Reconnect wireless client

Use this action to ask a wireless client to reconnect to your UniFi network, for example to nudge a device that has dropped off Wi-Fi or is stuck on a weaker access point.

This action only works for wireless clients. Wired clients are skipped.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To reconnect a wireless client from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the list of actions, search for and select Reconnect wireless client.
6. Select the UniFi wireless client device you want to reconnect.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as unifi.reconnect_client. A basic example looks like this:

action: unifi.reconnect_client
data:
  device_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6

Options in YAML

Good to know

• This action only works for wireless clients. Wired clients are left untouched.
• The device must be a client known to your UniFi Network application.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: reconnect a flaky device when it drops off Wi-Fi

If a wireless device keeps losing its connection, you can ask it to reconnect automatically when it becomes unavailable for a few minutes.

• Trigger: Smart plug unavailable for 5 minutes
• Action: Reconnect wireless client
  • Device: Garden smart plug

alias: "Reconnect the garden smart plug when it drops off"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: switch.garden_smart_plug
    to: "unavailable"
    for:
      minutes: 5
actions:
  - action: unifi.reconnect_client
    data:
      device_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Remove clients from the UniFi Network: Cleans up short-lived clients from the UniFi Network application.