The Ultimate Guide to Safely Updating Home Assistant in 2026

Last updated on January 25, 2026

Keeping your Home Assistant installation current is non-negotiable. Every release doesn’t just bring exciting new features; it also delivers crucial security patches and performance boosts. The good news is that in 2026, the process to update Home Assistant is safer and more streamlined than ever, especially if you’re running Home Assistant OS, the most popular installation method.

Before You Update: The Golden Rule (Always Back Up First)

Before you even think about hitting that update button, there’s one golden rule I live by, and you should too: create a full backup. In the Home Assistant world, we call this a “Snapshot.” A backup is your ultimate safety net; if anything goes sideways, you can restore your entire system to its exact previous state in minutes.

Creating a Home Assistant backup is a dead-simple process from the UI:

1. Navigate to Settings > System > Backups.
2. Click the blue “+ CREATE BACKUP” button in the bottom-right corner.
3. A dialog box will pop up. You can give it a custom name, but the most important thing is to ensure it’s a Full backup.
4. Hit “Create.” The process will take a few minutes, depending on the size of your setup.
5. Once it’s done, click on the new backup and select “Download backup.” Save this file somewhere safe, off the device running Home Assistant (like your main computer, a NAS, etc.).

For ultimate peace of mind, I highly recommend automating this process. A popular community add-on allows you to automatically upload your backups to Google Drive, ensuring they’re always safe in the cloud.

How to Update Home Assistant OS (The Method for 99% of Users)

If you installed Home Assistant using the official image for a Raspberry Pi, ODROID, NUC, or as a virtual machine, you’re using Home Assistant OS. For you, the update process is as simple as clicking a button.

Step 1: Spot the Update Notification
When a new version is released, Home Assistant will let you know. You’ll see a badge on the Settings menu item. From there, navigate to System > Updates. You’ll see “Home Assistant Core” listed with the new version ready to go.

Step 2: Check for “Breaking Changes”
Right below the update, you’ll see a link to the “Release notes.” Do not ignore this! Click it and hunt for the “Breaking Changes” section. Carefully read if any of the changes will affect integrations or components you rely on. This simple check can save you hours of troubleshooting later.

Step 3: Install the Update
If you’ve reviewed the breaking changes and everything looks good, just hit the “INSTALL” button. Home Assistant will handle everything: it will download the new version, install it, and restart automatically. The whole process can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Be patient and whatever you do, don’t unplug the device!

The Ecosystem: Updating Add-ons and HACS

Your Home Assistant system is more than just the “Core.” Add-ons and community integrations via HACS also need your attention.

Updating Add-ons

Add-ons like Mosquitto Broker, Zigbee2MQTT, or AdGuard Home are updated separately. You can see any pending updates under Settings > Add-ons. My advice is to keep them up-to-date, especially right after a major Core update.

How to Update HACS

HACS (Home Assistant Community Store) is your gateway to incredible customizations, but both HACS itself and its components are managed independently.

• Updating HACS: If HACS itself needs an update, it will notify you in its own section in the sidebar. The process is a familiar one-click update.
• Updating HACS Integrations: Inside the HACS panel, go to “Integrations.” You’ll see a list of everything you’ve installed and a notice if any have a new version available.

2026 Update Guide by Installation Type

While most people use Home Assistant OS, other installation methods exist for more advanced users. The update procedure varies significantly between them. Here’s a quick summary table to find your setup:

Home Assistant Update Commands (For CLI Users)

If you’re running a Container or Core installation, your updates are handled via the command-line interface (CLI). Here are the essential Home Assistant CLI update commands you’ll need. Remember to run these as the user you installed Home Assistant with to avoid permission headaches.

Update Home Assistant Container (Docker)

The standard process is to stop and remove your existing container, pull the latest stable image, and then re-create the container using your original configuration (volumes, ports, etc.).

# Pull the latest stable image
docker pull homeassistant/home-assistant:stable

# (You would then stop and remove your old container)
# docker stop homeassistant
# docker rm homeassistant

# (And finally re-create it with your usual 'docker run' or 'docker-compose up' command)

Update Home Assistant Core (Virtual Environment)

First, make sure you activate your Python virtual environment.

# Update to the latest stable release
pip3 install --upgrade homeassistant

You can also target specific versions, but this is usually only for troubleshooting or testing specific features.

# Install a specific version (e.g., 2026.1.5)
pip3 install homeassistant==2026.1.5

# Install the latest beta version (unstable)
pip3 install --pre --upgrade homeassistant

# Install the bleeding-edge dev version (highly unstable, not for production)
pip3 install --upgrade git+git://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant.git@dev

Something Went Wrong? How to Roll Back to a Previous Version

If an update doesn’t go as planned and something breaks, don’t panic. The safest and most highly recommended way to go back is to restore the backup you created earlier. It’s a reliable, foolproof process that will return you to a known-good state.

While manual downgrades are possible for advanced users, they can be risky and complex. For a fast and stress-free recovery, nothing beats restoring a snapshot. It’s what they’re for!