Govee H5054

From Leo's Notes
Last edited on 22 March 2025, at 05:25.

Govee H5054 is a wireless water sensor to detect water leaks. It uses the 433 MHz radio to transmit events.

RTL 433

See the source code here: https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433/blob/master/src/devices/govee.c

Here's a sample output from rtl_433 for this device: 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2025-03-21 18:13:09
model     : Govee-Water  id        : 14029
event     : Button Press detect_wet: 0             Raw Code  : 36cd30547e22  Integrity : CRC
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2025-03-21 18:13:11
model     : Govee-Water  id        : 14029
Battery level: 0.050     Battery   : 1860 mV       event     : Battery Report Raw Code  : 36cd310507c7 Integrity : CRC
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2025-03-21 18:13:12
model     : Govee-Water  id        : 14029
Battery level: 0.050     Battery   : 1860 mV       event     : Battery Report Raw Code  : 36cd310507c7 Integrity : CRC
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
time      : 2025-03-21 18:13:14
model     : Govee-Water  id        : 14029
event     : Button Press detect_wet: 0             Raw Code  : 36cd30547e22  Integrity : CRC

Home assistant integration

The rtl_433 utility is able to listen for and decode specific 433 MHz radio transmission messages using a RTL-SDR USB dongle. It supports sending decoded messages to various destinations including MQTT. As a result, we can use rtl_433 to effectively act as a gateway between 433 MHz radio transmissions and our Home Assistant MQTT broker.

For my personal setup, I have a Nooelec RTL-SDR USB dongle plugged into a OpenWRT router. The rtl_433 package is available on OpenWRT 24's package repos. You can create a procd init script that runs rtl_433 within OpenWRT by creating a file in /etc/init.d/rtl_433 with the following contents: 

#!/bin/sh /etc/rc.common
USE_PROCD=1
START=95
STOP=01

start_service() {
    procd_open_instance
    procd_set_param command /usr/bin/rtl_433 -C si -R 231 -F "mqtt://mqtt-broker-server:1883,devices=rtl_433/Govee-Water[/id]"
    procd_close_instance
}

If you are not using OpenWRT or if you want to run the command manually, run the following: 

# rtl_433 -C si  -R 231 -F mqtt://mqtt-broker-server:1883,devices=rtl_433/Govee-Water[/id]

Breaking the command down, the arguments are as follows:

  • -C si: Convert units to scientific units
  • -R 231: Decode only Govee H5054 messages. You can list all the supported messages by passing -R help.
  • -F specifies the output. In our case, we want to use MQTT without authentication using the topic rtl_433/Govee-Water/<device-id>. rtl_433 will replace [/id] with the actual device id.

Once rtl_433 is running, we will need to get Home Assistant configured for these sensors. Add the MQTT integration in Home Assistant.

Next, use the auto-discovery script at: https://github.com/mekaneck/Govee-Water-Leak-Home-Assistant-Autodiscovery. The installation involves copying and pasting the script into the Home Assistant configuration file. The script contains a list of devices that should be added. You will need to determine the random 5 digit device ID that the sensors are set to from the factory, their serial number (optional but helpful for you to identify the sensors later on), and a friendly name. Save the configuration file, restart Home Assistant, and then run the script (under Settings -> Automation -> Scripts). After running the script, you should see the sensors appear under the MQTT integration.

If you need help determining the 5 digit device ID for each sensor, you can run rtl_433 without the -F flag (so that it outputs directly to standard out) and then press the sensor button. You should be able to see the device id in the output. For example, 14029: 

# rtl_433 -C si
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
time      : 2025-03-21 21:49:08
model     : Govee-Water  id        : 14029
event     : Button Press detect_wet: 0             Raw Code  : 36cd30547e22  Integrity : CRC

The battery values are only reported when the device is first powered on, when the device is chirping due to low battery power, or about once per day. If Home Assistant isn't reporting the battery readings, try reseating the battery.

Other notes

The device will begin chirping when the battery voltage drops below 2 volts (verified with a bench power supply). Every time it chirps, it will broadcast its battery reading values.