Home Assistant 2026.11: 5 Checks Before You Update

Last updated: November 11, 2026

Short answer: Home Assistant 2026.11, released November 4, 2026, is the project's biggest release ever, with 4,858 merged pull requests. It folds HACS into a built-in Marketplace, renames entities from their device context, and tightens login checks so Tailscale remote access can fail with "Invalid client id". Update to 2026.11.1, back up first, and check Z-Wave, Ring and Telegram before you start.

Home Assistant 2026.11 update — check Tailscale login, HACS Marketplace and renamed entities before updating

Contents

  • What's new in Home Assistant 2026.11
  • Check 1: Tailscale login — the "Invalid client id" trap
  • Check 2: Z-Wave — update the server first
  • Check 3: Ring and Telegram removals
  • Check 4: Renamed entities and your dashboards
  • Check 5: Back up, then update to 2026.11.1
  • Frequently asked questions

Home Assistant 2026.11 landed on November 4, 2026 with 4,858 merged pull requests — the biggest release the project has ever shipped — and it changes three things self-hosters touch every day: how you install community integrations, what your entities are called, and how you log in remotely. A patch release, 2026.11.1, followed on November 9, 2026, so the version to install today is 2026.11.1, not the original 2026.11.0. This guide covers what is new, the five checks to run before you update a self-hosted install, and the exact Docker upgrade steps.

What's new in Home Assistant 2026.11

The headline change is the Marketplace. HACS, the Home Assistant Community Store, is now built into Home Assistant under Settings, then Marketplace, on every installation type, including Home Assistant Container. There is nothing to set up and no GitHub account is needed to install anything. If you use HACS today, Home Assistant migrates it when it starts after the update: everything you installed stays installed and keeps getting updates, and your custom repositories carry over. The HACS installer stops at 2026.11, so a separate HACS installation is no longer possible on this version. One thing to know before you install anything new: everything in the Marketplace is made by the community. It is not tested, audited, or supported by the Home Assistant project, and the first time you open it you must accept a risk notice.

Entity naming got a complete rethink after more than four years. An entity's name is now built from the entity itself and its context, usually the device. A temperature sensor on a thermostat, for example, now shows as "Thermostat Temperature". Your entity IDs, automations, and scripts are not affected, and the old names stay as voice-assistant aliases. Templates should use entity_name(), device_name(), and area_name() instead of the friendly_name attribute, which is being deprecated.

The release also adds Matter 1.5 cameras with live video and two-way talk, LoRaWAN support for ChirpStack and The Things Network, the option to store backups and media on a local or USB drive under Settings, System, Storage, target exclusions for automations, and 38 new integrations. Home Assistant Container, the Docker install, gets all of this — but note that Container installs cannot use add-ons. If you need add-ons, you want Home Assistant OS instead.

Check 1: Tailscale login — the "Invalid client id" trap

This is the check most likely to bite a self-hoster, because it targets the exact way homelabs reach Home Assistant remotely. When you reach Home Assistant at an IP address that is not on a local network — a public address, a global IPv6 address, or a Tailscale address in the 100.64.0.0/10 range — the address in your browser must now match the address Home Assistant sees the request coming in on. Scheme, host, and port all have to match. If they do not, logging in fails with "Invalid client id". Previously, such an address was accepted without that check as soon as it had a port, because of a bug in the check, and 2026.11 fixes that bug.

Most setups are not affected. Opening Home Assistant directly at such an address keeps working, and so does a reverse proxy that you have set up as a trusted proxy in the HTTP integration, because Home Assistant then uses the forwarded scheme and host. Domain names and local network IP addresses are accepted the same way as before. If you do run into "Invalid client id", add your proxy to the trusted proxies of the HTTP integration, or reach Home Assistant through a domain name. Test your remote login path before you update, not after, so you are not locked out of your own house.

Check 2: Z-Wave — update the server first

If you run Z-Wave, update its server before you update Home Assistant. This release requires zwave-js-server 3.11.0 or newer, using schema 51. If you use the Z-Wave JS app, you need at least version 1.9.0. If you use the Z-Wave JS UI Docker container, update it to its latest release. If you run your own Docker container or some other installation method, update your zwave-js-server instance to at least 3.11.0.

Multi-endpoint Z-Wave devices change shape, too. Entities for features on non-root endpoints now live on their own child devices of the main device. A thermostat with three temperature sensors becomes a main device with one child device per sensor, each named after its endpoint label. Entity IDs stay the same, and automations that target the main device keep working, because targeting a device also targets the entities of its child devices. One entity does disappear: the redundant endpoint-2 "slat" value of the Fibaro FGR223 and the Shelly Qubino Wave Shutter is no longer created, so if you had enabled that cover entity, it is gone.

Check 3: Ring and Telegram removals

Two long-deprecated pieces are finally gone in 2026.11. Several Ring entities that were deprecated in Home Assistant 2024.9 have now been removed: the ding and motion binary sensors and the last ding and last motion sensors are gone, so use the event entities instead; the volume sensors, including the doorbell, microphone, and voice volume sensors, are gone, so use the number entities instead, which also let you change the volume; and the siren switch is gone, so use the siren entity instead. If you use any of these entities in an automation, script, or dashboard, update it to use its replacement.

The legacy Telegram notify platform, the notify entry with platform telegram in YAML, deprecated in 2025.11, has been removed, and its notify actions no longer exist. Use the notify entities of the Telegram bot integration instead: add each chat ID as a subentry of your Telegram bot and send messages with the notify.send_message action. Remove the platform telegram entries from the notify section of your configuration.yaml file, or Home Assistant shows a repair issue.

Two more removals deserve a line. Multi-channel Tuya devices now put each channel's entities on their own Channel device, as a child device of the main one. Entity IDs and history are kept, but names change: an entity called "Socket 1" becomes "Socket" on the "Channel 1" device, so update templates, dashboard cards, and notifications that use friendly_name or the old entity name. And support for Uptime Kuma versions earlier than 2.0.0 has been dropped, so update Uptime Kuma before updating Home Assistant if you use an older version.

Check 4: Renamed entities and your dashboards

The entity rename is the change you will notice most on your dashboards. Cards, badges, and rows that do not have a name set now show the device name followed by the entity name, instead of the friendly name. An entity you named "Off-peak consumption" on the "Power meter" device now shows as "Power meter Off-peak consumption". To keep a short name, rename the device and turn on Main entity of the device for the entity that represents the device, or set a name on the card.

Update your custom cards first. Home Assistant worked with the creators of dozens of popular custom cards so they show names the same way as the built-in cards, and many have already added support. If a card still shows a name you do not expect, set a name in the card, or let its creator know. ZHA groups get their own devices in this release, too: target the group entities or the new group devices instead of the coordinator device, and give the new group devices an area of their own if you relied on the coordinator's area.

Check 5: Back up, then update to 2026.11.1

With the checks done, the update itself is a routine Docker upgrade. The official install docs use the image ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable, and the upgrade is pull, stop, remove, and recreate: your configuration lives in the mounted config volume, so it survives the recreate. The same pull-and-recreate routine applies to your other self-hosted services, and it is worth reading our guide to keeping a Docker container updated without breaking it if you have never done one by hand. Follow the five steps below exactly, and do not skip the backup: there is no undo button for a broken update.

If you installed Home Assistant Container with the documented docker run command, it looks like this. Replace the two placeholders with your own values: /PATH_TO_YOUR_CONFIG is the folder where you store your configuration, and MY_TIME_ZONE is your time zone, for example Europe/London. Docker Engine 23.0.0 or later is required, and Docker Desktop will not work for this install type.

docker run -d \ --name homeassistant \ --privileged \ --restart=unless-stopped \ -e TZ=MY_TIME_ZONE \ -v /PATH_TO_YOUR_CONFIG:/config \ -v /run/dbus:/run/dbus:ro \ --network=host \ ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
  1. Take a full backup first. In Home Assistant, go to Settings, System, Backups, and create a full backup. Download a copy off the machine before you touch anything, because there is no undo button for a broken update.
  2. Check the five items above. Confirm your Z-Wave server version, your Ring and Telegram usage, your Tailscale or reverse-proxy login path, and any templates that use friendly_name.
  3. Pull the new image. On your Docker host, run docker pull ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable and wait for the download to finish.
  4. Stop, remove, and recreate the container. Run docker stop homeassistant, then docker rm homeassistant, then start it again with the same docker run command you installed it with, keeping your config volume and network settings unchanged.
  5. Verify the new version. Open Home Assistant, go to Settings, System, About, and confirm the version reads 2026.11.1. Check that your dashboards, automations, and Z-Wave devices all work before you call it done.

One more habit from our other self-hosted services applies here, too: patch promptly when a fix lands, and keep a backup from before the update until the new version has run clean for a day. Our walkthrough of self-hosted automation in Docker and our guide to patching a self-hosted service the night a fix lands use the same routine, and it works because the backup comes first, every time.

Frequently asked questions

Should I update to Home Assistant 2026.11 now?

Yes, update straight to 2026.11.1, the November 9 patch release, not the original 2026.11.0. Do the five checks in this guide first if you use HACS, Z-Wave, Ring, Telegram, or Tailscale remote access, and take a full backup before you start.

Why does Home Assistant 2026.11 say Invalid client id over Tailscale?

Because 2026.11 fixed a bug in the login check. When you reach Home Assistant at a non-local address such as a Tailscale address, the address in your browser must now match the address Home Assistant sees, including scheme, host, and port. Add your reverse proxy to the trusted proxies in the HTTP integration, or reach Home Assistant through a domain name.

What happened to HACS in Home Assistant 2026.11?

HACS is now built into Home Assistant as the Marketplace, under Settings, Marketplace. Everything you installed through HACS stays installed and keeps getting updates, and the HACS installer stops at 2026.11. You cannot install HACS separately on this version, and Marketplace items are made by the community, not tested or supported by the Home Assistant project.

Why did my entity names change after updating to Home Assistant 2026.11?

Because 2026.11 rebuilds entity names from the entity and its device context. Your entity IDs, automations, and scripts are not affected, and the old names stay as voice-assistant aliases. To shorten a name, rename the device, turn on Main entity of the device, or set a name on the card.

What Z-Wave version do I need for Home Assistant 2026.11?

You need zwave-js-server 3.11.0 or newer. If you use the Z-Wave JS app, you need at least version 1.9.0. Update the Z-Wave server before you update Home Assistant.

How do I update Home Assistant Container in Docker?

Pull the new image with docker pull ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable, then stop and remove the old container with docker stop homeassistant and docker rm homeassistant, and start it again with the same docker run command. Your configuration lives in the mounted config volume, so it survives the recreate.

About the author: Bilal Riaz is the founder of The Homelab Fixer, writing step-by-step guides for NAS, Docker, and self-hosting.

Source: Home Assistant 2026.11 release notes, home-assistant.io, November 4, 2026; Home Assistant Linux installation documentation. All version numbers and breaking changes in this guide were checked against the official release notes on November 11, 2026.

Originally published on The Homelab Fixer.