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Sensors

HASS Connect Sensors page

Sensors are individually opt-in. Enable sensors pauses collection while preserving individual choices. Reports normally run every 15 seconds while awake and connected.

Display state reports on, dimmed or off for the current Windows session using GUID_SESSION_DISPLAY_STATUS. It stays unknown until Windows supplies a value. This does not detect individual monitor hardware switches.

Microphone and webcam activity come from Windows capability-use records for the current user. The app does not inspect or transmit the application using them.

System disk readings describe the volume containing Windows. Free space is reported in decimal gigabytes and usage as a percentage. Battery sensors are unavailable on PCs where Windows reports no system battery.

Each fixed disk appears once in HASS Connect with its used percentage and free space shown on the same row. Its single switch controls two Home Assistant entities: usage and free space. Their entity IDs include the drive letter, such as sensor.desktop_d_disk_usage. If an enabled drive is disconnected or otherwise becomes unreadable, HASS Connect keeps both entities and reports unknown; the missing drive does not stop other sensors from updating. Reporting resumes when a fixed disk is available under the same drive letter. Removable and network drives are not offered.

Guard automations against stale readings

Home Assistant retains the last CPU, idle and other readings when the PC sleeps, the app closes or the connection drops. A low CPU value or a high idle time can therefore remain frozen long after reporting stops.

Enable Last seen in HASS Connect alongside the sensors your automation uses. Like every sensor, it is off by default. It reports the timestamp sampled for the latest report and stops advancing when reporting stops, including when sensors are paused. It does not automatically mark other entities unavailable.

Add this template condition to your automation's existing conditions list, alongside its CPU or idle conditions. Replace sensor.desktop_last_seen with your PC's actual entity ID:

conditions:
  - condition: template
    alias: PC reported within the last 90 seconds
    value_template: >-
      {{ 0 <= as_timestamp(now()) - as_timestamp(states('sensor.desktop_last_seen'), 0) < 90 }}

This permits actions only when the timestamp is less than 90 seconds old. Missing, unknown, unavailable, invalid or future timestamps fail the check. The 90-second window allows several missed reports at the normal 15-second interval; choose a shorter window if your automation needs fresher data. It indicates recent reporting, not network reachability or whether every individual sensor has a valid reading. Keep each sensor used by the automation enabled and check its value too.

Conditions run when the automation reaches them. If your actions include a delay or wait, repeat this condition after the wait and before the action that depends on fresh readings. See Home Assistant's template condition documentation.

For a dashboard indicator, use the same expression in an HA template binary sensor helper:

{{ 0 <= as_timestamp(now()) - as_timestamp(states('sensor.desktop_last_seen'), 0) < 90 }}

Helpers using now() refresh at the start of each minute, so the indicator can lag behind the threshold. Use the direct condition above for the freshness check at action time.