As of 2024, Bosch/Siemens (BSH Group) Home Connect appliances do not have a genuinely usable fully local connection method.
Due to the manufacturer’s security policy, the local API ports on these appliances are encrypted or closed. So even if you see integrations with “Local” in the name, or you installed one through HACS, they still communicate through the Home Connect cloud API.
What you are most likely referring to is the very popular “Home Connect Alt” integration in the HACS store (an enhanced alternative to the official integration), or you want local control but cannot find a way to achieve it.
Since Home Connect Alt is currently recognised as the best third-party integration in terms of experience and features, here is a detailed tutorial for using it. It responds faster than the official integration, exposes more sensors, and supports more advanced features.
Home Connect Alt (HACS version) detailed configuration tutorial
This tutorial walks you through installing Home Connect Alt. Although it relies on the cloud, it is currently the closest thing in Home Assistant to the response speed of local control.
Step 1: Preparation
- Make sure HACS is installed: if you have not installed HACS (Home Assistant Community Store) yet, install it first.
- Have a Home Connect account: you need an ordinary Home Connect App account that already has your appliances bound to it (you can control the appliances from your phone).
- Register a developer account: this is the most critical step, you need to apply for an API key (Client ID).
Step 2: Apply for the developer API (critical step)
Home Connect requires you to create a “simulated application” in order to obtain control permissions.
- Visit .
- Click Sign up in the top right corner to register a developer account (you can use a different email from your phone App account; keeping them separate is recommended).
- After logging in, click Applications at the top, then click Register Application.
- Fill in the application form (most fields can be filled in freely, but the following must be accurate):
- Application ID: just pick any name, for example ha-integration.
- OAuth Flow: choose Authorization Code Grant Flow.
- Redirect URI: this is the most error-prone part!
- If you use Home Assistant’s My Home Assistant service (recommended), enter:
- https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/oauth
If you are unsure, or the one above does not work, the usual default is also to enter this.
Click Save to save.
After saving, you will see the Client ID and Client Secret. Copy and keep these two strings, you will need them later.
Note
: your developer account can only access “simulated appliances” by default. To control the real appliances in your home, you need to add your personal Home Connect account (the one used in the phone App) to the test users, or simply log in with your personal account when authorising in Home Assistant. Usually the developer account is your admin account.
- Step 3: Install the integration in HACS
- Open Home Assistant and click HACS in the left-hand menu.
- Click Integrations.
- Click Explore & Download Repositories in the bottom right corner.
- Search for “Home Connect Alt”.
Note: do not choose the official “Home Connect”; choose the one with “Alt”, or the one whose author is
Click into it and choose Download.
After the download completes, restart Home Assistant.
- Step 4: Configure the integration
- After restarting, go to HA’s Settings -> Devices & Services.
- Click Add Integration in the bottom right corner.
- Search for Home Connect Alt.
- The system will pop up a dialog asking you to enter the credentials:
- Client ID: enter the ID obtained in step 2.
Client Secret: enter the Secret obtained in step 2.
After clicking submit, you will be redirected to the Home Connect web login page.
Important: when logging in here, use the ordinary user account bound to your phone App (if your developer account and ordinary account are the same one, log in with that).
After a successful login, the page will ask you to authorise; click Approve.
If everything goes well, the page will show “Link Successful” and ask whether to open Home Assistant.
Back in Home Assistant, you should see your dishwasher, washing machine, oven and other appliances appear.
Step 5: FAQ and usage tips
1. Why does it show “Unavailable”?
- To save power, Home Connect appliances usually disconnect from Wi-Fi when switched off (except for some newer dishwashers that support remote wake-up).
- Washing machine/dryer: HA can usually only control them after they are switched on and the “remote control” button is enabled.
Dishwasher: if the “network standby” function is enabled, it is usually always online.
2. What exactly does “Local” mean here?
- If you saw “Local” in some old tutorials, that was usually several years ago. The advantage of using Home Connect Alt now is that it uses SSE (Server Sent Events) technology.
- Official integration: polling mechanism, slow state updates (for example the door opens but HA may only know a minute later).
Home Connect Alt: establishes a long-lived connection, so appliance state changes are pushed to HA almost in real time (usually 1-3 seconds of latency), an experience very close to local control.
3. How do I get proper Chinese entity names?
After installation, the entity ID may be in English (such as switch.dishwasher_power). You can manually rename it to “dishwasher power” in the entity settings.
4. API quota limits
A developer account has a daily API call limit (usually 1000 calls). Home Connect Alt optimises its call logic, so normal household use will not exceed the limit. If you find the appliance suddenly stops responding, the daily quota may have run out; it will automatically recover the next day.
Summary: although the name may not contain “Local”, Home Connect Alt (HACS) is currently the best solution for integrating Bosch/Siemens appliances into Home Assistant.
Core workflow: register a developer account -> obtain ID/Secret -> install the Alt integration in HACS -> enter ID/Secret -> web authorisation -> done.
