2026.4: Infrared never left the chat

Read the full announcement here!

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Ohhh! That new native Infrared building block integration makes wonder if there is a change that we will soon also see a matching RF building block integration and RF-proxy devices based on ESPHome that will help such RF-devices become a first-class citizen in Home Assistant as well?

Update: Apparently there was at least an architectural proposal discussion started yesterday about adding a new ”Radio Frequency Entity Platform” which is based on the previous infrared proposal with the same concept, though that proposal currently only focuses on RF-transmitters and not RF-receivers:

Anyway, I am sure many are aware that there are almost as many wireless devices that uses basic RF (Radio Frequency) for one-way communication which can be remote controller via a simple low-cost microcontroller gateway and RF transmitters, receivers, and transceiver modules for 315MHz, 433MHz, 868MHz, and/or 2.4GHz, but the challange is most devices require unique decoding and encoding of packets/messages.

FYI, there is a complete list with hundreds of such devices supported by the RFLink Gateway Arduino firmware that can be found here:

I know that there are plenty of other closed-source RF-modulation solutions for that which work out-of-the-box, like example RFLink and RFXCOM RFXtrx which both have very extentive device support (or other similar propriatory RF-bridge solutions such as the Sonoff RF Bridge for 433MHz), but an official native RF integration that could use ESHome-based RF-proxies to communicate with such devices would be awesome!

Spotted that the new implementation in ESPHome for it is called IR/RF Bridge component:

  • IR/RF Proxy - ESPHome - Smart Home Made Simple

    ESPHome’s IR/RF proxy component works with Home Assistant to expand its remote control capabilities. This component provides a unified API-accessible interface for transmitting and receiving infrared and RF signals, acting as a bridge between Home Assistant (or other API clients) and ESPHome’s existing remote receiver and remote transmitter components. Note that at least one of these components is required in your device’s configuration if you wish to use the IR/RF proxy component. The IR/RF proxy enables runtime signal transmission without recompiling and/or reinstalling (flashing) firmware, making it ideal for learning and replaying IR/RF commands, creating universal remote controls, and integrating with Home Assistant’s remote control features.

For reference, there is also an RF Bridge component for ESPHome as well:

And there is already support for CC1101 and SX127x RF-transceivers too:

Personally I have migrated away from most such “legacy” devices however it would still be great to see Home Assistant getting a native RF integration building block someday as plenty of such devices are still being manufactured and sold with basic RF-receivers/transmitters, especially for less expentive generic variants of doorbells, temperature sensors, weather stations, remotes for different type of fans and covers (example motors for blinds, outdoor awnings, or home cinema screens).

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No release party this month?

@mcarty the live video stream is always at same time which is later (in about 5-hours from now):

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Usually is at the same time, like at 21:00 in Europe (and the new version a little before).
Next week we have State of the Open Home and i supposed that they skipped the release party because of that.

Thanks.

heck, didn’t see this coming. You guys are so active and innovative. Kudos! :slight_smile:

It is already there.
ESPHome have been able to handle RF for a long time and it can even be used to re-purpose RF devices, like the Sonoff RF bridges.

It is not a proxy as such, since there is no RF functionality in the HA server.

Only on the ESPHome side of it, what is missing is a native building block integration for Home Assistant’s core that expose RF remote receiver and transmitter as a standardized RF entity.

Update: This fact is clearified architecture proposal posted yesterday by Paulus to start a discussion on how the Home Assistant part for this could and should be implemented:

Again, this is specifically for the Home Assistant backend side of it I was asking for RF support, to match the new Infrared integration what was introduced in this 2026.4 release:

  • https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/infrared/

    Note! This infrared is a building block integration that cannot be added to your Home Assistant directly but is used and provided by other integrations. A building block integration differs from the typical integration that connects to a device or service. Instead, other integrations that do integrate a device or service into Home Assistant use this infrared building block to provide entities, services, and other functionality that you can use in your automations or dashboards. If one of your integrations features this building block, this page documents the functionality the infrared building block offers.

If you read the full annoucement then you should understand the above pitch for RF integration and RF entiy support in Home Assistant that is equivalent to this new infrared integration support:

To pharaprase Frenck’s pitch from the above blog post:

Think about how many sensors and remotes for fans, covers, and other appliances sitting in your home right now have a basic RF-transmitter and/or receiver but no smart features whatsoever. If Home Assistant’s core had an building block integration for RF-proxies and an RF entiry, then all of those devices could get a smart future, showing up as actual, controllable devices in Home Assistant. Meaning such old tech can learn some very new tricks. It could also mean that users who have propriatory RF-bridges/gateways today might be able to migrate and consolidate their devices to a RF-bridge/gateway based on ESPHome supported by new custom integrations that make use of such a building block integration. Yes this type of RF devices use old tech! But that is exactly the point!

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Can we also use the harmony hub als Infared device?

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Yep! ESPHome is ready for RF proxies as the infrared and RF components are the same.

Now we need the abstract integration for RF to be able to start using them. It would be incredibly valuable because just looking around me and my family I see an awning currently not automated because they want 150 euros for an RF bridge, and the alternatives for ~60 euros aren’t worth it for a single device.
Same thing with blinds and an expensive first party bridge (which RFLink is running now but distance between the front and back of the house is problematic)

We may see IR and RF as legacy but they’re still getting used a lot even in new products!

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I doubt the api offers that information. Their api is very limited

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It’s already on the way…

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It may be worthwhile to draw from the Linux Infrared Remote Control library of remotes. I used it in the past to run an arduino-based universal remote that could take commands from my PC and send them to my tv and sound system. https://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/

Hi everyone, has anyone managed to get the new doorbell button feature working on the SwitchBot Keypad Vision? I’m only getting an ‘unknown’ state, even though everything is connected via Bluetooth and ESPHome.

Nice - already available for Docker :slight_smile: In the past that could take one extra day. Anyhow, I have an issue with the TP-Link Deco integration. Integration does not start as the login is failing suddenly. Anyone the same issue or a resolution? Restarting HA 2026.4 did not resolve.

Hi all ,
after install the new update , many of my occupancy automation damaged and HA restarts by it self , so i restore from back up to 2026.3.4 , anyone else with problems or is just me ? thank you

Update from 2026.3 failed

I started the update (with backup option enabled) and after the update was finished it was still on 2026.3
Looks like that there was also no reboot but now everything is faulty.
I can not download the backup because backup page is not opening, can not download the error log because the browser tells me that the page is not reachable.
Can not view details of the log

Its only my test system and I can restore a 10 day old proxmox vm backup but I really want to know what happened and how I can solve this issue.

Ooh I made it into a release! I’m the dev a the cardata for bmw. There limited replacement for bummerconected:-)

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Same issue for me, already created a ticket on github.

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After installation it says my open thread border router is unsupported and needs to be uninstalled. I reverted back to previous release.

What does this mean?