Infrared is cool again with Home Assistant 2026.4
Home Assistant Podcast
Litter Robot to Roborock automation idea
They discuss automating Roborock cleanup after litter changes and related practical concerns for pet owners.
Home Assistant 2026.4 is here! We break down Infrared as a first‑class feature with IR proxies, expanded purpose‑specific triggers, dashboard background colors, favorites for lights/covers, Matter lock credential management, and more. We also cover a critical HA OS/Supervisor security patch you should apply now.
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA228
Support the Podcast
Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.
https://homeassistant.fm/patreon
Share your story
We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro, sponsors, housekeeping
00:02:30 2026.4 overview and event
00:05:00 Security alert and patch tips
00:07:30 New Works With partner: HeatIt
00:10:00 Feedback: Frigate and Litter‑Robot
00:12:30 Thread/Matter experiences and FP300
00:15:00 Local LLMs and home agents
00:17:30 Cat litter → RoboRock cleanup
00:20:00 Entity naming change delayed
00:23:00 Infrared goes first‑class
00:26:00 IR proxies now, RF coming
00:28:30 Purpose‑specific triggers expand
00:31:00 Dashboard background colors
00:33:30 Favorites for lights and covers
00:36:00 Matter lock credentials, locks
00:38:30 Robots: Roborock Q10, SmartThings
00:41:00 Jellyfin and Proxmox updates
00:43:30 Voice cleaning, backup progress
00:46:00 Markdown actions, LG IR nuances
00:48:30 New integrations roundup
00:51:00 E‑ink, energy, access, breaking changes
This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors
Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa
Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.
If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.
For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com
Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box.
Hosts
Phil Hawthorne
Twitter: @philhawthorne
Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com
Rohan Karamandi
Twitter: @rohank9
This video contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The AI-powered Podcast Player
