home-assistant/core · error · ConfigEntryError

Unknown error connecting to Blink

Error message

Unknown error connecting to Blink

What it means

ConfigEntryError('Unknown error connecting to Blink') raised when api.start() throws something other than ClientError/TimeoutError/auth errors — an unexpected exception type. Unlike NotReady, ConfigEntryError is fatal for this setup attempt: the entry goes to SETUP_ERROR and will NOT auto-retry, so it usually needs manual attention or an integration/library update.

Source

Thrown at homeassistant/components/blink/coordinator.py:56

        super().__init__(
            hass,
            _LOGGER,
            config_entry=config_entry,
            name=DOMAIN,
            update_interval=timedelta(seconds=SCAN_INTERVAL),
        )

    @override
    async def _async_setup(self):
        """Set up the coordinator."""
        try:
            await self.api.start()
        except (ClientError, TimeoutError) as ex:
            raise ConfigEntryNotReady("Can not connect to host") from ex
        except (BlinkTwoFARequiredError, UnauthorizedError) as ex:
            raise ConfigEntryAuthFailed("Required Blink re-authentication") from ex
        except Exception as ex:
            raise ConfigEntryError("Unknown error connecting to Blink") from ex

        if not self.api.available:
            raise ConfigEntryNotReady

    @override
    async def _async_update_data(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
        """Async update wrapper."""
        try:
            return await self.api.refresh(force=True)
        except UnauthorizedError as ex:
            raise ConfigEntryAuthFailed("Blink API authorization failed") from ex

View on GitHub (pinned to 58a3fdb3ea)

Solutions

  1. Check the full traceback in the HA log below this message to see the real underlying exception
  2. Update Home Assistant (and with it blinkpy) to pick up fixes for Blink API changes
  3. Search the Home Assistant GitHub issues for the traceback signature; add your log if it is a new API break
  4. If the underlying error is transient (e.g. odd 5xx payload), reload the integration entry once
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try:
    await api.start()
except Exception as ex:  # last-resort: log the real cause
    _LOGGER.exception("Blink start failed unexpectedly")
    raise ConfigEntryError("Unknown error connecting to Blink") from ex

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: blinkpy raises an internal error during start(): unexpected API response schema (Blink changed its API), a KeyError/AttributeError from malformed JSON, or a bug in the installed blinkpy version. Because bare Exception is caught here, any library defect surfaces as this message.

Common situations: Blink ships an API change that breaks the installed blinkpy version until a library bump; partial/corrupt responses from Blink servers; version mismatch between HA core expectations and blinkpy.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of home-assistant/core@58a3fdb3ea (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c144e598c6b085bc. Report an issue: GitHub.