A Home Assistant dashboard on your phone is fine. A dedicated tablet on the wall? That changes everything. One tap to control lights, check cameras, see who's at the door, or arm the alarm. No pulling out your phone, no unlocking, no searching for the app. Here's how to pick the right tablet, mount it, lock it down, and make it look like it belongs there.
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You built automations, set up dashboards, configured sensors. But your family still asks "how do I turn on the lights?" A wall tablet solves that problem permanently. It sits there, always ready, always showing the right information.
No app to install, no login to remember. Walk up, tap, done. Even guests and grandparents can control your smart home without a tutorial. This is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade you can make.
Energy production, weather forecast, who's home, package deliveries, upcoming calendar events. A glanceable display that keeps the whole household informed without anyone checking their phone.
Mount one by the front door. Arm the alarm, check all locks, see the doorbell camera, turn off every light in the house. One screen replaces a dozen switches and apps.
A Fire HD 8 costs $50 on sale. A 3D-printed wall mount is $5. Fully Kiosk Browser is $8. For under $65, you have a dedicated smart home control panel that rivals commercial systems costing $500+.
You do not need an expensive tablet for a Home Assistant dashboard. The screen spends most of its time showing buttons and sensor values, not rendering 4K video. Here are the best options at every price point.
The community favorite for good reason. 8-inch IPS display, quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, and 32GB storage. Runs Fully Kiosk Browser without issues. The screen is bright enough for any room, and the price drops to $50-60 during sales. Wall mount cases are everywhere (3D-printed, Amazon, Etsy). Battery management works well for always-on use.
A noticeable step up in display quality and responsiveness. The 8.7-inch screen has a 1340x800 resolution with better color accuracy than the Fire tablets. Samsung's software is cleaner, and you get Google Play Store out of the box (no sideloading). The metal frame looks better on a wall. Great choice if you want something that feels premium without spending premium money.
When you want a proper command center. The 10.6-inch 2K display (2000x1200) makes dashboards look fantastic and gives you room for complex layouts. Eight speakers make it useful for TTS announcements too. It handles multi-column dashboards, camera feeds, and detailed graphs with ease. Perfect for a kitchen counter stand or a large wall panel in the hallway.
If you want a big screen without the big price, the Fire HD 10 delivers. 10.1 inches at 1920x1200 for around $100-150. Same Fully Kiosk Browser experience as the HD 8, just bigger. The downside is wall mounting gets bulkier, and you still need to deal with Amazon's ad-supported lockscreen (Fully Kiosk Browser handles this automatically). Good choice for counter stands and desk mounts.
Before buying anything, check your drawers. That old iPad Air 2 or Galaxy Tab A from 2019 still works great as a Home Assistant panel. Any Android 7+ device runs Fully Kiosk Browser. Any iOS 16+ device runs the Companion app. The only concern is OLED screens: they can develop burn-in from always-on dashboard use. LCD screens handle it much better for long-term displays.
| Tablet | Screen | Resolution | RAM | Price | Play Store | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire HD 8 | 8" | 1280x800 | 3GB | $60-100 | Sideload | Wall mount |
| Fire HD 10 | 10.1" | 1920x1200 | 3GB | $100-150 | Sideload | Counter/desk |
| Galaxy Tab A9 | 8.7" | 1340x800 | 4GB | $120-150 | Yes | All-rounder |
| Tab M10 Plus | 10.6" | 2000x1200 | 4GB | $150-200 | Yes | Command center |
| iPad (10th gen) | 10.9" | 2360x1640 | 4GB | $250-350 | App Store | Premium feel |
Mounting a tablet on the wall is the difference between "I have a smart home" and "I have a tablet sitting on the counter." Here are the most popular approaches, from free to fancy.
The most popular option in the HA community. Thingiverse and Printables have hundreds of mounts for every tablet model. They snap the tablet in place, route the charging cable behind the wall, and sit flush against the surface. If you do not own a 3D printer, most local libraries or makerspaces have one, or you can order a print from an online service for $5-15.
Cost: $2-15 | Difficulty: Easy
Companies like VidaMount, TabletWallMount, and dozens of Etsy sellers make polished metal or acrylic mounts for popular tablets. These look more professional than 3D prints and often include cable management. VidaMount in particular makes sleek aluminum mounts that look like commercial smart home panels. Prices range from $30-80.
Cost: $30-80 | Difficulty: Easy
The cleanest look: cutting a hole in the drywall and recessing the tablet so only the screen is visible. This hides the cables entirely and makes the tablet look built into the wall. It requires more skill (cutting drywall, routing power) but the result is stunning. Pairs beautifully with a Zigbee motion sensor nearby to wake the screen when you approach.
Cost: $20-50 + labor | Difficulty: Medium
Attach a metal plate to the wall and magnetic strips to the back of the tablet. The tablet snaps on and off easily for updates or when you want to use it on the couch. Less secure than fixed mounts (not great if you have toddlers), but very convenient. Popular brands include iPort and various Amazon options for $15-40.
Cost: $15-40 | Difficulty: Easy
The charging cable is the hardest part to make look clean. Three options: (1) run it behind the drywall to a nearby outlet, (2) use flat cable covers painted to match the wall, or (3) install a recessed outlet directly behind the tablet. Option 3 is the cleanest and usually costs $10-20 for the in-wall kit plus 30 minutes of work.
A tablet without kiosk mode is just a tablet. With kiosk mode, it becomes a dedicated smart home panel that nobody can accidentally break by opening YouTube or changing settings. Here are the two main approaches.
The gold standard for Home Assistant tablets. Here's what it does:
Setup takes about 15 minutes. Install from the Play Store (or sideload on Fire tablets), point it to your Home Assistant URL, configure motion detection, and lock it down. The $7.90 license is one-time per device.
iPads cannot run Fully Kiosk Browser, but the Home Assistant Companion app for iOS is excellent. Combine it with Apple's built-in Guided Access feature (Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access) to lock the iPad to the HA app. Triple-click the side button to toggle kiosk mode on and off.
Limitations compared to Fully Kiosk: no camera-based motion detection, no deep Home Assistant integration for controlling the tablet, less granular screen timeout control. For a family panel, it works well enough. For a polished wall installation, Android with Fully Kiosk is still the better experience.
A dashboard designed for a phone looks terrible on a tablet. And a dashboard designed for a desktop looks terrible on an 8-inch screen. Here's how to make it work.
On a wall tablet, people tap with their whole finger, not a mouse pointer. Make buttons at least 48x48px. Mushroom cards are perfect for this: large, touch-friendly, and visually clean. Avoid tiny toggle switches.
A bright white dashboard in a dim hallway at 2 AM will blind everyone. Use dark themes (Mushroom, Catppuccin, or Minimalist from HACS). Bonus: dark themes reduce power consumption and look better on wall panels.
Do not cram every device onto one screen. Create views per room or function: Lights, Climate, Security, Media. Use navigation cards or a sidebar for switching. The main view should show the most-used controls for that tablet's location.
Show the doorbell camera only when someone rings. Show the garage door card only when it is open. Show the weather only in the morning. Conditional cards keep the dashboard clean and relevant without requiring manual navigation.
For more inspiration, check our dashboard examples guide with layouts designed specifically for different screen sizes.
Once your tablet is connected to Home Assistant through Fully Kiosk Browser, you can automate the display itself. These are the most useful ones.
While Fully Kiosk has built-in camera motion detection, an external Zigbee motion sensor (like the Aqara P2) is more reliable and does not drain the tablet battery using the camera. Place it next to the tablet and trigger the screen wake through the Fully Kiosk integration.
automation:
- alias: "Tablet: Wake on motion"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.hallway_motion
to: "on"
action:
- service: fully_kiosk.screen_on
target:
entity_id: media_player.hallway_tablet
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.hallway_tablet_screen
data:
brightness: 200Automatically dim the tablet at night and brighten it during the day. No more blinding hallway screens at midnight.
automation:
- alias: "Tablet: Night brightness"
trigger:
- platform: time
at: "22:00:00"
action:
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.hallway_tablet_screen
data:
brightness: 10
- alias: "Tablet: Day brightness"
trigger:
- platform: time
at: "07:00:00"
action:
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.hallway_tablet_screen
data:
brightness: 180The tablet wakes up and navigates to your camera view whenever the doorbell rings. You see who's there without touching anything.
automation:
- alias: "Tablet: Show doorbell on ring"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.doorbell_press
to: "on"
action:
- service: fully_kiosk.screen_on
target:
entity_id: media_player.hallway_tablet
- service: fully_kiosk.navigate
target:
entity_id: media_player.hallway_tablet
data:
url: "/lovelace/cameras"
- delay: "00:01:00"
- service: fully_kiosk.navigate
target:
entity_id: media_player.hallway_tablet
data:
url: "/lovelace/home"Use the tablet speaker for text-to-speech announcements. "Front door unlocked," "Washing machine done," "Rain expected in 30 minutes." Fully Kiosk Browser exposes the tablet as a media player entity.
automation:
- alias: "Announce: Washing machine done"
trigger:
- platform: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.washing_machine_power
below: 5
for: "00:02:00"
action:
- service: tts.speak
target:
entity_id: tts.google_en
data:
media_player_entity_id: media_player.kitchen_tablet
message: "Washing machine is done!"Web browsers leak memory over time, especially with complex dashboards. A weekly restart at 3 AM keeps things snappy.
automation:
- alias: "Tablet: Weekly browser restart"
trigger:
- platform: time
at: "03:00:00"
condition:
- condition: time
weekday:
- mon
action:
- service: fully_kiosk.restart_app
target:
entity_id: media_player.hallway_tabletFor always-plugged-in tablets, use a smart plug with a Home Assistant automation to cycle charging between 20-80%. Or use Fully Kiosk's built-in battery management. Some people run the tablet with the battery removed and direct USB power, but this is only for the adventurous.
If your tablet occasionally disconnects or loads slowly, give it a fixed IP address and make sure it is on the same VLAN as Home Assistant. Some routers have "IoT" networks that block local traffic. Your tablet needs direct access to HA on port 8123.
A wall tablet is also a speaker. Use it for TTS announcements, music playback, or even as an intercom between rooms. Multiple tablets with the Fully Kiosk integration can create a whole-house announcement system for free.
Paint the edges of the mount to match your wall color. Use a dark dashboard theme so the screen blends in when dimmed. Consider a screensaver that shows a clock or family photos when idle. These small touches make it look intentional, not hacky.
The tablet's front camera can do more than motion detection. With the Fully Kiosk integration, you can take snapshots and stream video to HA. Turn your hallway tablet into an indoor camera when nobody's home. Not a security camera replacement, but a handy bonus.
A kitchen tablet should show cooking timers, grocery lists, and the kitchen lights. A bedroom tablet should show alarm clock, sleep sounds, and bedroom controls. A hallway tablet should show the alarm panel, locks, and a quick "leaving home" button. Customize each tablet's default view for its location.
You can have a working wall tablet in a few hours. Here's the plan.
Fire HD 8 for budget. Galaxy Tab A9 for quality. Or dig out that old tablet from the drawer.
Fully Kiosk Browser on Android. Companion app + Guided Access on iPad. 15 minutes max.
Create a tablet-specific dashboard in HA. Big buttons, dark theme, location-relevant controls.
Wall mount, counter stand, or magnetic strip. Route the cable cleanly. Plug in and forget about it.
Free scan. See what's compatible with Home Assistant.
Beautiful dashboard designs and layout inspiration for every screen size.
Companion App GuideEverything the mobile app can do: sensors, notifications, widgets, and more.
Presence DetectionMotion sensors and room detection to make your tablet wake up when you approach.
HACS GuideInstall Mushroom cards, Fully Kiosk integration, themes, and more from the community store.
Voice ControlAdd voice control to your tablet for hands-free smart home commands.
Starter KitJust getting started? Here's everything you need for your first Home Assistant setup.