Openweathermap API changes

[dziban303]

OWM is dropping support of their API v2.5 in a few days and forcing users to use API v3. Has Trayweather been prepared for this?

[FelixdelasPozas]

Hi @dziban303 .

Frankly didn't know about it. I'll look into it asap. Thanks!

Regards,
Félix.

[dziban303]

Heh, yeah, I only found out about it today when I updated Home Assistant. The new v3 API gives you only 1000 calls a day for free, and they want payment information up front. After consideration, I don't think I'm going to sign up and give them my payment information, so I guess my OWM days are very nearly over :/

[FelixdelasPozas]

and they want payment information up front. ... so I guess my OWM days are very nearly over :/

If that is the case, mine too. I'll look for alternatives.

[DarkSolus]

From my understanding, One Call API 3.0, which has a 1 000 calls/day limit, is a separate subscription from the Free plan, which still features the 60 calls/minute and 1 000 000 calls/month limits. I'd advise against hasty reactions for now and instead read the subscription plans.

[FelixdelasPozas]

Hi @DarkSolus .

From my understanding, One Call API 3.0, which has a 1 000 calls/day limit, is a separate subscription from the Free plan

The announcement of the deprecation of 2.5 API that this app uses means that the old "free plan" will stop working sooner or later and 3.0 API will become the "new free plan" (that also has 1000 calls per day like the "old plan", but the limit is not enabled by default). It is now a separate subscription but in the future will be the only free subscription, most probably.

The problem for me is that 3.0 API requires entering your credit card. I'll never pay as I don't need 1000 calls per day, but also I don't want my credit card number and other details "leaked" in the future, as it happens from time to time.
That's an unnecessary risk for a service I don't need to pay.

I'd advise against hasty reactions for now and instead read the subscription plans.

Nothing is being done at the moment, as for now 2.5 API is still working. 🤷‍♂️

When the subscription plans changes and 2.5 finally becomes unusable I'll probably archive this repository and look for other free weather forecast API. I'm not planning on supporting 3.0 API (also, the pollution data is not included in 3.0 "one call api", it is still in the 2.5 api, but 3.0 does include UV data tough).

[phly95]

Could you not use weather.gov as a free API?

[FelixdelasPozas]

Hi @phly95.

Could you not use weather.gov as a free API?

That API is only covers locations in the United States of America. A lot of users (like me, I live in Europe) will be left out. OWM covers the whole world.

Given that, currently, the 2.5 OWM API keeps working for everything except radiation values we have time to look for alternatives. Right now, I'm considering using Open-Meteo, as it seems to provide all the variables (temperature, wind, UV values....) and a forecast up to 16 days. But it doesn't provide maps.

Probably the 2.5 API will stop working before the end of the year. But who knows? I'll take time to evaluate options.

[phly95]

I thought the free API key wasn't working at first, but it seems that it just needed some time to actually become usable.

[iHastr]

OWM 2.5 API stopped working in some countries without VPN. Testing API key show error: "Invalid reply from OWM server". Everything works with VPN, but need to look for an alternative weather provider.

[FelixdelasPozas]

@iHastr . Yeah, I suppose the API will stop working before the end of the year. I'm working on a system to easily replace the provider and manage the differences between them (some gives UV data, some not, same with maps). I'm going very slow, but I plan on releasing it in a few weeks. Too mucho work lately, sorry.

Regards,
Félix.