Home Assistant 2026.4 is here, and this might just be one of the most exciting releases yet. With native infrared (IR) support, purpose-specific automation triggers, dashboard background colors, Matter lock user management, and a batch of new integrations, there is a lot to unpack. Let’s dive into the highlights.
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Native Infrared Control: Your Legacy Devices Just Got Smarter
One of the biggest new features in 2026.4 is native infrared support. This means you can now control devices like TVs, air conditioners, and soundbars directly from Home Assistant — without replacing a single piece of hardware.
To get started, you’ll need an infrared blaster device. A great example is the Xiao Smart IR Mate, a small and affordable IR sender that works with Home Assistant out of the box. There is already one integration ready to use it: LG Infrared, which lets you control LG TVs through this device.
Setting it up is straightforward:
- Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration
- Search for “LG Infrared” and connect your IR blaster
- On the ESPHome ready-made projects page, you can also flash the device using the infrared proxy option
The best part: one IR blaster can serve multiple rooms. Control TVs in your living room, an AC in the bedroom, and more — all from a single affordable device. Expect more integrations to follow as this feature matures.
Purpose-Specific Automation Triggers: A More Human Way to Automate
Home Assistant continues its evolution toward a more intuitive automation interface. In 2026.4, the new purpose-specific triggers and conditions have received a major update: you can now target areas and labels instead of individual entities.
For example, you can set a motion trigger and point it at a whole area (like “office”) instead of manually picking each sensor. Home Assistant will automatically detect all relevant entities in that area — five motion sensors? It handles them all.
This release also adds a wide range of new trigger types:
- Battery: battery level changed, battery low, battery start/stop charging
- Doors: door opened, door closed
- Garage doors: garage door opened, garage door closed
- Illuminance: illuminance changed, light detected, light cleared
- Temperature: temperature crossed threshold
This new interface is only available through LABS for now. Enable it under Settings → System → Labs. The speed at which this interface is filling out suggests it won’t be long before it becomes the default automation editor.
Dashboard Upgrades: Colors, Favorites & Better Cards
Section Background Colors
You can now add background colors to individual dashboard sections. Click the pencil icon on any section, enable the background option, pick your color, and adjust opacity. A small but welcome visual customization for anyone who loves a colorful, organized dashboard.
Light Color Favorites & Cover Favorite Positions
Tile cards now support two new features:
- Light Color Favorites — Save your preferred light colors as quick-access buttons directly on the card
- Cover Favorite Positions — Add preset positions (0%, 25%, 75%, 100%) to your cover/blind cards
You can also copy favorites from one entity to another using the three-dot menu → “Copy favorites to”. Great for keeping multiple lights or blinds in sync without setting things up twice.
Improved Gauge Card & Vertical Stack Auto Height
The Gauge card has received a visual refresh with a cleaner look, needle mode support, and configurable severity colors. Meanwhile, Vertical Stack cards now support an “Auto Height” layout option, so the card automatically adjusts its height based on content — no more awkward empty space.
New Entity Naming Convention: Check Your Dashboard
This is a backward-incompatible change that could affect the appearance of your dashboards. Entity names will now display the full device name + entity name (e.g., “Whole Upstairs Motion Sensor Occupancy” instead of just “Occupancy”). If you manually renamed entities before, you may notice longer or different names appearing on your tiles.
The good news: for voice assistants, a migration runs automatically on upgrade. Any custom names you gave entities before are preserved as aliases, so your voice commands will continue to work without any manual intervention.
Matter Lock Management: Add Users & PIN Codes
If you have a Matter-compatible lock, 2026.4 adds a new “Manage Lock” interface. From here you can add users, set PIN codes, and grant full or one-time access — all from within Home Assistant. Note that compatibility depends on your specific lock; the SwitchBot Lock Ultra, for example, is not yet fully supported at release but should receive an update shortly.
New Integrations in 2026.4
This release brings a solid batch of new integrations:
- Dropbox — Use your Dropbox account as a Home Assistant backup destination
- LG Infrared — Control LG TVs via IR blaster
- OpenDisplay — Support for OpenDisplay BLE e-paper devices
- Autoskope, Casper Glow, Chess.com, Fresh-r, Unify Access — Manage locks, doors, and access readers locally
Noteworthy updates to existing integrations include:
- SmartThings — Fan speed controls, driving mode, cleaning type, water spray level
- Roborock — Q10 vacuum now supported
- SwitchBot — Keypad Vision support with doorbell events and charging sensors
- Govee BLE, Gardena Bluetooth, SwitchBot Cloud — Various improvements
Voice assistant users also get a new bonus: you can now tell your vacuum to clean specific rooms by name, with the “clean the kitchen” command now available.
Backward-Incompatible Changes to Check Before Updating
Before you hit that update button, review these breaking changes:
- Entity naming convention (dashboard card labels may change)
- Litter-Robot 4 — Nightlight mode switch entity has been removed
- Motion Blinds — Changes to tilt position handling
- MQTT, Pyload, TUYA, Z-Wave — Review the release notes for specifics
Always check the official Home Assistant 2026.4 release notes for the full list before upgrading.
Conclusion
Home Assistant 2026.4 is a release that makes your smart home genuinely smarter without requiring you to spend a fortune. Native infrared support alone is a game-changer — suddenly all those legacy TVs and air conditioners become part of your automation setup with a single affordable device.
Combined with the maturing automation interface, dashboard polish, and a strong integration lineup, this update is well worth installing. Just double-check those backward-incompatible changes first!
Watch the full video on the SmartHomeJunkie YouTube channel for a hands-on walkthrough of all these features. And if you found this helpful, consider supporting the channel via Patreon or Ko-fi.
