Everyone says Home Assistant is free, easy, and perfect — but is it really? In this video, I reveal the real truths about Home Assistant that no one talks about. From time sinks and network headaches to the pure magic when everything finally works, this is the honest look every smart‑home fan needs.
You’ll learn:
• Why “free” still costs your weekends
• How local control really works (and when it doesn’t) • The truth about Zigbee, dashboards, and backups
• Why automations save your brain
• And why rebuilding is part of the journey If you’re running Home Assistant on Proxmox, Docker, or Raspberry Pi — this one’s for you.
Tired of ads slowing down your smart home? In this video, I show how to use Pi‑hole with Home Assistant to block ads across your entire network — phones, TVs, tablets, and smart devices.
You’ll learn:
• What Pi‑hole is and how it works
• How to install and configure Pi‑hole on a linux computer
• Integrating Pi‑hole with Home Assistant for real‑time monitoring
• Setting up dashboards and automations for network privacy
• Bonus tips for DNS filtering and faster browsing This is a practical, step‑by‑step guide for anyone who wants a cleaner, faster smart‑home experience.
Ever lost your TV remote and refused to get up? Same here. So in this video, I set up a Zigbee IR Blaster with Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant to automate my entire TV — power, volume, inputs and more.
I walk through:
• Pairing the IR blaster with Zigbee2MQTT
• Learning IR codes from your TV remote
• Sending commands via MQTT
• Building scripts to reuse IR commands
• Creating a full TV control panel in Home Assistant
• Switching inputs (including Fire Stick)
• Final demo controlling everything from the dashboard If you want to automate your TV, soundbar or any IR device, this is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to do it.
Enjoy the video — and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and watch the next one at the end!
Code from the video Topic zigbee2mqtt/irblaster/set payload {“ir_code_to_send”:“Your-code-in-here or {{field-name}} ”}
This is the IR blaster I ordered – https://amzn.to/4vZSAAa
But it keeps going out of stock I think this is similar –
https://amzn.to/4mKsdtx
Meet the SONOFF SNZB‑06P Zigbee Presence Sensor — unboxed, tested, paired with ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT, and put through the legendary Peekaboo Test.
In this video,
I walk through the full setup, pairing, automations, and real‑world performance so you can decide if this budget presence sensor is worth adding to your smart home.
🔗 Watch the video: https://youtu.be/JXRV5NoQ-Uk
🔗 Buy the sensor on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3O4lnCx (affiliate link — no extra cost to you)
If you found this helpful, please Like & Subscribe — it really helps the channel grow. See you in the next one!
Ever wished your dog could tell you when they want to go out… without scratching the door to pieces? In this video, I show you how I built a simple Home Assistant automation that reacts the moment my dog scratches at the back door — turning on a light so I know he’s waiting.
This is a fun, practical smart‑home project using a vibration sensor, Zigbee, and Home Assistant. If you’ve got pets, this might be the most useful automation you ever add.
What you’ll see in this video:
• How to detect dog scratching using a vibration sensor
• How to trigger lights or notifications in Home Assistant
• How to set up the automation step‑by‑step
• Why this is a great beginner smart‑home project
• A real‑world example that actually works
A cop just knocked on my door and told me that my dogs were chasing people on bikes. My dogs don’t even own bikes…
So, you’ve just installed Home Assistant… and now you’ve caught the Zigbee bug. Before you accidentally spend £200 on AliExpress “because it was only £2.30,” this video walks you through the actual beginner‑friendly way to start Zigbee in Home Assistant — without blowing your cover with your partner.
In this video, I show you:
• The cheap Zigbee devices worth grabbing
• The Zigbee coordinator you should start with (SLZB‑07)
• How to set it up in Home Assistant (ZHA)
• How to pair sensors, plugs, and other devices
• What to do when pairing goes weird
• Why Zigbee is still miles ahead of Matter/Thread for beginners
If you’re new to Zigbee, this is the full setup guide I wish I had when I started — simple, cheap, and actually works. #Zigbee #HomeAssistant #SmartHome #HomeAutomation #ZHA #ZigbeeSetup #SmartHomeUK
Matter and Thread devices are supposed to “just work”… but judging by the error messages, they didn’t get the memo.
In this video, I walk you through three levels of troubleshooting — from the simple stuff you can fix in seconds, all the way to the nuclear “here be dragons” option that resets Google Play Services and breaks half your phone. Yes, really.
Here’s what we cover:
1️⃣ Easy Fixes
• Bluetooth ON
• 2.4GHz Wi‑Fi
• IPv6 enabled in Home Assistant The basics that Matter never tells you, but absolutely relies on.
2️⃣ Medium Fixes
• Syncing Thread credentials on your phone
• Checking your Thread Border Routers
• Making sure Home Assistant isn’t clinging to old routers you threw away years ago
3️⃣ The Nuclear Option
• Clearing Google Play Services data
• Why it works
• Why it breaks everything
• Why you should only do it if you’re at your wit’s end
I also talk about why Matter and Thread should be brilliant… but still feel half‑baked compared to Zigbee. Spoiler: Zigbee still wins for reliability, mapping, and general sanity.
If you’re fighting with Matter/Thread devices, this guide will save you hours — and possibly your phone.
In this video, I walk through the full setup of Thread OBR (Open Thread Border Router) running directly on the SMLight SLZB‑MR3U — no USB passthrough, no extra hardware, and no Home Assistant add‑on required.
This update lets the SMLight SLZB‑MR3U run Zigbee AND Thread in one device, making your smart home cleaner, faster, and easier to manage. I show the firmware update, configuration steps, Home Assistant integration, Matter pairing, and how to get your Thread devices connected through the new onboard OBR.
If you’re using the SMLight SLZB‑MR3U or planning to upgrade your smart home network, this guide will walk you through everything step‑by‑step.
In this video, I show you how to set up the SMLight SLB MR3U, a dual‑radio smart‑home controller that lets Zigbee and Matter over Thread work together seamlessly inside Home Assistant.
We unbox the SMLight MR3U, power it up, find it on the network, configure both radios, and integrate it with Zigbee2MQTT and the Thread Border Router add‑on. I also walk through pairing a Zigbee temperature sensor and a Matter smart plug — and demonstrate both protocols talking to Home Assistant at the same time.
If you’re building a modern smart home and want Zigbee reliability and Matter compatibility in one device, this guide will get you fully set up.
📌 What’s inside:
• Full SMLight SLB MR3U setup walkthrough
• How Zigbee + Matter over Thread work together
• Finding the SMLight MR3U on your network
• Configuring Zigbee2MQTT with the new controller
• Installing and configuring the Thread Border Router
• Pairing Zigbee sensors and Matter devices
• Verifying everything in Home Assistant
• Troubleshooting pairing and USB passthrough in Proxmox If this helped,
hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more Home Assistant, Zigbee, Matter, and smart‑home tutorials.
Running out of Google Drive space for your Home Assistant backups? Tired of paying £11/month for extra google storage? This complete OneDrive for Business setup guide is designed to help you integrate Microsoft’s cloud storage solution with your Home Assistant, providing a reliable and secure backup solution for your home automation system.
If you’re experiencing issues with Google Drive backup or looking for an alternative cloud storage option, this tutorial will walk you through the process of setting up OneDrive for Business with Home Assistant, including app registration with Microsoft Entra and configuring secrets for secure backup.
By following this step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to leverage the benefits of OneDrive integration and enjoy a seamless cloud backup experience for your Home Assistant, ensuring your home automation data is safe and easily accessible.
With the latest Home Assistant March 2026 release, it’s essential to have a robust cloud storage solution in place, and this video will show you how to achieve that with OneDrive for Business, providing a comprehensive storage solution for your home automation needs and giving you peace of mind with regular backup tests and a reliable cloud storage system. By the end of this video, you’ll have a fully functional OneDrive for Business setup for your Home Assistant, complete with Microsoft Entra app setup and configuration, allowing you to focus on what matters most – enjoying your smart home with the confidence of knowing your data is securely backed up in the cloud.
In this video, I walk through how to back up Home Assistant to OneDrive for Business, now supported as of the March 2026 release. Backups are so important – If things go wrong, they are what you fall back on You should always try to keep a backup in a remote location I show the full setup process:
• Creating a folder in OneDrive
• Registering an app in Microsoft Entra
• Setting up permissions and secrets
• Connecting OneDrive to Home Assistant
• Switching off Google Drive backups
• Running a manual backup to test it
This guide is perfect if you already have a OneDrive for Business account and want to avoid paying for extra cloud storage. I also explain the difference between client ID, application ID, and secret values — and how to avoid common setup mistakes.
