Home Assistant has released the 2026.8 beta with a small but practical set of Matter and Thread changes, led by doorbell press events and a newer Matter Server build.
The broader release focuses on making Home Assistant easier to access and organize, including a simpler web address for new installations, safer network settings, and more control over how new entities are named.
What’s new in Matter and Thread
Matter doorbells can now appear as event entities in Home Assistant, allowing their button presses to trigger automations such as notifications, lights, and speaker announcements.
The change expands Matter event discovery beyond generic switches to include the Doorbell device type. Previously, a doorbell could expose the required Matter switch function but still be excluded because Home Assistant did not recognize its device type in this part of the integration.
This only adds the doorbell press event. It does not bring Matter camera streams or video controls to the Home Assistant frontend as of this version. A ring event modification is also in the works, by community contributor @lboue.
In the meantime, Home Assistant Matter Server App 9.1.1 updates Matter Server from version 1.2.6 to 1.3.3. The release brings commissioning and device-operation fixes, alongside dashboard improvements for cameras, time synchronization, battery-saving intermittently connected devices, and Thread visualization. The Matter Server panel also finally uses a Matter logo as the sidebar icon.
The camera improvements apply to the Matter Server dashboard, which developers and testers can use to inspect Matter cameras. Matter cameras are still not available through the main Home Assistant frontend.
Two smaller Matter fixes improve how Home Assistant handles sensor units and firmware update information. One brings concentration, ratio, and percentage readings in line with the platform’s newer unit system. The other cleans up how the latest firmware version is restored after a restart.
On the Thread side, Home Assistant now recognizes SMLIGHT as a known border router brand. SMLIGHT SMHUB and SLZB devices running an OpenThread Border Router can now appear with the correct brand name and icon when discovered by Home Assistant.
Other changes worth a look
Home Assistant is making its web console easier to reach on new Home Assistant OS installations. New systems will use a regular web address without requiring users to remember and add :8123, the port number traditionally placed after the device’s IP address or homeassistant.local.
Existing installations will keep their current addresses and require no changes. Users who want to adjust their setup can now configure the web server port, network interface, and trusted proxy settings through the interface instead of relying on YAML codes.
To prevent users from locking themselves out, Home Assistant also introduces a failsafe. After applying a new web server configuration, it waits five minutes for confirmation and restores without a valid confirmation.
The 2026.8 beta also responds to feedback around entity ID formatting. An entity ID is the internal name used to reference a light, sensor, or other control in dashboards and automations, such as light.kitchen_ceiling.
Users can now choose how new entity IDs are formatted and ordered across their system. This allows an installation to follow a consistent naming pattern based on details such as the area, device, and entity name, rather than requiring users to rename each new entity manually.
Vibration also gains conditions to match its existing automation triggers. Home Assistant can already react when vibration begins or stops, but an automation can now check whether something is currently vibrating as part of a larger sequence.
For example, a washing machine automation could combine vibration data with live power draw, sending a “laundry is done” notification only after the machine has stopped shaking, and its power use has dropped.
The Moon integration gains similar automation support. Users can start an automation when the moon enters a new phase or check its current phase as a condition, opening options for lighting scenes, reminders, or other routines.
Multicolor Ceiling Light
Beta availability
Home Assistant 2026.8 is currently in its beta week, with the stable release scheduled for early August. Home Assistant normally publishes its monthly stable update on the first Wednesday, placing this release on Aug. 5.
Users testing the beta can provide feedback through the official 2026.8 beta thread on the Home Assistant forum or join the #beta channel on the official Home Assistant Discord server. Bugs can also be submitted through the Home Assistant GitHub issue tracker.
(Source: Home Assistant, GitHub; Image: Home Assistant, Matter Alpha/Ward Zhou, @lboue)
