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Latest entry
Shelly ThreadLink Promises Thread for Gen4 Relays. It Has No Release Date, and That Is the Part I Am Watching
Read the log: Shelly ThreadLink Promises Thread for Gen4 Relays. It Has No Release Date, and That Is the Part I Am WatchingShelly’s free ThreadLink firmware would move Gen4 devices from Wi-Fi to Thread while keeping local scenes working. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and why I am waiting.
Recent entries
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Shelly ThreadLink Promises Thread for Gen4 Relays. It Has No Release Date, and That Is the Part I Am Watching
Shelly’s free ThreadLink firmware would move Gen4 devices from Wi-Fi to Thread while keeping local scenes working. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and why I am waiting.
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Nabu Casa Says Zigbee and Thread on One Radio Performed Poorly. That Settles My Coordinator Shopping List
Home Assistant’s own ZBT-2 page says one radio doing Zigbee and Thread together did not work well. Here is how that reshapes what I would buy: a stick, a PoE coordinator, or a dual-radio box.
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ESPHome 2026.9 Finally Encrypts OTA Updates. Here Is the Two-Step Migration That Can Strand a Device
ESPHome 2026.9 brings Noise encryption to OTA firmware updates, but moving off the old password needs two careful passes. Here is the order that keeps your devices reachable.
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LEDVANCE Just Became a Works with Home Assistant Partner. The Certification Terms Matter More Than the 116 Bulbs
LEDVANCE brings 116 Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices into the Works with Home Assistant program. Here is what the certification really promises, and what it does not.
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I Read the Whole 2026.10 Breakage Thread So My Lights Do Not Have to. Here Is the Pattern.
A forum thread collecting problems after Home Assistant 2026.10 says more about custom integrations than about core. What I am taking from it before I update.
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SolarEdge Gets a Local Home Assistant Integration in 2026.10. The Hard Part Is Opening the Inverter’s Menu
Home Assistant 2026.10 reads SolarEdge inverters directly over your LAN every 10 seconds, no cloud or API key needed. Here is what the docs say, where the catches are, and why I would read freely and write rarely.
One house, going fully automated — documented honestly
No sponsor scripts, no spec-sheet worship. Just a working log of every room as it gets wired, what broke, and what I’d do differently. If it didn’t earn its place, it doesn’t make the site.
Read the full storyGear I actually use
Zigbee PIR Sensor
Fast trigger, two-year battery, and rock-solid local control. The one in every room.
Thread radio
Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2
The official HA stick, running OpenThread — the anchor of my local-first Thread network. No big-tech hub required.
Dimmable Smart Bulbs
Warm-to-cool tuning that actually holds state after a power cut. Worth the extra.
The newsletter for people building it themselves
One email when a new build log lands — plus the small wins and dumb mistakes that don’t make the site. Free, weekly-ish, no spam.