Home Assistant OS 18.1

[agners]

Home Assistant OS 18.1 is a minor release on top of 18.0. It resolves the Raspberry Pi 5 display freeze on older firmware that was present in 18.0, and brings broader Intel hardware support along with incremental Linux kernel updates across all platforms. All users are recommended to update.

Read the HAOS 18.0 release notes for the noteworthy changes in this major release.

Home Assistant Operating System

• Enable iwlmld driver for Wi-Fi 7 Intel devices (Enable iwlmld driver for Wi-Fi 7 Intel devices #4809) @agners
• busybox: Disable seedrng applet (busybox: Disable seedrng applet #4836) @agners
• busybox: Drop unused netstat applet (busybox: Drop unused netstat applet #4835) @agners
• Add usage to busybox utils (Add usage to busybox utils #4831) @mhansen
• Remove timeout from data partition resize service (Remove timeout from data partition resize service #4821) @agners

Raspberry Pi

Note

The Home Assistant OS 18.0 release has been removed from the stable channel (since OS updates are not working on old firmware and due to #4811). For users who already updated to HAOS 18.0, you may need to upgrade the Raspberry Pi 5 firmware using ha os boards raspberrypi firmware update before upgrading to the next Home Assistant OS release.

Note

The default graphics (DRM) driver on Raspberry Pi 4 has been switched from the legacy, no longer maintained FKMS driver to the modern KMS driver, which among other things enables HDMI-CEC support. This only applies to new installations. On existing ones, config.txt in the boot partition must be adjusted manually to make the switch.

• RaspberryPi: Update kernel to 6.18.34 stable_20260609 (RaspberryPi: Update kernel to 6.18.34 stable_20260609 #4814) @agners

Home Assistant Yellow

Note

The Home Assistant OS 18.0 release has been removed from the stable channel (since OS updates are not working on old firmware and due to #4811). For users who already updated to HAOS 18.0, you may need to upgrade the Raspberry Pi 5 firmware using ha os boards raspberrypi firmware update before upgrading to the next Home Assistant OS release.

Note

Currently, Raspberry Pi Firmware updates are not supported on Yellow with CM4. You have to use rpiboot method to update the firmware. The reason reported is currently unsupported_boot_device, which is not correct.

• RaspberryPi: Update kernel to 6.18.34 stable_20260609 (RaspberryPi: Update kernel to 6.18.34 stable_20260609 #4814) @agners

Home Assistant Green

• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners

Open Virtual Appliance

• Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware (Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware #4837) @agners
• Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth (Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth #4834) @agners
• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners
• Enable Intel NPU driver (ivpu) for x86-64 boards (Enable Intel NPU driver (ivpu) for x86-64 boards #4816) @agners

Generic x86-64

• Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware (Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware #4837) @agners
• Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth (Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth #4834) @agners
• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners
• Enable Intel NPU driver (ivpu) for x86-64 boards (Enable Intel NPU driver (ivpu) for x86-64 boards #4816) @agners

Hardkernel ODROID

Warning

There have been reports with HAOS 18.0 that the system was no longer bootable after the upgrade (see #4786 and #4788). So far we have not been able to reproduce the issue, and it seems to affect only a small subset of devices. Make sure to create a full backup and download it before upgrading the to latest version, just in case. If you run into the issue and are able to assist debugging the issue, please speak up on the issue tracker.

• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners
• ODROID-N2: Fall back to other slot when a kernel fails to load (ODROID-N2: Fall back to other slot when a kernel fails to load #4832) @agners

Khadas VIM Series

• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners

Generic aarch64

• Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware (Add Intel BZ and SC WiFi firmware #4837) @agners
• Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth (Enable CONFIG_BT_INTEL_PCIE for Intel PCIe Bluetooth #4834) @agners
• Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 (Linux: Update kernel to 6.18.37 #4833) @agners

Dependencies

Dependency updates (click to expand)

• Bump actions/cache/save from 5.0.5 to 6.1.0 (Bump actions/cache/save from 5.0.5 to 6.1.0 #4841) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump actions/setup-python from 6.2.0 to 6.3.0 (Bump actions/setup-python from 6.2.0 to 6.3.0 #4840) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump release-drafter/release-drafter from 7.4.0 to 7.5.1 (Bump release-drafter/release-drafter from 7.4.0 to 7.5.1 #4839) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump actions/cache/restore from 5.0.5 to 6.1.0 (Bump actions/cache/restore from 5.0.5 to 6.1.0 #4838) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump shogo82148/actions-upload-release-asset from 1.10.1 to 1.10.2 (Bump shogo82148/actions-upload-release-asset from 1.10.1 to 1.10.2 #4797) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump release-drafter/release-drafter from 7.3.1 to 7.4.0 (Bump release-drafter/release-drafter from 7.3.1 to 7.4.0 #4798) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump actions/checkout from 6.0.3 to 7.0.0 (Bump actions/checkout from 6.0.3 to 7.0.0 #4799) @dependabot[bot]
• Bump mikepenz/action-junit-report from 6.4.1 to 6.4.2 (Bump mikepenz/action-junit-report from 6.4.1 to 6.4.2 #4800) @dependabot[bot]

[salt-peter431]

I updated from 17.3 to 18.1 with no issues. I held off on 18.0 because users were reporting problems installing on a Raspberry Pi 4. I'm running headless.

[macoca28021]

I'm still waiting for this to become a bit clearer, but I'd like to ask you: Do you boot your Raspberry Pi 4 from an SSD or an SD card? And if so, what firmware did you have?

Regards

[salt-peter431]

I boot from an NVMe SSD attached to the Pi4 via an SSD enclosure (USB-C). The Pi firmware version is 2025-05-08.

[AndersRipa]

Updated without problems from 17.3 to 18.1 without problems so far.
Running on an Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM using a Sandisk SD card (512 GB)
rpi-eeprom-update: CURRENT: Thu May 8 14:13:17 UTC 2025 (1746713597)

[ceeessbee]

..... On existing ones, config.txt in the boot partition must be adjusted manually to make the switch.

This is getting hard work for a novice like me, After winging a RPi4 with SSD firmware update for 17.3, now this for 18.1. Never touched config.txt before, do I need to, and how and what should I change? Will the update break the system if I don't change config.txt? Thanks for any help with this.

[drakz-AU]

This was discussed in the release notes thread for v18.0

I can't link to it for you right now as I'm on mobile and don't know how.

Is not just you. It's not nearly as simple as it should be, nor is the note in the release notes descriptive enough.

But if you go to the release notes for 18.0 and look through the comments you'll find a reasonably good description of what's going on, as well as detailed step by step instructions for how to access and edit config.txt

Hope this helps.

I have not updated to 18.0 or 18.1 yet, but I did manage to access and edit config.txt, so I know it's possible for when I update.

[z-master42]

Nothing will break, as this concerns the graphics driver for a monitor connected directly to the RPi.

[ceeessbee]

Nothing will break, as this concerns the graphics driver for a monitor connected directly to the RPi.

Thanks for getting back, I run my Pi4B in an Argon case with SSD and no SD Card. For HAOS 17.3 I needed to reload firmware so connected to my TV HDMI as monitor to check what version I have (I had to subsequently use a SD Card to update new firmware). If I can't use HDMI as a failsafe then this is a 'break' for me.

This was discussed in the release notes thread for v18.0

Thanks for pointing me to some clever people's knowledge, I have read through and will have to connect my RPi4B to the monitor and see what I can find. Everything seems to relate to RPi4 booting from SD Card, I don't and suspect a lot of users don't.

To the developers:
Many thanks for all your hard work on improving HA. There are over 25% installs of HA on RPi4/5, just under 20% Green/Yellow. And yet the last 2 releases of HAOS seem to particularly impact these hardware bases. I know how to smart switch lights, pull down blinds, but new firmware, changes to config.txt etc are done with only limited knowledge and help from the community. This really is stopping HA being 'plug n play' as you hope it will be for the great unwashed. Personally I've not really looked at what's new in the last 2 HA releases, more bothered about HAOS and whether I'll even have a system to use. Thanks for enduring my comments.

[macoca28021]

I completely agree with your comment.

[mdrescher]

..... On existing ones, config.txt in the boot partition must be adjusted manually to make the switch.

This is getting hard work for a novice like me, After winging a RPi4 with SSD firmware update for 17.3, now this for 18.1. Never touched config.txt before, do I need to, and how and what should I change? Will the update break the system if I don't change config.txt? Thanks for any help with this.

This is actually less complicated than you think - there are plenty instructions on how to do that for SD Cards, and these apply (with some adjustments) to SSDs as well.

Instead of re-writing instructions, I shre some notes I took along the way:

• The boot partition has the name "hass-oss" in case you struggle to identify it.
• In any case, it is always the first partition on the SSD
• When using the instructions for Mac OS X involving "diskutil", to mount the boot partition, make sure you prefix the command with "sudo", otherwise it won't work. So instead of "diskutil mount /dev/..." write "sudo diskutil mount /dev/..." and all will be well.
• On Mac OS X, Use the Finder to navigate to "confix.txt", then double-click it to edit in Notepad. Couldn't be any easier
• When done, Unmount the partition via Finder (or other means under Linux or Windows), re-plug it into your Pi 4B, and enjoy. :-)

[m5ck]

It is unclear what to do with a HA Yellow installation running HAOS 18.0. The changelog segment for the HA Yellow is mentioning Raspberry Pi 5 specific and is written in a confusing way. Can you upgrade from 18 to 18.1 on HA Yellow with a CM4? Will you risk it not booting again? Please fix the release notes for HA Yellow CM4 and make this more clear.

[hoppel118]

Yeah, I ask myself the same question. But my HA Yellow with a CM4 (8GB RAM and 32GB eMMC) is still on HAOS 17.3. What are my risks now?

[z-master42]

Who’s had problems booting up a CM4?

[macoca28021]

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone.

I’ve just upgraded from version 17.3 to 18.1, and everything went smoothly.

I have a Raspberry Pi 4B with the 2021 firmware, and it boots directly from an SSD. I haven’t updated the firmware yet; I’ll do that later if needed. Hopefully, by then the process will be a bit simpler and won’t require using a microSD card for the update.

If anyone is still on the fence about upgrading to 18.1, as I was, maybe this experience will help you make a decision.

Cheers!

[HBK1]

I am using HAOS Kiosk Display on Rpi4 and after new install and restore backup from 17.3 to 18.1 it did not start anymore. The problem is described in puterboy/HAOS-kiosk#115 Is it possible to have the value dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d,cma-256 in config.txt instead of having to edit boot parameters. I am not shure what the reason is for altering the previous defaults.

[bklebel]

I am running home assistant in a VM on Truenas scale. Today, I initially upgraded both to 2026.7 and 18.1. However, I needed to go back to 18.0, since home assistant started to max out its cpu allowance, and it took me a while to figure out what's going on. I did want to revert to 2026.6.X too, however the action to restore from backup never worked, it ran into some kind of timeout, visible only in the supervisor logs, rather opaque to me.
Maybe I'll only try again with 18.2

[sup3rmark]

i have homeassistant (HA OS 18.0) installed on a raspberry pi 5. i tried running ha os boards raspberrypi firmware update in the Terminal & SSH app, and it just returned the usage info for the ha os command set. the correct command appears to be ha os update boards raspberrypi firmware update.

[agners]

I've just double checked, ha os boards raspberrypi firmware update is the correct command. Maybe the app was not updated to the last version?

[keithr59]

Home Assistant Green with Connect ZBT-2 successfully updated from 18.0 to 18.1. Everything running OK.