Hi all. Apologies if this is an incredibly dumb question. I’m trying to install home assistant on a kindle fire I have lying around. I’ve installed google services, then home assistant. Everything seems fine. I launch Home Assistant and it asks me for my Home Assistant address…I’ve typed literally everything I can find on the forums into that box. I’ve typed :8123 so many times I’m seeing it in my sleep. I’ve tried with http:// and without. I’ve tried the IP address of the tablet. I’ve tried localhost. Nothing works. Either nothing happens at all or I get a webpage with “Connection Refused”. I’ve tried to find an answer on the website but haven’t. Could anyone please advise? Thank you, and happy new year.
The app is just an app to access your HA server. If you do not have a separate box running HA your app will not be able to connect to anything.
Read this especially the installation section and decide what hardware you have that you could install HA on.
Welcome Michael Flaschen!
To give a more non-technical answer:
The app you installed is a “client” to the Home Assistant “server”. Think web browser (client) to web site (server).
[Home Assistant client on your Kindle Fire] <—> [Home Assistant server] <—> [things to control & monitor]
Of the above, you have installed the left part (bold).
The server can be implement in many different ways but the simplest in my opinion is the “OS”. Basically a specialized Linux OS image dedicated to Home Assistant running on a dedicated computer.
You will need a computer that runs this OS. This computer can be a small Raspberry Pi (a single board computer), or an older laptop, desktop or similar. The three minimal requirement to be able to get the server up are
- the computer runs Home Assistant OS (the server with the dedicated OS)
- has at least 1 USB port - to connect special communication radios for Zigbee, Z-Wave, etc.
- has some sort of a network connectivity (Ethernet, WiFi)
Once that server is up and running, you can point your Kindle Fire-loaded app at that server IP address.
Thanks! I do have an old windows desktop that I’ve been using as a Plex server. So I downloaded the self-executing windows installer, followed the guided setup and was up and running in no time. It prompted me to automatically install the HACS repository and I then selected the types of devices I’m using and it automatically downloaded the integrations. I’m shocked at how easy it was! I think 2023 is going to be the year smart homes really take off!
Kidding, obviously. Well, except for the thanks part. Sincere thanks for the prompt replies. They did help with the posted problem. I’ve struggled through installing Ubuntu on my windows PC and got things working. Can’t install HACS yet so no integrations. The current issue I’m working on is that I closed the Ubuntu window and can’t get home assistant running again. Contemplating either giving up or starting drinking today at 3 p.m. Right now, it’s a coin flip. Maybe 2033 will be the year smart homes really take off.
In all seriousness, though, if anyone knows a marginally easier to implement system for windows to which I can link android tablets from various locations around the house to monitor and control things, I’d be happy to pay good money to not have to spend a ton more time trying to do this. Mostly controlling a ring alarm/doorbell/cameras and various Alexa-enabled smart devices. Thanks in advance.
By far the easiest way is to install on a raspberry pi. Next is to install haos on an old pc, nuc or thin client. If you are confident enough to set up a vm in windows it’s not too.difficult.
Follow this step by step Windows - Home Assistant