The 2026.11 release lets dashboards combine area, device and entity names for clearer labels, while preserving existing IDs and automations.
Home Assistant’s 2026.11 release is changing how names appear across the smart-home platform. Instead of repeating room and device details in every label, the interface can combine an area, a device and an entity name to provide context where it is needed.
The distinction is practical. A smart plug assigned to a kitchen coffee machine might have entities named simply “Power” and “Energy”. Home Assistant can add the device and area names on dashboards or other screens, with built-in cards allowing users to choose which parts of the name to show and in what order. The project’s announcement says the update follows feedback on an earlier naming change, including requests for more context on some screens.
The revised approach also reflects Home Assistant’s existing structure. Its documentation recommends using areas for rooms, floors to group areas, device names for physical equipment and entity names for the functions or measurements those devices provide. Keeping those roles separate can reduce duplicated labels and make it easier to move a device to another room without renaming all its entities. Users with a naming system that already works do not need to change it.
A displayed name is not the same as an entity ID. The name is intended to help people recognise an item; the ID is a technical identifier used in automations, scripts and configuration. Home Assistant says existing IDs and related automations, scripts and dashboards will continue to work with the update. Its documentation also notes that changing an entity’s name does not, by itself, alter its ID.
For equipment with several distinct parts, the update introduces child devices. A supported smart power strip, for example, may let each socket be named and assigned to its own area, so a socket controlling a living-room lamp can be identified separately. This depends on the integration used to connect the equipment: the MQTT documentation describes its own methods for representing devices and entities, but does not promise child-device support for every product.
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