Troubleshooting

Start with the Logs page, or %ProgramData%\HADA\logs\service.log.

What you see	Likely cause and what to do
The log repeats Disconnected from MQTT broker every few seconds, or says the connection keeps dropping right after it is made	Two HADA services are connected with the same Device ID. A broker allows one connection per ID and drops the other. Give every computer its own Device ID. A second copy of the service on the same computer cannot be the cause from 0.4.0 on: one started from a console refuses to start while another is running
The window says the service is not running although it is	Another copy of the service held the HADA.Session pipe when this one started. The service takes the pipe over within seconds of the other copy exiting; the log says when
The device is in Home Assistant, but entities are missing	Each time it connects, the service logs Announced N entities to Home Assistant. If N is what you expect, the reason is on the Home Assistant side: look under Settings → System → Logs for mqtt entries. If N is too low, the entities are switched off on the Entities page or the tray app is not connected
Sensors show unknown right after they appear	Should not happen from 0.2.0 on, where states are retained. With an older version, wait for the value to change
A button does nothing	The Logs page says why: a tray action was pressed while the tray app is not running in the session in use, or the action itself failed. The power buttons do not exist in Home Assistant until they are switched on on the Entities page
A notification does not appear	Windows is holding notifications back (Do not disturb, see do_not_disturb), or notifications are turned off for HADA under Settings → System → Notifications. It is then only in the notification centre
wifi_network says not_connected although Wi-Fi is connected	Windows 11 24H2 and newer hide the network name unless location access is allowed: Settings → Privacy & security → Location
Every sensor appears twice	Both MQTT and the WebSocket engine are configured for the same Home Assistant, or two MQTT servers are. Clear the Home Assistant URL, or remove one of the servers
The broker works by IP address but not by a name such as homeassistant.local	The log says what the name stands for (The broker's name … stands for …) or that it could not be looked up. A .local name is found only on the broker's own network, not from another one or through most VPNs: use the IP address there. If the name stands for an address that is not your broker's, another device, often the router, answers to that name. See The broker's address
A server's card on the Overview page says Error	That Home Assistant cannot be reached at the moment, e.g. because it is in another place. The log says why once; HADA keeps trying at least once a minute
The log says the settings folder was not trusted and was moved	%ProgramData%\HADA belonged to an account that is not an administrator, so HADA did not use what was in it. Set HADA up again. An administrator can look at the old folder, HADA.untrusted-<date>, and delete it. See Security