What's New in UpaSmartHome: Flash-Ready Setup, Self-Healing Updates, and Steadier Voice Assistant Support

Built for the network that isn't always there - UpaSmartHome runs your smart home entirely on your own Raspberry Pi, with the cloud only ever a fallback for when you're away. This release brings that idea to three parts of the product at once: setup, updates, and voice assistant reliability.

Flash it. Pair it. Done.

UpaSmartHome now publishes a ready-to-boot system image through the official Raspberry Pi Imager - the same tool used to install Raspberry Pi OS itself. Open Raspberry Pi Imager, press Ctrl+Shift+X (Cmd+Shift+X on macOS) to open its hidden settings panel, and add https://upanet.org/imager/os_list.json as a "Custom repository JSON URL." From then on, UpaSmartHome appears in Imager's OS picker like any built-in option - choose it, flash your SD card, and boot.

Prefer to flash with a different tool, or just want the raw file? Download the current SD card image directly - this link always points at the latest release.

Get the UpaSmartHome app

Download UpaSmartHome free for iOS on the App Store or Android on Google Play. Open it once your Pi has booted, and it walks you straight into the Bluetooth Wi-Fi setup below.

Wireless setup over Bluetooth

Once your Pi boots, the UpaSmartHome app for iOS and Android finds it automatically over Bluetooth Low Energy and lets you join your Wi-Fi network from your phone - no Ethernet cable, monitor, or keyboard required. See our full Bluetooth Wi-Fi setup guide for the step-by-step walkthrough.

Smart home automation that updates itself - safely

Your Pi checks for updates on its own and installs them automatically. If an update ever fails to start correctly, UpaSmartHome rolls it back to the last known-good version on its own - no manual recovery, no reflashing an SD card, no waiting on support to walk you through it. New features and fixes reach your controller without you having to babysit the process.

More reliable Apple Home, Google Home, and Alexa integration

We've hardened the voice assistant bridge that connects UpaSmartHome to Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa: the connection to Apple Home now stays persistent instead of restarting every time a sensor or relay changes, new devices are picked up automatically without a manual reload, and stale sensor data is now reported clearly instead of silently going quiet.

Zigbee pairing, built into the app

Adding a new Zigbee sensor or actuator no longer requires a separate tool. Start pairing mode from the UpaSmartHome app on iOS or Android, confirm the device as it's discovered, and give it a name - all in the same app you already use to control your home.

Every one of these updates ships to existing UpaSmartHome controllers automatically. New to UpaSmartHome? Start with our Raspberry Pi Bluetooth Wi-Fi setup guide, or see the Starter Kit for a complete flash-ready package.