The Home Assistant 2026.8 beta brings a handy addition for the local smart home: Matter doorbells are now recognised natively as event entities. On top of that come an updated Matter server and much simpler access to the interface.
Doorbells can finally trigger automations
Until now, Home Assistant did not recognise the “doorbell” device type for event discovery. That changes with 2026.8: a button press on a Matter doorbell appears as an event entity and can directly trigger automations – such as a notification to your phone, switching on lights or an announcement over smart speakers.
Matter server and Thread
The Matter Server add-on is bumped to version 9.1.1 and updates the underlying Matter Server from 1.2.6 to 1.3.3. This brings fixes for commissioning and device operation as well as dashboard improvements for cameras, time synchronisation and Thread visualisation. In addition, SMLIGHT is now listed as a known border router brand, so SMHUB and SLZB devices show with proper branding.
Access without :8123
Newly set-up Home Assistant OS installations will be reachable without the port suffix :8123 – making access via a normal web address more intuitive. Existing systems remain unchanged. Ports, network interfaces and proxy settings can now also be configured through the interface rather than by editing configuration files by hand.
Source: Matter Alpha – “Home Assistant 2026.8 beta adds Matter doorbell events and simpler setup”.
