[twtran]

This project has been a godsent! The latest Daikin indoor units have a built-in WiFi module which only allows control through their cloud infrastructure. Besides it being a privacy and/or security issue, it's very slow and buggy (e.g. I've had two units reset their credentials after a power outage).

There are two caveats to going the Faikin way: you need to source or build your own cable that's compatible with your unit, and there's no access control (that I could find) for the web interface so you need to firewall and proxy it properly.

[denismi]

> The latest Daikin indoor units have a built-in WiFi module which only allows control through their cloud infrastructure.

Which ones?

My Alira X from a couple of years ago is currently talking directly to Home Assistant over WiFi. For a year or so I've been unable to update firmware without losing the functionality, but it looks like the community has a fix pending verification: https://github.com/home-assistant/core/issues/99251

I have another old unit that I'll have to replace eventually, and ideally it could be Daikin and would work natively without involving external hardware.

[twtran]

My experience is strictly with Daikin Stylish units bought a few months ago in the EU. They still have both the S21 port and a compartment for an external WiFi module, and for all intents and purposes it's plug and play. Their standard WiFi module is built in the internal unit motherboard AFAICT, and it only works with their Daikin Onecta platform (no local API whatsoever).

[ragingroosevelt]

There's an esphome config for them and esphome let's you set a password. I believe it supports encryption but I can't remember.

The faikins are really awesome. I have mine set up in Home Assistant and I have automations for them to do stuff to turn off if the outdoor and indoor temps are both pleasant. I also have it set up to turn off if any of my windows or exterior doors are left open for more than five minutes. But you can program them to do so much. The stock firmware does mqtt so it's quite versatile.

[ohopton]

These things are great, I've managed to get them into all my indoor units without too much trouble. If you've already got them integrated into Home Assistant check out Versatile Thermostat (you can find it in HACS), if you've got temp sensors in the rooms with your AC you'll get very good target temperature tracking, much better than the auto functionality built into Faikin.