core UniFi Protect Plate Automation/Detection

The problem

I am having issues with a consistent 3 minute delay for home assistant to receive a plate number after UniFi Protect has read the plate. This feature just came out in this last release so I'm not sure if its a bug or a limitation. The docs to mention a 3 second delay, although maybe that's just a coincidence.

I have an automation setup that will trigger based on a plate being read, but its only triggering 3 mins after the read. checking developer tools and viewing the entity state confirms the delay, as it shows "clock_best_wall" time is 3 minutes and 10 seconds before the "last updated" time.

If it matters I am using an AXIS camera with an AI Port. Running Protect Version 6.1.79

UDM Pro OS Version 4.4.6

What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?

2025.12.1

What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?

No response

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant OS

Integration causing the issue

UniFi Protect

Link to integration documentation on our website

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/unifiprotect/

Diagnostics information

config_entry-unifiprotect-01JJ3WMV1Q0F34ASA1JQK0TCDR.json

Example YAML snippet

Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?

Additional information

No response

Dec 09 '25 07:12 drownedfishy

Hey there @rahehl, mind taking a look at this issue as it has been labeled with an integration (unifiprotect) you are listed as a code owner for? Thanks!

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Please make sure this isn't a duplicate issue by searching the existing issues, especially keep an eye on the latest issues and pull requests. https://github.com/home-assistant/core/issues?q=%20label%3A%22integration%3A%20unifiprotect%22%20 Then make sure your report includes the following information:

UniFi OS version 2. Protect version 3. Hardware running Protect (Cloud Key Gen2+, UDM-Pro, etc.) 4. If applicable, error logs _{^{(message by IssueContext)}}

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Dec 09 '25 07:12 home-assistant[bot]

@drownedfishy Strange — the whole thing was mainly tested with a G4 Instant connected to an AI Port. How long does it take until the thumbnails with the license plates appear for you in the Unifi Protect web GUI?

Dec 09 '25 10:12 RaHehl

So I just tried to test it to see how long it took for protect to detect the plate, and it seems it's actually a delay with unifi protect not this integration.

Protect is taking 3 minutes to capture the plate, while it shows "On Going" instead of giving me a plate right away. Once unifi gets the plate detection, the integration runs perfectly and triggers my automation basically instantly. Protect appears to actually backdate the alarm "last triggered" times as well as detection times which I did not know.

I'll have to reach out to unifi to see if this is expected. thank you for being so quick to respond! My mistake for not double checking that on my end!!

Dec 10 '25 02:12 drownedfishy