Turn an Old Android Phone Into a Home Assistant Dashboard
Set up an old Android phone as a Home Assistant dashboard: connect your server, choose the default view, keep the active screen on, and fix display problems.
- An old Android phone can display an existing Home Assistant server’s dashboard; it does not become the server, and actual app and WebView compatibility still matter.
- Choose the account’s default dashboard under profile Appearance, then configure the Companion app’s first-view behavior separately.
- Keep Screen On applies only while the dashboard’s WebView activity is active. Orientation and first-view settings do not provide kiosk locking or automatic startup.
- Verify readable controls, fresh entity states, and return behavior before relying on the panel. Optional FoneClaw maintenance tasks remain separate from Home Assistant.
Check Whether the Phone Is a Useful Panel
You can use an old Android phone as a Home Assistant dashboard by connecting the Companion app to an existing Home Assistant server. The phone is the display and interaction client, not the server. Your integrations, entities, and home configuration still belong to that separate server.
The official Companion app getting-started guide lists Android 6 or later as its minimum. That is not a recommendation to use every phone that meets it. Check whether the app is available for your device, whether its WebView can display your dashboard, and whether supported updates are available. A minimum operating-system requirement does not guarantee usable performance or suitability for a shared household display.
| Prerequisite | Go ahead when | Pause when |
|---|---|---|
| Existing server | You know the Home Assistant instance and can already access it | You expect the phone to create or host the home server |
| App and display compatibility | The actual device can install the app and render a readable dashboard | The app is unavailable or the dashboard remains unusable |
| Connection and account | You have the correct server address and authorized credentials | You are unsure which instance or account the phone should use |
| Physical placement | The screen is readable and power can be supplied appropriately | The mounting position makes controls difficult to see or reach |
Start on a table before committing to a wall mount. Decide where people will stand, which information they need at a glance, and whether portrait or landscape fits that space. The checks below are proposed setup exercises, not tests we performed on a particular old phone.
Connect to the Correct Home Assistant Server
Install the official Home Assistant Companion app using the supported route for your device. During onboarding, choose Connect to my server. Select your actual server if it is discovered on the network, or enter its address manually, then sign in with that Home Assistant instance’s credentials. Give the device a recognizable name, such as Kitchen Panel.
Discovery is a convenience, not proof that the discovered instance is the one you intend to share. Confirm the home name, expected dashboard, and a familiar entity before proceeding. If you use HTTPS, the connection needs a properly trusted certificate; do not bypass certificate validation to make setup appear successful.
For a first check, open an already configured light card and read its current state without changing it. Compare that with the same entity on a device you already use. Avoid beginning with a lock, alarm, or another consequential control while the account and destination are still uncertain.
Keep connection troubleshooting separate from dashboard design. If the server address is wrong, simplifying cards will not fix login. If authentication succeeds but the page renders badly, repeatedly entering credentials will not establish display compatibility.
A shared panel also deserves a deliberate account choice. Use an account appropriate for its household role, and review what that account can access rather than assuming a tidy first screen limits access elsewhere.
Choose the Panel Dashboard and Default View
Open Settings > Dashboards to inspect the available dashboards. Choose an existing dashboard suited to the phone, or manage a small user-created dashboard for the panel. The official dashboard documentation distinguishes dashboard management from the user’s default-dashboard preference.
Set the default dashboard in the user profile under Appearance. If the wall panel should open something different from your personal phone, use a separate panel user and profile. Otherwise, changing a shared account’s preference can affect how you expect that account to open elsewhere.
Think of the dashboard as the destination and its views as the tabs within it. Selecting the default dashboard answers “Which dashboard?” The Companion app’s first-view option answers “Which view should appear on startup?” Configure both deliberately; one does not substitute for the other.
The October Home Assistant update reorganizes the profile into Appearance, Localization, This browser or This mobile app, and Security. Appearance contains default-dashboard and sidebar preferences. The device-specific profile section is distinct from those account preferences.
The update also gives the mobile Map an edge-to-edge layout and a sheet for People, Devices, and Zones. Devices unable to render the vector map automatically fall back to the classic map. A map is optional for a fixed panel; basic dashboard use does not require adding location tracking.
For a narrow display, begin with three useful items rather than every room. A temperature reading, a clearly named room light, and one status card might be enough. Choose these because the household needs them, not because a new map layout makes a map mandatory.
Set Orientation, Screen Behavior, and First View
The Companion app’s Android WebView settings guide documents the display options under Settings > Companion App:
- Keep Screen On: Overrides Android sleep while the WebView activity is active.
- Orientation: Use fixed portrait, fixed landscape, or the system orientation.
- Always show first view: Opens the first view of the selected default dashboard on startup, except when configuration is open.
These are longstanding Companion settings, separate from the October map and profile changes. Keep Screen On does not promise that the display stays awake after you switch to another app or leave the dashboard activity. It also does not lock the phone into Home Assistant.
Choose orientation by inspecting the actual cards. In portrait, check that long room names and values fit without awkward wrapping. In landscape, check that extra columns remain large enough to tap. A fixed orientation is useful when the phone will stay mounted; system orientation may suit a device you still move around.
To check return behavior, leave the dashboard on another view, then close and reopen the app with the first-view option enabled. Confirm which dashboard and tab appear. Repeat outside configuration, because an open configuration screen is an explicit exception.
Use reasonable brightness and a practical charging arrangement. Do not interpret an active-screen setting as automatic startup after reboot, kiosk mode, or a reason to enable blanket battery exemptions. Those are different requirements from keeping the current dashboard visible.
Design a Useful Household Panel
Consider a fictional kitchen panel with three items: the kitchen light state, an indoor temperature reading, and a hallway status indicator. Give controls specific room labels so “Kitchen light” cannot be confused with “Hall light.” Keep the everyday view focused on information people can understand without explaining the whole home configuration.
Before using a control, compare its displayed state with the source entity on your established Home Assistant client. Inspect available update information where relevant. A temperature value that looks plausible can still be stale; a familiar icon alone does not confirm that the underlying device is connected.
For an optional control exercise, choose one already configured, noncritical light. Ask another household member whether the label makes the intended room obvious, then verify any deliberate change against the actual light and entity state. This is a proposed check, not a claim that the example has been tested.
Leave personal notifications and location histories out unless they serve a deliberate shared purpose. Removing a card improves presentation but is not access control. Review the account separately. For spoken lights and scene workflows rather than a fixed display, read Smart Home Voice Control on Android: Phone Setup and FoneClaw Workflow.
A maintenance follow-up can remain a separate phone task. For example, manually supply “Check the hallway sensor battery” to FoneClaw and request a personal ToDo. Our supported tools operate under actual permissions and approval settings; inspect the saved item and its chosen date, or leave it undated. FoneClaw Features describes those personal task capabilities. This is not a Home Assistant connector, Matter hub, or automatic entity-to-ToDo sync.
Fix Blank Screens, Login, Sleep, and Stale States
Identify the failed layer before changing settings. A blank frontend, a rejected login, an unexpected tab, and a stale sensor value are different problems. Note whether the failure occurs immediately, after returning to the app, or after the phone has been idle.
| Symptom | Check | Bounded next step |
|---|---|---|
| Blank or broken dashboard | Whether the same server page renders in a supported browser | Compare browser and app behavior, then check supported app and WebView updates |
| Server or login failure | Actual address, network route, account, and certificate trust | Confirm the intended instance and resolve the connection or authentication issue |
| Wrong dashboard or tab | Account default versus the app’s first-view behavior | Correct the destination preference, then check startup outside configuration |
| Screen sleeps | Whether the dashboard WebView is active and Keep Screen On is enabled | Return to the dashboard and inspect behavior there, not while another app is foregrounded |
| Entity state is stale | The same entity on another client and its underlying device connection | Determine whether the issue belongs to the phone display or the server/device state |
A browser comparison helps narrow a rendering problem; it is not proof that every browser and app use the same components. Record what each shows. Check supported updates before clearing app data, since erasing credentials can add a new login problem without resolving the original display issue.
For connection failures, do not replace a certificate error with disabled security. Likewise, a stale entity should not prompt random phone-permission changes. If it is stale on your established client too, investigate the server or source device rather than repeatedly reopening the panel.
When the dashboard is simply too demanding for the phone, reduce it to the essential cards and reassess readability. If that remains unusable, another display device may be the better choice. No minimum Android requirement guarantees that a complex dashboard will work well.
Keep personal automation troubleshooting separate. Automate Multi-Step Tasks on Android With Confirmation and Recovery covers reviewed phone workflows, not a repair path for Home Assistant login, integrations, or entity freshness.
Verify the Panel Before Relying on It
Finish with a short acceptance check on the actual phone, in its intended location. Record observations rather than assuming that successful login completes the setup.
- Confirm the correct server and the account intended for shared use.
- Reopen the app and check the default dashboard and first view.
- Read labels and values, and inspect tap targets in the chosen orientation.
- Compare a known entity state with another Home Assistant client.
- Check that the screen remains on while the dashboard activity is active.
- Leave the dashboard and return, noting the behavior rather than expecting kiosk locking.
If you verify a harmless control, inspect the real device as well as its displayed state. Keep consequential controls out of the first exercise, and retain another way to access the home system while evaluating the panel.
The successful result is a readable, correctly connected client showing the intended view and current information. It is not a new Home Assistant server, a promise that every old phone is suitable, or an automatic bridge to another assistant.