I turned an old iPhone into a Home Assistant wall panel, and it beats every dedicated controller I've tried
… That's what makes re-purposing old hardware a wise decision. …
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Smart home guides keep pushing the wrong starter setup – here are some tips that actually work
Ayush Pande Apr 14, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT Ayush Pande is a PC hardware and gaming writer. …
Home Assistant's new dashboard editor cuts setup time from 20 minutes to seconds
… That's all changed in 2026.6 as Home Assistant now listens on the same channel, using the same hardware. …
Google Home and Alexa can't do what I built in Home Assistant, and that's the whole point
Ayush Pande May 7, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT Ayush Pande is a PC hardware and gaming writer. …
Home Assistant just made every infrared device in your house controllable, and you probably already own them
… You can buy an IR blaster or build one for a similar price Your hardware options for IR control You can buy a commercially available IR blaster, like the Seeed Studio XIAO IR Mate , which sells for $10. It is ESPHome-friendly, and you can flash a custom firmware directly to it. …
I moved my Zigbee coordinator off a Raspberry Pi after a year and everything got better
… For a starter smart home setup with limited devices, the Pi is still a good choice. If you are adding over 10 Zigbee devices and constantly troubleshooting their connectivity, it’s worth migrating to better hardware. …
Most smart home gear gets worse once you connect it to the cloud
… But as a proud member of this community, let me assure you that building a completely local smart home setup has become more beginner-friendly than ever. …
Home Assistant's intimidating reputation is completely undeserved once you survive the first week
Ayush Pande Apr 19, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Ayush Pande is a PC hardware and gaming writer. …
I revived my old Android phone by turning it into a better voice assistant than any smart speaker I've owned
Ayush Pande Mar 29, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Ayush Pande is a PC hardware and gaming writer. …
My entire smart home runs on a single Docker container now, and I'm never going back
… While the community often points beginners toward Home Assistant OS, I wanted the lean, mean efficiency of a containerized setup. …