuals who can guide you through troubleshooting.
  4. Regular Updates: Ensure your OpenHAB installation is up to date. Updates often include bug fixes and improvements that can resolve connectivity and data parsing issues.

Conclusion

Integrating the Xiaomi Mijia Bluetooth Thermometer with OpenHAB3 was a rewarding experience, despite the initial hurdles. It’s a testament to the flexibility and power of OpenHAB, especially when combined with a bit of troubleshooting and community support. If you’re looking to add reliable temperature and humidity monitoring to your setup, I highly recommend this device!

Happy automating!

Best regards,
[Your Name]