[core] Deprecate status_set_error(const char*) and require LogString to prevent dangling pointers

esphome/components/absolute_humidity/absolute_humidity.cpp

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ void AbsoluteHumidityComponent::loop() {
       break;
     default:
       this->publish_state(NAN);
-      this->status_set_error("Invalid saturation vapor pressure equation selection!");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Invalid saturation vapor pressure equation selection!"));
       return;
   }
   ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Saturation vapor pressure %f kPa", es);

esphome/components/aht10/aht10.cpp

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ void AHT10Component::setup() {
 void AHT10Component::restart_read_() {
   if (this->read_count_ == AHT10_ATTEMPTS) {
     this->read_count_ = 0;
-    this->status_set_error("Reading timed out");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Reading timed out"));
     return;
   }
   this->read_count_++;

esphome/components/camera/camera.cpp

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Camera *Camera::global_camera = nullptr;
 
 Camera::Camera() {
   if (global_camera != nullptr) {
-    this->status_set_error("Multiple cameras are configured, but only one is supported.");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Multiple cameras are configured, but only one is supported."));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/cst816/touchscreen/cst816_touchscreen.cpp

@@ -19,13 +19,14 @@ void CST816Touchscreen::continue_setup_() {
       case CST816T_CHIP_ID:
         break;
       default:
-        this->status_set_error(str_sprintf("Unknown chip ID 0x%02X", this->chip_id_).c_str());
+        ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Unknown chip ID: 0x%02X", this->chip_id_);
+        this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Unknown chip ID"));
         this->mark_failed();
         return;
     }
     this->write_byte(REG_IRQ_CTL, IRQ_EN_MOTION);
   } else if (!this->skip_probe_) {
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to read chip id");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to read chip id"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/esp32_hosted/update/esp32_hosted_update.cpp

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
   hasher.add(this->firmware_data_, this->firmware_size_);
   hasher.calculate();
   if (!hasher.equals_bytes(this->firmware_sha256_.data())) {
-    this->status_set_error("SHA256 verification failed");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("SHA256 verification failed"));
     this->publish_state();
     return;
   }
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
   if (err != ESP_OK) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to begin OTA: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
     this->state_ = prev_state;
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to begin OTA");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to begin OTA"));
     this->publish_state();
     return;
   }
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
       ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to write OTA data: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
       esp_hosted_slave_ota_end();  // NOLINT
       this->state_ = prev_state;
-      this->status_set_error("Failed to write OTA data");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to write OTA data"));
       this->publish_state();
       return;
     }
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
   if (err != ESP_OK) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to end OTA: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
     this->state_ = prev_state;
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to end OTA");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to end OTA"));
     this->publish_state();
     return;
   }
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
   if (err != ESP_OK) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to activate OTA: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
     this->state_ = prev_state;
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to activate OTA");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to activate OTA"));
     this->publish_state();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/gdk101/gdk101.cpp

@@ -36,20 +36,20 @@ void GDK101Component::setup() {
   uint8_t data[2];
   // first, reset the sensor
   if (!this->reset_sensor_(data)) {
-    this->status_set_error("Reset failed!");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Reset failed!"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }
   // sensor should acknowledge success of the reset procedure
   if (data[0] != 1) {
-    this->status_set_error("Reset not acknowledged!");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Reset not acknowledged!"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }
   delay(10);
   // read firmware version
   if (!this->read_fw_version_(data)) {
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to read firmware version");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to read firmware version"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/http_request/update/http_request_update.cpp

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ void HttpRequestUpdate::setup() {
       this->publish_state();
     } else if (state == ota::OTAState::OTA_ABORT || state == ota::OTAState::OTA_ERROR) {
       this->state_ = update::UPDATE_STATE_AVAILABLE;
-      this->status_set_error("Failed to install firmware");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to install firmware"));
       this->publish_state();
     }
   });
@@ -49,18 +49,19 @@ void HttpRequestUpdate::update_task(void *params) {
   auto container = this_update->request_parent_->get(this_update->source_url_);
 
   if (container == nullptr || container->status_code != HTTP_STATUS_OK) {
-    std::string msg = str_sprintf("Failed to fetch manifest from %s", this_update->source_url_.c_str());
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to fetch manifest from %s", this_update->source_url_.c_str());
     // Defer to main loop to avoid race condition on component_state_ read-modify-write
-    this_update->defer([this_update, msg]() { this_update->status_set_error(msg.c_str()); });
+    this_update->defer([this_update]() { this_update->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to fetch manifest")); });
     UPDATE_RETURN;
   }
 
   RAMAllocator<uint8_t> allocator;
   uint8_t *data = allocator.allocate(container->content_length);
   if (data == nullptr) {
-    std::string msg = str_sprintf("Failed to allocate %zu bytes for manifest", container->content_length);
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to allocate %zu bytes for manifest", container->content_length);
     // Defer to main loop to avoid race condition on component_state_ read-modify-write
-    this_update->defer([this_update, msg]() { this_update->status_set_error(msg.c_str()); });
+    this_update->defer(
+        [this_update]() { this_update->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to allocate memory for manifest")); });
     container->end();
     UPDATE_RETURN;
   }
@@ -121,9 +122,9 @@ void HttpRequestUpdate::update_task(void *params) {
   }
 
   if (!valid) {
-    std::string msg = str_sprintf("Failed to parse JSON from %s", this_update->source_url_.c_str());
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to parse JSON from %s", this_update->source_url_.c_str());
     // Defer to main loop to avoid race condition on component_state_ read-modify-write
-    this_update->defer([this_update, msg]() { this_update->status_set_error(msg.c_str()); });
+    this_update->defer([this_update]() { this_update->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to parse manifest JSON")); });
     UPDATE_RETURN;
   }
 

esphome/components/lvgl/lvgl_esphome.cpp

@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ void LvglComponent::setup() {
     buffer = lv_custom_mem_alloc(buf_bytes);  // NOLINT
   }
   if (buffer == nullptr) {
-    this->status_set_error("Memory allocation failure");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Memory allocation failure"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@ void LvglComponent::setup() {
   if (this->rotation != display::DISPLAY_ROTATION_0_DEGREES) {
     this->rotate_buf_ = static_cast<lv_color_t *>(lv_custom_mem_alloc(buf_bytes));  // NOLINT
     if (this->rotate_buf_ == nullptr) {
-      this->status_set_error("Memory allocation failure");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Memory allocation failure"));
       this->mark_failed();
       return;
     }

esphome/components/max17043/max17043.cpp

@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@ void MAX17043Component::setup() {
 
   if (config_reg != MAX17043_CONFIG_POWER_UP_DEFAULT) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Device does not appear to be a MAX17043");
-    this->status_set_error("unrecognised");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("unrecognised"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }
 
   // need to write back to config register to reset the sleep bit
   if (!this->write_byte_16(MAX17043_CONFIG, MAX17043_CONFIG_POWER_UP_DEFAULT)) {
-    this->status_set_error("sleep reset failed");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("sleep reset failed"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/mixer/speaker/mixer_speaker.cpp

@@ -78,19 +78,20 @@ void SourceSpeaker::loop() {
       } else {
         switch (err) {
           case ESP_ERR_NO_MEM:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start mixer: not enough memory");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start mixer: not enough memory"));
             break;
           case ESP_ERR_NOT_SUPPORTED:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start mixer: unsupported bits per sample");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start mixer: unsupported bits per sample"));
             break;
           case ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start mixer: audio stream isn't compatible with the other audio stream.");
+            this->status_set_error(
+                LOG_STR("Failed to start mixer: audio stream isn't compatible with the other audio stream."));
             break;
           case ESP_ERR_INVALID_STATE:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start mixer: mixer task failed to start");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start mixer: mixer task failed to start"));
             break;
           default:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start mixer");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start mixer"));
             break;
         }
 
@@ -317,7 +318,7 @@ void MixerSpeaker::loop() {
     xEventGroupClearBits(this->event_group_, MixerEventGroupBits::STATE_STARTING);
   }
   if (event_group_bits & MixerEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NO_MEM) {
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to allocate the mixer's internal buffer");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to allocate the mixer's internal buffer"));
     xEventGroupClearBits(this->event_group_, MixerEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NO_MEM);
   }
   if (event_group_bits & MixerEventGroupBits::STATE_RUNNING) {

esphome/components/nau7802/nau7802.cpp

@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ void NAU7802Sensor::loop() {
       this->set_calibration_failure_(true);
       this->state_ = CalibrationState::INACTIVE;
       ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to calibrate sensor");
-      this->status_set_error("Calibration Failed");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Calibration Failed"));
       return;
     }
 

esphome/components/packet_transport/packet_transport.cpp

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ static void add(std::vector<uint8_t> &vec, const char *str) {
 void PacketTransport::setup() {
   this->name_ = App.get_name().c_str();
   if (strlen(this->name_) > 255) {
-    this->status_set_error("Device name exceeds 255 chars");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Device name exceeds 255 chars"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/resampler/speaker/resampler_speaker.cpp

@@ -66,17 +66,17 @@ void ResamplerSpeaker::loop() {
   }
 
   if (event_group_bits & ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NO_MEM) {
-    this->status_set_error("Resampler task failed to allocate the internal buffers");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Resampler task failed to allocate the internal buffers"));
     xEventGroupClearBits(this->event_group_, ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NO_MEM);
     this->state_ = speaker::STATE_STOPPING;
   }
   if (event_group_bits & ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NOT_SUPPORTED) {
-    this->status_set_error("Cannot resample due to an unsupported audio stream");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Cannot resample due to an unsupported audio stream"));
     xEventGroupClearBits(this->event_group_, ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_NOT_SUPPORTED);
     this->state_ = speaker::STATE_STOPPING;
   }
   if (event_group_bits & ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_FAIL) {
-    this->status_set_error("Resampler task failed");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Resampler task failed"));
     xEventGroupClearBits(this->event_group_, ResamplingEventGroupBits::ERR_ESP_FAIL);
     this->state_ = speaker::STATE_STOPPING;
   }
@@ -106,12 +106,12 @@ void ResamplerSpeaker::loop() {
       } else {
         switch (err) {
           case ESP_ERR_INVALID_STATE:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start resampler: resampler task failed to start");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start resampler: resampler task failed to start"));
             break;
           case ESP_ERR_NO_MEM:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start resampler: not enough memory for task stack");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start resampler: not enough memory for task stack"));
           default:
-            this->status_set_error("Failed to start resampler");
+            this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to start resampler"));
             break;
         }
 

esphome/components/sht4x/sht4x.cpp

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ void SHT4XComponent::start_heater_() {
 
   ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Heater turning on");
   if (this->write(cmd, 1) != i2c::ERROR_OK) {
-    this->status_set_error("Failed to turn on heater");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to turn on heater"));
   }
 }
 

esphome/components/udp/udp_component.cpp

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ void UDPComponent::setup() {
   if (this->should_broadcast_) {
     this->broadcast_socket_ = socket::socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, IPPROTO_IP);
     if (this->broadcast_socket_ == nullptr) {
-      this->status_set_error("Could not create socket");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Could not create socket"));
       this->mark_failed();
       return;
     }
@@ -41,14 +41,14 @@ void UDPComponent::setup() {
   if (this->should_listen_) {
     this->listen_socket_ = socket::socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, IPPROTO_IP);
     if (this->listen_socket_ == nullptr) {
-      this->status_set_error("Could not create socket");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Could not create socket"));
       this->mark_failed();
       return;
     }
     auto err = this->listen_socket_->setblocking(false);
     if (err < 0) {
       ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Unable to set nonblocking: errno %d", errno);
-      this->status_set_error("Unable to set nonblocking");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Unable to set nonblocking"));
       this->mark_failed();
       return;
     }
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ void UDPComponent::setup() {
       err = this->listen_socket_->setsockopt(IPPROTO_IP, IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP, &imreq, sizeof(imreq));
       if (err < 0) {
         ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Failed to set IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP. Error %d", errno);
-        this->status_set_error("Failed to set IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP");
+        this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to set IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP"));
         this->mark_failed();
         return;
       }
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ void UDPComponent::setup() {
     err = this->listen_socket_->bind((struct sockaddr *) &server, sizeof(server));
     if (err != 0) {
       ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Socket unable to bind: errno %d", errno);
-      this->status_set_error("Unable to bind socket");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Unable to bind socket"));
       this->mark_failed();
       return;
     }

esphome/components/usb_host/usb_host_client.cpp

@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ void USBClient::setup() {
   auto err = usb_host_client_register(&config, &this->handle_);
   if (err != ESP_OK) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "client register failed: %s", esp_err_to_name(err));
-    this->status_set_error("Client register failed");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Client register failed"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/usb_host/usb_host_component.cpp

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ void USBHost::setup() {
   usb_host_config_t config{};
 
   if (usb_host_install(&config) != ESP_OK) {
-    this->status_set_error("usb_host_install failed");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("usb_host_install failed"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/components/usb_uart/usb_uart.cpp

@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ static void fix_mps(const usb_ep_desc_t *ep) {
 void USBUartTypeCdcAcm::on_connected() {
   auto cdc_devs = this->parse_descriptors(this->device_handle_);
   if (cdc_devs.empty()) {
-    this->status_set_error("No CDC-ACM device found");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("No CDC-ACM device found"));
     this->disconnect();
     return;
   }
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ void USBUartTypeCdcAcm::on_connected() {
     if (err != ESP_OK) {
       ESP_LOGE(TAG, "usb_host_interface_claim failed: %s, channel=%d, intf=%d", esp_err_to_name(err), channel->index_,
                channel->cdc_dev_.bulk_interface_number);
-      this->status_set_error("usb_host_interface_claim failed");
+      this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("usb_host_interface_claim failed"));
       this->disconnect();
       return;
     }

esphome/components/voice_assistant/voice_assistant.cpp

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ void VoiceAssistant::loop() {
     case State::START_MICROPHONE: {
       ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Starting Microphone");
       if (!this->allocate_buffers_()) {
-        this->status_set_error("Failed to allocate buffers");
+        this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Failed to allocate buffers"));
         return;
       }
       if (this->status_has_error()) {

esphome/components/wake_on_lan/wake_on_lan.cpp

@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ void WakeOnLanButton::setup() {
 #if defined(USE_SOCKET_IMPL_BSD_SOCKETS) || defined(USE_SOCKET_IMPL_LWIP_SOCKETS)
   this->broadcast_socket_ = socket::socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, IPPROTO_IP);
   if (this->broadcast_socket_ == nullptr) {
-    this->status_set_error("Could not create socket");
+    this->status_set_error(LOG_STR("Could not create socket"));
     this->mark_failed();
     return;
   }

esphome/core/component.cpp

@@ -330,6 +330,31 @@ void Component::status_set_error(const char *message) {
     component_error_messages->emplace_back(ComponentErrorMessage{this, message});
   }
 }
+void Component::status_set_error(const LogString *message) {
+  if ((this->component_state_ & STATUS_LED_ERROR) != 0)
+    return;
+  this->component_state_ |= STATUS_LED_ERROR;
+  App.app_state_ |= STATUS_LED_ERROR;
+  ESP_LOGE(TAG, "%s set Error flag: %s", LOG_STR_ARG(this->get_component_log_str()),
+           message ? LOG_STR_ARG(message) : LOG_STR_LITERAL("unspecified"));
+  if (message != nullptr) {
+    // Lazy allocate the error messages vector if needed
+    if (!component_error_messages) {
+      component_error_messages = std::make_unique<std::vector<ComponentErrorMessage>>();
+    }
+    // Store the LogString pointer directly (safe because LogString is always in flash/static memory)
+    const char *msg_ptr = LOG_STR_ARG(message);
+    // Check if this component already has an error message
+    for (auto &entry : *component_error_messages) {
+      if (entry.component == this) {
+        entry.message = msg_ptr;
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+    // Add new error message
+    component_error_messages->emplace_back(ComponentErrorMessage{this, msg_ptr});
+  }
+}
 void Component::status_clear_warning() {
   if ((this->component_state_ & STATUS_LED_WARNING) == 0)
     return;

esphome/core/component.h

@@ -216,7 +216,10 @@ class Component {
   void status_set_warning(const char *message = nullptr);
   void status_set_warning(const LogString *message);
 
+  // Remove before 2026.12.0
+  ESPDEPRECATED("Use status_set_error(LOG_STR(\"message\")) instead. Removed in 2026.12.0", "2025.6.0")
   void status_set_error(const char *message = nullptr);
+  void status_set_error(const LogString *message);
 
   void status_clear_warning();