Home Assistant 2026.10 Unlocks New Matter Controls For Leak Sensors, Smart Locks And Power

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Home Assistant 2026.10 is in beta with new controls for supported Matter leak sensors and locks, plus additional electrical measurements and WAGO blind timing settings. The release also revises the Map dashboard and makes multi-trigger automations easier to configure; the stable release is expected Oct. 7, subject to beta changes.

Home Assistant 2026.10 has entered beta testing with new controls for supported Matter leak sensors and smart locks, giving users access to alarm settings and one-touch locking options that were not previously exposed through the integration. The update also adds electrical readings for compatible devices and changes how users manage maps and multi-trigger automations; features may still change before the stable release. These changes are described in Home Assistant’s official 2026.10 beta release notes.

According to Home Assistant’s 2026.10 beta release notes, supported Matter leak sensors gain separate switches for their audible and visual alarms. The settings operate independently: adjusting one does not alter the other. They configure how the sensor behaves and are not controls for sounding an alarm on demand. The source report identifies the IKEA KLIPPBOK and Shelly Flood as devices on which it tested the controls; availability depends on what alarm modes a device supports.

The release notes say compatible Matter locks gain a one-touch locking switch, allowing users to decide whether a single keypad touch locks the door. Devices that expose relevant electrical measurements can now report frequency and power factor. The release also adds upward travel, downward travel and slat rotation timing settings for WAGO Home Blind Control models 2757-1105 (Wi-Fi) and 2757-1106 (Thread). Those devices can update travel timings after completing a full run between end positions, with the revised values reflected in Home Assistant.

Other changes listed in the beta notes include a redesigned Map dashboard with a People, Devices and Zones overview, and a simpler interface for selecting triggers in automation conditions. The notes also describe changes to Bluetooth commissioning, removal of a cache that could leave Google Assistant without Matter identifiers until Home Assistant restarted, and safeguards for out-of-spec values reported by Matter devices.

More Useful Matter Device Settings

The new settings, as described in Home Assistant’s 2026.10 beta release notes, give users more direct control over device features inside Home Assistant, rather than relying only on the controls previously available through the Matter integration. Separate leak-sensor alarm options can help households choose how a supported device alerts them, while the lock setting lets users select whether a keypad accepts a single-touch locking action. These are configuration options, not a guarantee that every Matter sensor or lock will expose them.

For users building automations, selecting triggers directly in a “Triggered by” condition removes steps that previously required revealing and assigning trigger IDs. The release notes say this could make it simpler to keep related actions—such as a leak alert and an all-clear notification—in one automation. The changes to electrical readings and blind timings also add settings and data for the particular devices that support them.

Map and Automation Changes

Home Assistant’s beta release notes say the Map dashboard update adds a people-and-zones overview beside the map on desktop and in a pull-up sheet on phones. Selecting a person shows recent activity; selecting a zone shows who is there. People use photo markers, while zones have their own icons and colors. The map builds on the Map tiles integration introduced in Home Assistant 2026.9, which retrieves OpenStreetMap Foundation tiles and caches recently used tiles. The release information says that cache may help during brief internet interruptions, but it is not a complete offline map.

The zone editor under Settings > Areas, labels & zones adopts the same map styling, with zones alphabetized and Home pinned first. In automation editing, Home Assistant now manages trigger IDs when users select triggers directly in a condition, according to the beta notes. The editor can warn about missing trigger references and offer a fix for shared IDs. However, users who refer to trigger.id directly in templates or action data still need to maintain those references themselves.

What Beta Testers Should Know

2026.10 remains a beta, so the features described in Home Assistant’s beta release notes may change or be removed before the stable release. The notes and source report do not provide a complete compatibility list for leak sensors, locks or devices that report electrical measurements; support depends on the capabilities each device exposes through Matter. They also do not specify how many devices will gain these controls at launch.

The source report gives the expected stable-release date as Wednesday, Oct. 7, but that schedule and the final feature set remain subject to change during testing. The map’s tile cache should not be treated as full offline access, and users with custom automation references may need to check them after changing trigger IDs.

Stable Release Expected Oct. 7

The stable version of Home Assistant 2026.10 is expected Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to the source report. Home Assistant OS users can opt into testing through Settings > System > Updates, open the three-dot menu, choose “Join beta,” and install the offered update. Because this is pre-release software, users should expect possible changes before the stable rollout.

Beta testers can follow the release discussion in Home Assistant’s official community forum, where the project’s beta announcement and discussion are posted. The next key milestone is the stable release, when the final feature set and any changes made during beta testing should become clear.

Key Questions

When will Home Assistant 2026.10 be released?

The stable release is expected Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, according to the source report. The date is a forecast, and the beta schedule or features could change.

What new controls are available for Matter leak sensors?

Home Assistant’s 2026.10 beta notes say supported sensors gain separate settings for their audible and visual alarms. The options configure alarm behavior; they are not buttons to trigger an alarm. Availability depends on the modes supported by the device.

Which devices were tested with the leak alarm settings?

The source report says it tested the controls with the IKEA KLIPPBOK and Shelly Flood. It does not provide a full list of compatible models.

What changes for Matter smart locks?

According to the beta release notes, compatible locks gain a one-touch locking switch that lets users choose whether one keypad touch can lock the door. The source does not identify every supported lock model.

How can Home Assistant OS users try the beta?

Open Settings > System > Updates, select the three-dot menu, choose “Join beta”, then install the update offered. Beta features may change before the stable release.

Source: rss