AC becomes unavailable in Home Assistant when internet (WAN) is down, although integration is local

[Balooforever]

Describe the bug
The Gree Climate custom component works fine as long as my router has internet access.
However, if I cut internet access (WAN down) but keep my local network (LAN + Wi-Fi) up, the AC entity eventually becomes unavailable in Home Assistant and I can no longer control it via HA.

From my understanding, this integration communicates locally with the AC and should not require cloud access, so losing internet should not break local control.

To Reproduce
1. Configure the Gree Climate component with my AC
2. Verify that the AC can be controlled from Home Assistant (on/off, set temperature, etc.).
3. Cut internet access on the router (WAN off), but keep the router and Wi-Fi running (LAN still works).
4. Wait a 2-3 hours
5. Observe the AC entity state in Home Assistant.

Expected behavior
The AC should remain available and controllable from Home Assistant as long as the device is reachable on the local network, even if there is no internet access.

Actual behavior
After some time without internet:
• The AC entity in Home Assistant becomes unavailable / not accessible.
• Controls from HA no longer work.

Environment
• Home Assistant: 2025.11.1
• Installation type: Container

Thanks in advance for your help and for this component.

[Corvus71]

That makes sense since the I read that it calls 'home' and needs a heartbeat response from the gree server.
Check this link. for an alternative.