Home Assistant 2026.9 improves security, history and Matter insights

Home Assistant 2026.9 focuses mainly on giving you a clearer view of what is happening in your smart home. The security dashboard is becoming easier to understand, History and Activity are simpler to search, and you can more easily determine why a device changed state. Matter also gets its own network map. The update is currently still in beta, so parts of it may change before the final release.

Home Assistant 2026.9 security dashboard shows active alerts

The built-in security dashboard gains a section for active alerts in Home Assistant 2026.9. You decide which entities may appear there and whether an event is shown as a warning or a more serious alarm. An open window can therefore be treated differently from a smoke detector that has actually detected smoke. When nothing requires attention, the section remains hidden and does not take up unnecessary space.

You can also pin favourite entities to the top of the security dashboard. Frequently used locks, doors and sensors are then immediately accessible, without having to find them among all your other devices each time. Both improvements can be configured through the same editor.

History and Activity become easier to understand

The History and Activity pages receive a shared sources panel. From this panel, you can select floors, areas, devices and entities, then filter further by integration, domain and device type. This makes it easier to view only the motion sensors on a particular floor, for example. Home Assistant remembers your selected filters for your next visit.

A more important improvement is that Activity shows not only what changed, but also why it happened. If a light was switched on or a lock was opened, a new details window displays the complete chain of events. You can see which person, state change or schedule initiated the action, which automation or script ran next, and which entity ultimately changed. Each step is clickable, and an automation links directly to its trace. This can make unexpected behaviour much easier to diagnose.

Home Assistant 2026.9 adds a Matter network map

Home Assistant already lets you inspect how Zigbee, Z-Wave and Bluetooth devices are connected. Version 2026.9 brings a similar network map to the Matter panel. It shows which devices communicate over Thread or Wi-Fi, which devices act as routers or Thread border routers, and which route Home Assistant uses to reach each device. Offline devices are visible as well.

Connection colours distinguish Thread from Wi-Fi. The direction and thickness of each line also provide information about the connection and signal strength. Where possible, familiar names for border routers and access points replace unclear serial numbers. This makes the map particularly useful when investigating an unstable Matter or Thread network.

New controls for tile cards

Tile cards also gain several practical controls. For supported lights, you can select and view lighting effects directly from the tile. Robot vacuum cleaners receive a fan-speed control, while climate devices with humidity control can use the same target-humidity control already available for humidifiers.

Home Assistant also mentions improvements to existing integrations, including broader support for Shelly cameras and dock controls for certain Roborock models. These brand-specific additions are useful, but the most important change in Home Assistant 2026.9 is that the platform’s core behaviour becomes easier to understand. The final release is planned for early September. Until then, the official beta release notes remain a work in progress.