[V3] ESP32_RMT_LED_STRIP (SK6812, RGBW) color options not shown in webserver until updated by HA

[Plawasan]

ESPHome v2026.1.0

I have a single SK6812 RGBWW LED set up like this:

  - platform: esp32_rmt_led_strip
    id: gauge_1_backlight
    num_leds: 1
    chipset: SK6812
    rgb_order: GRB
    icon: mdi:gauge
    name: "Gauge 1 Backlight"
    pin:  GPIO12
    is_rgbw: true

When I restart the node, I only see on/off/brightness controls (which all work as expected) but not any color options:

in HA the light shows up correctly:

and only when I adjust either the color slider or the W slider in HA, the color picker then shows up in the webserver:

Related - even when it does show up, there's no way to adjust the W component via the web, I can only adjust RGB.

events fresh after reboot:

event: state
data: {"id":"light/Gauge 1 Backlight","domain":"light","name":"Gauge 1 Backlight","icon":"mdi:gauge","entity_category":0,"value":"ON","color_mode":"white","state":"ON","brightness":255,"color":{"w":255},"white_value":255,"effects":["None"]}

and after I've adjusted the sliders in HA:

event: state
data: {"id":"light/Gauge 1 Backlight","domain":"light","name":"Gauge 1 Backlight","icon":"mdi:gauge","entity_category":0,"value":"ON","color_mode":"rgbw","state":"ON","brightness":255,"color":{"r":128,"g":128,"b":128,"w":0},"white_value":0,"effects":["None"]}