A tablet can work well as a shared smart-home panel when it runs the Home Assistant Companion app and opens a dashboard designed for touch. You need a running Home Assistant server, a tablet that meets the app’s operating-system requirement, and a reliable way to keep the device on the network and powered. Android can use Home Assistant as the system launcher; iPad uses the app’s Kiosk mode and, when you need to prevent people leaving the app, Apple’s Guided Access.
This is a Home Assistant dashboard installation, not a way to turn any tablet into a universal native hub for every smart-home platform. The steps below cover setup, account permissions, screen behavior, security, and the trade-offs between Android and iPad.
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What you need before starting
The tablet is only the screen. Home Assistant continues to run on a server elsewhere in your home or on a remote installation, and the tablet connects to that server through the Companion app.
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- A running Home Assistant server that you can access with a user account.
- The Home Assistant Companion app installed on the tablet.
- A Wi-Fi network that can reach the Home Assistant server, or a correctly configured remote-access URL.
- Android 6 or later, or iOS 16.4 or later, for the general Companion app setup documented by Home Assistant. Requirements can change with future app releases, so check the current getting-started documentation if your tablet is older.
- For the current iPad Kiosk mode feature specifically, an iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 2026.7.0 or later, with the Kiosk mode Labs feature available in the Companion app.
- Home Assistant 2025.2.0 or later if you want the frontend kiosk support that hides dashboard controls in the iOS app.
The operating-system versions above are documented minimums for the named features, not a recommendation to buy a particular tablet. A device may meet the version number but still have manufacturer-specific power, browser, or display behavior that differs from another model.
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Connect the tablet to Home Assistant
- Install the Companion app. Download the official Home Assistant Companion app for Android or iPadOS and open it.
- Put the tablet on the same home network. During onboarding, the app can search for a Home Assistant server on the local network. If discovery does not find it, choose the option to enter the server URL manually.
- Sign in. Use a Home Assistant account that has access to the entities and dashboard you want on the panel.
- Confirm the connection method. If you use an HTTP (unencrypted) local address, the onboarding documentation describes allowing unencrypted connections only on the home network as the most secure of its non-encrypted choices; that option requires location permission. Allowing unencrypted connections from any network is less secure and is not recommended for public networks.
- Choose a remote-access method when the panel is outside your home network. The Companion App Networking guide describes Home Assistant Cloud as an encrypted tunnel that avoids opening inbound traffic to your home network, along with self-managed remote-access approaches. Do not expose an unencrypted Home Assistant URL to the public internet.
After login, verify that the tablet can operate a light or another low-risk device before mounting it. This catches wrong-user, wrong-server, and network problems while the device is still easy to reach.
Build a dashboard that works as a wall panel
A wall display should answer common household tasks immediately rather than reproduce every page in your Home Assistant installation. Create a dashboard specifically for the tablet and put the most frequently used controls first.
Good first-screen contents
- Frequently used lights and scenes, grouped by room.
- Thermostat or other climate controls with the current temperature visible.
- Door, window, alarm, and garage status where those controls are appropriate for the account using the panel.
- A concise home-status area for presence, leaks, smoke, or other alerts that the household needs to see.
- Only the information that remains useful at the tablet’s viewing distance. Dense history graphs and rarely used configuration controls belong on a full computer or phone dashboard.
Use large touch targets, short labels, and a layout that can be understood by a guest who has not configured the system. Avoid putting destructive or highly sensitive actions on a panel that can be reached by visitors. The dashboard should be purpose-specific, not a complete copy of an administrator’s workspace.
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Use a separate display user
Home Assistant supports separate household users and roles. A regular user can control the home but cannot change Home Assistant settings, while dashboards can be customized for each user. The household-use guidance explains these roles at Home Assistant’s household FAQ.
Create a dedicated account for a permanently mounted tablet when possible. Give it only the access needed for that location, and do not use an administrator account merely because the panel is convenient. On Android, a separate user for each kiosk also lets you assign a different default dashboard to each device.
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Android or iPad: which display path fits?
| Decision point | Android tablet | iPad |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated-display mechanism | Home Assistant Companion can become the Android system home app (launcher). | Home Assistant Companion uses its in-app Kiosk mode. |
| Device-level app locking | The launcher changes how the Home button and app launching work; the documented setup is not a general Android lock-task guarantee. | Use Apple Guided Access separately if people must not leave Home Assistant. |
| Screen behavior | The Companion app provides a Keep screen on setting. | Kiosk mode can keep the display awake, hide interface elements, reload the dashboard, and use clock, dim, or blank screensavers. Optional camera-motion wake can return the dashboard after activity. |
| Relevant versions | Android 6+ for the general Companion onboarding documented by Home Assistant. | iOS/iPadOS 16.4+ for general onboarding; iOS/iPadOS 2026.7.0+ for the current Kiosk mode feature, and Home Assistant 2025.2.0+ for frontend kiosk support that hides controls. |
| Best fit | A dedicated panel that should boot directly into Home Assistant and use a per-device default dashboard. | A panel where in-app presentation controls, screensavers, and optional Guided Access are more important than replacing the system launcher. |
The documented feature sets do not establish which platform has better battery life, brightness, touch response, or long-term reliability. Those depend on the exact tablet and installation.
Set up an Android tablet as the Home Assistant launcher
Android’s launcher integration makes Home Assistant the destination shown when the device is started or when the Home button is used. Home Assistant describes the result as a device that boots directly into Home Assistant, which is useful for a dedicated smart-home control panel.
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Enable the launcher
- Open the Home Assistant Companion app.
- Go to Settings > Companion app.
- Scroll to Device home screen.
- Enable Use as Home app (launcher).
- When Android asks which home app to use, select Home Assistant as the system home app.
- Restart the tablet and confirm that Home Assistant opens as the home screen.
The exact wording of the Android system chooser can vary by manufacturer, but the Companion app path above is the documented route. Read the limitation before enabling it: the normal app drawer is unavailable from the Home button, and other apps cannot be launched in the traditional way. The Android guide notes that apps can instead be opened through Android settings or by adding dashboard buttons that launch apps using notification commands.
Assign the tablet’s dashboard
- Sign in as the display user you created for this tablet.
- Open Settings > Dashboards.
- Select the dashboard intended for the panel.
- Choose Set as default on this device.
Because the default is associated with the device user, separate kiosk accounts can have separate dashboards. For example, a kitchen tablet can show lights, scenes, and climate while a bedroom panel shows only bedroom controls and alarm status.
Keep the Android screen awake
- In the Companion app, open Settings > Companion app.
- Open Other settings.
- Enable Keep screen on.
This is the documented Companion-app setting. Android manufacturers may still apply their own battery, thermal, or display policies, so check the panel after a long unattended period rather than assuming every device behaves identically.
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Before switching the launcher, know how to reach Android settings on that model. If you need another app, the Home Assistant launcher arrangement means the usual app-drawer gesture or Home-button route may not work. Use the device’s settings path documented by its manufacturer, or temporarily change the default home app in Android settings. Keep the display user’s credentials available so you can sign back in after changing launcher settings.
Set up an iPad with Kiosk mode
iPad Kiosk mode controls the presentation inside the Home Assistant app. It is separate from Apple’s device-level app lock, so decide whether you need only a clean dashboard or a panel that cannot be exited by a visitor.
Enable and configure Kiosk mode
- Update the iPad to iPadOS 2026.7.0 or later and update the Home Assistant Companion app.
- Open Home Assistant and go to Settings > Kiosk mode.
- Turn on Enabled.
- Select the Home Assistant server and the dashboard to display.
- Choose the presentation options you need: keep the display awake, hide the sidebar, hide dashboard controls, hide the iOS status bar, reload the dashboard at a selected interval, and show a screensaver after inactivity.
Hiding dashboard controls requires a Home Assistant frontend that supports kiosk mode; the iOS guide specifies Home Assistant 2025.2.0 or later for that capability. If a control does not disappear, check both the frontend version and the app’s Kiosk mode Labs feature rather than assuming the tablet is defective.
Lock the iPad to Home Assistant with Guided Access
Kiosk mode changes what happens inside Home Assistant, but it does not stop someone from leaving the app or turning off the iPad. When the panel must remain in one app, open Home Assistant and triple-click the iPad’s side button or Home button to start Apple Guided Access. Guided Access locks the device to that app until its passcode is entered.
Use a Guided Access passcode that is not shared with casual users. Remember that Guided Access is an Apple accessibility feature layered on top of Home Assistant; disabling Kiosk mode and ending Guided Access are separate actions.
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Choose an iPad screensaver behavior
- Clock: shows a clock after inactivity.
- Dim: reduces the brightness of the existing dashboard.
- Blank: shows a blank screen. The iOS guide identifies this as the most power-efficient option and the best choice for OLED displays.
Kiosk mode can optionally use the front camera to detect motion and treat it as activity, bringing the dashboard back. Camera-based wake is an available option, not a requirement; consider the privacy expectations and viewing angle of the room before enabling it.
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A display in a hallway or kitchen is physically accessible to anyone nearby. The account signed into Home Assistant therefore matters as much as the kiosk setting.
- Use a regular display user instead of an administrator account whenever the panel only needs to operate devices.
- Customize the dashboard for that user so sensitive settings, logs, and unrelated controls are not exposed.
- Do not place a remote-access URL with weak protection on a publicly reachable network. For remote viewing, follow the encrypted-tunnel or self-managed approaches in the networking documentation.
- If the tablet is shared with guests, review which locks, garage controls, alarm actions, cameras, and presence information that account can reach.
- When a panel is decommissioned, sign out or remove its user access rather than leaving a cached session on the device.
Choose the tablet, mount, and power arrangement
The official Home Assistant documentation establishes software paths for Android tablets and iPads, but it does not compare tablet models, screen sizes, brightness, battery aging, charging systems, mounts, or thermal performance. There is no evidence here for naming a best tablet or claiming that a particular charging method protects a battery.
Choose a tablet that supports the required operating-system and Companion-app versions, is readable from the intended location, and has controls you can reach when you need to recover the device. A compatible wall mount is optional: it makes sense for a permanent hallway or kitchen panel, while a stand may be better for a bedside or countertop display. Match any mount and power equipment to the exact tablet model and installation surface.
Troubleshoot the most common setup failures
The app cannot find Home Assistant
- Confirm that the tablet and Home Assistant server are on the same network, not an isolated guest network.
- Open the onboarding option to enter the server URL manually.
- Verify that the address points to the correct Home Assistant installation and that the server is running.
- If the tablet is outside the home, use a configured remote-access URL and review the security guidance in the getting-started documentation and networking documentation.
Login succeeds but controls are missing
Check which Home Assistant user is signed in and whether that user can see the entities. A kiosk-specific dashboard may intentionally omit controls that exist on an administrator’s dashboard. Sign in with the display account on another device to distinguish a dashboard design issue from a tablet connection issue.
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Android keeps showing the normal home screen
Return to Settings > Companion app > Device home screen, enable Use as Home app (launcher), and select Home Assistant in Android’s system home-app chooser. Some Android versions reset the default after an update or when another launcher is selected; recheck the system default if the behavior changes.
The Android panel is difficult to exit or open another app
This is the expected launcher trade-off: the app drawer is not available from the Home button in the normal way. Use Android settings to change the default home app, or add deliberate dashboard buttons for approved app launches. Do this before handing the panel to someone who may need ordinary tablet functions.
iPad Kiosk mode hides fewer controls than expected
Confirm that the Companion app’s Kiosk mode Labs feature is enabled, that the selected server and dashboard are correct, and that the Home Assistant frontend is 2025.2.0 or later for dashboard-control hiding. Kiosk presentation settings cannot replace Guided Access when the problem is that someone can leave Home Assistant.
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On Android, check Settings > Companion app > Other settings > Keep screen on. On iPad, review the Kiosk mode keep-awake and screensaver choices. A continuously lit panel consumes more power than a clock, dim, or blank screensaver, so choose the behavior that matches whether the display is meant to be read constantly or only when someone approaches.
A practical installation sequence
- Update the tablet and verify that its operating system meets the relevant Companion-app requirement.
- Install Home Assistant Companion, connect to the server, and test one harmless device control.
- Create a regular display user and a dashboard limited to frequent household tasks.
- Apply the Android launcher steps or the iPad Kiosk mode steps for the chosen platform.
- Configure screen wake, dimming, blanking, reload intervals, and Guided Access only after the dashboard itself is correct.
- Mount or place the tablet, then test Wi-Fi reachability, touch operation, visibility, and recovery access from its final location.
- Recheck the panel after an overnight period and after a tablet or Home Assistant update; power-management and default-launcher behavior can change with software updates.
With those pieces in place, the tablet becomes a focused Home Assistant control surface: Android starts at the dashboard through its launcher, while iPad presents the dashboard through Kiosk mode and can be locked to the app with Guided Access when the installation calls for it.
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