How to Set Up Your Home Assistant Green

What's in the Box

The Home Assistant Green is a ready-to-use smart home hub that runs Home Assistant right out of the box. Inside the packaging, you'll find the Home Assistant Green unit, a power supply adapter, and an Ethernet cable. The Green is built on a compact single-board computer with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage, providing a dedicated and reliable platform for your smart home without needing to configure a Raspberry Pi or other hardware yourself.

Prerequisites

Before starting setup, ensure you have:

• A router with an available Ethernet port (the Green uses wired networking only — there is no built-in Wi-Fi)
• A computer, phone, or tablet with a web browser on the same network
• A stable internet connection for initial setup and downloading updates
• Optionally, a USB Zigbee or Z-Wave dongle (like the SkyConnect) if you plan to connect Zigbee or Z-Wave devices

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Connect the Ethernet cable from your router to the Ethernet port on the Home Assistant Green. Use a port on your router that provides internet access.
2. Plug in the included power supply to the Green and connect it to a power outlet. The LED on the unit will begin flashing as it boots up for the first time.
3. Wait approximately two to three minutes for the initial boot process to complete. The LED will turn solid when the system is ready.
4. On a device connected to the same network, open a web browser and navigate to http://homeassistant.local:8123. If that address doesn't resolve, try finding the Green's IP address in your router's admin panel and navigating to http://[IP_ADDRESS]:8123.
5. The Home Assistant onboarding wizard will guide you through creating your owner account, setting your home location and time zone, and configuring basic preferences. This account has full administrator access, so choose a strong password.
6. Home Assistant will automatically detect compatible devices on your network, such as smart TVs, Chromecast devices, and other discoverable integrations. Review and add any that you want to include.

Expanding Your Smart Home

The Home Assistant Green has two USB ports for adding wireless protocol support. Plug in a Home Assistant SkyConnect dongle for Zigbee device support, or a Z-Wave USB stick for Z-Wave devices. Once plugged in, Home Assistant will detect the dongle and prompt you to configure the appropriate integration through the web UI. No additional app is needed — everything is managed through the Home Assistant web interface in your browser.

Smart Home Integration Tips

• Since the Green relies on Ethernet, place it near your router or use a powerline adapter if your router is far from where you want the hub. A wired connection provides more reliable performance than Wi-Fi for a home automation hub.
• Set up automatic backups through Settings > System > Backups to protect your configuration. You can back up to a USB drive or configure a network share.
• Install the Home Assistant Companion app on your phone for mobile access, notifications, and location-based automations. The app connects to your Green over your local network or remotely via Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa).
• Explore the Add-on Store under Settings > Add-ons for useful extensions like Node-RED for visual automations, a file editor, or the Mosquitto MQTT broker.

Quick Troubleshooting

If you can't reach the Home Assistant web UI after booting, verify the Ethernet cable is securely connected and that the LED on the Ethernet port is active. Try accessing by IP address instead of the .local hostname. If the Green becomes unresponsive, hold the power button for 10 seconds to force a shutdown, then power it back on. For persistent issues, you can re-flash the eMMC storage using a USB recovery image available from the Home Assistant website.