Everytime I press the update button I get nervous if my installation will come back online. Just the rotating progress indication gives little information. Would it be possible to give some status information during the update like:
Fetching new image 0 …100%
Re-writing the image
Restarting this will take some time!
Especially for remote installations this would making updating more relaxed. You could even offer a manual option after grabbing the image to start te real update e.g. point of no return.
I am often 5000km from home for up to a year. I do not like falling behind on updates.
How I mitigate the risk of a broken update:
Have remote access to my home network that does not rely on Home Assistant.
Have a robust automated backup regime for Home Assistant that copies the backup off the system.
Have a second PC I can power up remotely (outside HA) that I could install HA on if worst comes to worst (hardware failure of main system).
Follow the HA beta Discord chat. Issues will show up there first.
Only install the later minor releases, not the first release. For both core and particularly OS.
Keep an eye on the github issues for core and OS releases.
Have a reasonably competent house sitter that can act as a “remote finger”. They don’t need to know anything about home assistant, they just need to be able to follow IT instructions well.
Having said that I often install the core beta release remotely. I never install the beta or x.y.0 HA OS releases. That seems to be where I have have the most trouble.
Indeed with these precautions you limit the risk to the minimum. I am so enthusiastic about HA that I convinced friends and relatives to have one too so updating >5 systems in the mean time. I must say the last 6 month there was no need anymore for a physical visit so things are absolutely improving. Still I worry after hitting the update button if the systems comes back online
