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Updating firmware

From Home Assistant

Most Apollo devices update themselves. Open the device page in Home Assistant (Settings → Devices & services → ESPHome, then your device) and look for the Firmware Update entity: it reports when a new version is available and installs it over the air, with no computer and no cable.

Open your Home Assistant instance and show an integration.

On a battery powered device, start the update and it installs the next time the device wakes.

Stable and Beta

Devices with a Firmware Channel select decide which firmware the Firmware Update entity offers.

Stable is the tested release, and it is what a freshly flashed device uses. Beta gets new features and fixes earlier, along with the rough edges that implies. You can switch back at any time, and the next update comes from whichever channel is selected. See Switch to Beta Firmware for the steps.

Updating with ESPHome Device Builder

Use this route to build the firmware yourself, or if your device has no Firmware Update entity.

1. In Home Assistant open the ESPHome Device Builder.

Open your Home Assistant instance and show the dashboard of an app.

Make sure you are running the latest version of ESPHome

You should be fully up to date with the ESPHome Device Builder before updating our sensors for ideal performance and ease of troubleshooting!

2. Find the sensor you want to update and click the three dots on the far right.

ESPHome Device Builder in Home Assistant with the three-dot menu on a device card circled

3. Select “Validate” from the list.

ESPHome Device Builder device menu open with the Validate option circled

4. Once the validation completes, click “Install” in the bottom right.

ESPHome Device Builder validation window with the Install button circled

5. Click "Wirelessly".

ESPHome Device Builder install options with Wirelessly outlined in red

6. Once you see "INFO OTA successful" you are done. Click "STOP" to exit.

ESPHome Device Builder install log with INFO OTA successful and the Stop button circled

If no update ever appears

The device checks for updates by fetching a manifest from apolloautomation.github.io over HTTPS. On a network that blocks outbound traffic from IoT devices, that check fails quietly and the Firmware Update entity keeps reporting that the device is up to date. Allow the device outbound HTTPS on port 443 to that host.

If a build fails to validate with a min_version error, update ESPHome Device Builder. Each release sets a minimum ESPHome version, and building the YAML yourself means meeting it.