External thermostat without using Faikin auto mode

[thehedgefrog]

I have electric baseboards and smart thermostats in every room. I also have a mini split on each level (2 of them total). It's easy for me to get that temperature and send it to MQTT but I want to use normal heat/cool modes, not the Faikin-auto mode.

Can I use that temperature as a reference for (each) Faikin instead of its internal reference? I tried command/faikin/control but temp doesn't work, and env sets the Env value on the Faikin GUI but it's still relying on the home temp which seems to be its internal thermostat. From what I'm seeing, it displays the env temperature in Home Assistant, but the actual unit tracks the home temp it gets from itself.

Am I missing something simple? Thanks!

[thehedgefrog]

Just to document what I've got so far, it seems like overriding the thermostat is not possible. That brings me to two questions.

1. With the Lock option of the Faikin Auto mode, can I choose Cool or Heat as normal and not be locked into the Auto mode?

2. Is it possible to natively via HA use the integration as is to adjust the Faikin Auto target, or will that only affect the thermostat target and I will need to send the target via MQTT? I'm trying to keep the functionality as seamless as possible for my wife to be able to use it like any other Home Assistant thermostat.