home-assistant/core · error · UpdateFailed

update_error

update_error

Error message

An error occurred while retrieving data from the {device} printer: {error}

What it means

UpdateFailed with translation_key 'update_error' from the Brother coordinator when brother.async_update() raises ConnectionError, SnmpError, or UnsupportedModelError within a 20-second timeout. Entities go unavailable and the coordinator retries on its interval.

Source

Thrown at homeassistant/components/brother/coordinator.py:47

        self.brother = brother
        self.device_name = config_entry.title

        super().__init__(
            hass,
            _LOGGER,
            config_entry=config_entry,
            name=DOMAIN,
            update_interval=UPDATE_INTERVAL,
        )

    @override
    async def _async_update_data(self) -> BrotherSensors:
        """Update data via library."""
        try:
            async with timeout(20):
                data = await self.brother.async_update()
        except (ConnectionError, SnmpError, UnsupportedModelError) as error:
            raise UpdateFailed(
                translation_domain=DOMAIN,
                translation_key="update_error",
                translation_placeholders={
                    "device": self.device_name,
                    "error": repr(error),
                },
            ) from error
        return data

View on GitHub (pinned to 58a3fdb3ea)

Solutions

Check printer is awake and SNMP still responds: snmpwalk -v2c -c <community> <host>
Disable deep-sleep on the printer or accept transient UpdateFailed entries — the coordinator retries
If UnsupportedModelError, update the brother Python library (integration update) for new model support
Verify no firewall intermittently drops UDP 161

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Try / catch

# Consuming platforms should read coordinator data, not catch UpdateFailed;
# HA renders unavailable entities during failed refreshes automatically.
if not coordinator.last_update_success:
    # skip actions that need fresh printer data

Prevention

Keep the printer SNMP-reachable (disable deep sleep if drops are frequent)
Update the integration so new models map correctly (UnsupportedModelError)
Expect transient UpdateFailed entries during printer sleep; the coordinator retries

When it happens

Trigger: Printer entered sleep mode and stopped answering SNMP; network drop mid-poll; printer model firmware reporting OIDs the library cannot map (UnsupportedModelError); SNMP service hung so the 20s timeout fires as TimeoutError is not caught here — it surfaces as asyncio timeout cancel.

Common situations: Deep-sleep printers failing intermittent polls; switches blocking UDP 161 intermittently; firmware updates changing SNMP MIB layout triggering UnsupportedModelError.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of home-assistant/core@58a3fdb3ea (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fc9926ae7f0dce52. Report an issue: GitHub.