I would rather say: why should I disable preload stream if I’m using it and it was working just fine until this update.
Yes, I have the same CPU issue, whole Lovelace UI is extremely laggy and cards are not loading properly (missings custom styling etc.). Hope the team will address these issues and release fixed version soon.
1 Like
By now, it should be clear that preloading camera streams has nothing to do with the CPU load issue - precisely because the problem also affects users who haven’t integrated any cameras into HA at all. 
In other words, the fact that some users experiencing this issue saw their load decrease after disabling stream preloading is likely just a coincidence. That is why you shouldn’t be surprised if disabling stream preloading doesn’t help in your case. 
As previously mentioned, the increase in my case isn’t huge - meaning “only” from about 40% to around 60% CPU usage - but the rise following the update from Core 2026.7.4 to Core 2026.8.x in early August is clearly noticeable for me as well.
It may be “clear” for your setup that it isnt pre-load. I just confirmed that on my system, the stream pre-load is the culprit.
I just went into my dashboard and reenabled the pre-load for both cameras and CPU usage spiked as I watched. Turned pre-load off and CPU back to normal. (The only changes made during the test.)
Tested again to add another data point to this… if I turn on pre-load for only 1 camera… CPU only spikes approximately half as much. (2 streams pre-loaded my system spikes to about 80-90%, 1 stream 40-45%)
While it may not be the root cause for you, it certainly is for others.
Correct. I just used the UI, settings, turn off pre-load for each cam.
1 Like
Note that if you are still using card-mod it is expected to fail from 2026.8
You should migrate to UIX for a 100% 1-1 drop in replacement ( and a huge amount of additional features)
2 Likes
Not sure jow I could have missed this, I use cardmod everywhere and my cards are still working. How is the transition to UiX, looks pretty straight forward?
Everyone asks the same…
I did say it was 1-1 drop-in. It really is
What more can we say
As a yaml purist I did search all for card_mod /card-mod and replaced with uix system wide.
That was really it
Also see 🔹 Card-mod - Add css styles to any lovelace card - #10057 by dcapslock
3 Likes
And if anybody needs to hear it from someone else: it really is, by design.
4 Likes