Home Assistant Guide

Home Assistant Updates – Beginner's Guide

Home Assistant is always evolving – regular updates bring new features, improvements, and fixes to your smart home. Keeping up to date helps you get the most out of Home Assistant, while also keeping your system secure and stable.

Why update?

• New Features: Updates often add exciting new integrations, automations, and user interface improvements.
• Bug Fixes & Security: Issues are fixed and security holes are patched, making your system safer and more reliable.
• Better Compatibility: Support for new devices, standards, and services is added.

How do I know when an update is available?

• Notification: Home Assistant usually shows a notification at the bottom of the screen when a new update is released.
• Settings Menu: Go to Settings → System → Updates. Here you'll see available updates for Home Assistant Core, Supervisor, OS, and add-ons.

Reading Release Notes

Before updating, it's a good idea to read the release notes. These are detailed lists of what's new, improved, or changed in the update. You'll find them linked in the update dialog, or on the Home Assistant Blog.

The Update Process

1. Backup: Always create a backup before updating. This is called a snapshot in Home Assistant. You can find this option under Settings → System → Backups. Backups save your configuration and data in case you need to roll back.
2. Start the Update: Go to Settings → System → Updates, and click Update next to Home Assistant Core (or any component). The process is mostly automatic.
3. Wait for Reboot: Home Assistant will restart to apply the update. This usually takes a few minutes.
4. Check Everything Works: After updating, check your dashboards and automations to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Backups & Rollbacks

• Backups (snapshots) store a copy of your system and settings. It's best to create one before any update.
• If something goes wrong, you can restore a backup from the Settings → System → Backups page. This will roll your system back to the previous state.

What are "Breaking Changes"?

Sometimes, updates change or remove features in a way that may require you to adjust your setup. These are called breaking changes. For example, an integration might change how you set up a device, or an automation feature might work differently. Breaking changes are always listed in the release notes – read these carefully before updating, especially if you use custom or advanced features.

Tips

• Don't rush major updates – especially if your setup is complex. Read the release notes and community feedback first.
• Keep regular backups, not just before updates. This will make recovery easy if anything unexpected happens.
• If in doubt, wait a few days. Any major issues are usually reported quickly and fixed in minor updates.