Foolproof pairing
The primary screen guides pairing over local Wi‑Fi discovery, with a 10-digit Home Assistant backup code when discovery is not enough.
iPhone & iPad
A retired iPhone or iPad becomes a real Home Assistant room console.
The mobile app is more than a web page in a frame. It is a native kiosk surface with Wi‑Fi pairing, Keychain device secrets, HA-driven screens, bottom navigation, sleep/dim policy, camera/intercom picture-in-picture, tasks, calendar, photos and dashboard views.
Native app advantages
The iOS code already treats the device like a household appliance: configured by Home Assistant, but polished for a wall-mounted phone or kitchen iPad.
A real kiosk shell
The app hides system chrome, keeps the screen awake when appropriate, shows a bottom menu, handles swipes and dims or sleeps itself after inactivity.
Native room surfaces
Home Assistant can feed native tasks, calendar, photos and dashboard screens instead of leaving the old device as a generic browser tab.
Pairing & local setup
Pairing is intentionally local and recoverable. The app first asks for Local Network permission, advertises itself for a limited Wi‑Fi pairing window, and falls back to a one-time 10-digit code from Home Assistant.
- 1
Allow Local Network
The app checks iOS Local Network permission before pretending it is discoverable.
- 2
Pair over Wi‑Fi or code
Home Assistant can claim the device during the Wi‑Fi broadcast; the backup path is a typed 10-digit code.
- 3
Keep secrets out of the UI
The device talks to the Bridge with a per-device secret stored in Keychain — no HA admin token on the iPhone or iPad.
Screen modes and states
Home Assistant switches the surface; the app renders each mode natively and keeps the kiosk context instead of throwing the user into a full-screen detour.
Home overview Live
21°Climate
42%Lights
LockedFront door
1.2 kWEnergy
Home overview
Live tiles for climate, lights, locks and energy, tuned for glanceability across a room.
Front door On air
On air
Front door
A camera opens as a picture-in-picture overlay — the current screen is never lost behind it.
Two-way audio Talking
Two-way audio
Answer the door hands-free. Home Assistant can hang up and return the panel to its dashboard.
Sleeping Muted
23:00
Sleeping
Black UI, minimum brightness and muted media — the app stays locked in kiosk mode, ready to wake.
Honest about capabilities
Camera and intercom only run on iOS devices that can handle them — never on a Kindle. Here is how the surfaces compare.
| Capability | iPhone / iPad | Kindle |
|---|---|---|
| Native kiosk shell | Yes — hidden system chrome, bottom menu, swipe navigation | No |
| Pairing | Wi‑Fi discovery or 10-digit code | Just a URL |
| Secrets | Per-device secret in Keychain | None on device |
| Camera view | Top-right PIP overlay | No |
| Two-way intercom | WebRTC audio overlay | No |
| Tasks / calendar / photos | Native screens | Read-only page |
Pricing & the App Store
The iOS app is distributed through the App Store. Any subscription is handled by Apple, and we keep the boundaries honest.
Mount your first console
Get the iOS app and the Home Assistant integration.