What exactly changes in 2026.11?
Names are now composed rather than stored in full. The release notes say an entity's name is built from its own name plus context, which by default is the name of the device. Rename the device and every entity on it follows. Cards can also add the area, so a card might show "Bedroom Thermostat Temperature".
| Thing | What happens in 2026.11 |
|---|---|
| Entity IDs | Unchanged. Automations, scripts and dashboards keep working. |
| Names you set yourself | Migrated by Home Assistant. |
| Old displayed names | Kept as aliases for voice assistants, so "turn on the ceiling light" keeps working. |
| Cards, badges and rows without a name | Now show the device name followed by the entity name. |
friendly_name attribute | Still holds the old name until the name is changed, but planned for deprecation. |
| Multi-part devices (e.g. a power strip) | Get a child device per part, which inherits its parent's area until given its own. |
What do you need before you start?
- Home Assistant: any install that will update to 2026.11, due on 4 November 2026 after the beta. You can do most of the preparation now on 2026.10.
- Access to your dashboards and templates: the visual dashboard editor, plus the YAML for template sensors, automations and any custom cards.
- A recent backup: see how to back up and restore Home Assistant if you do not have an automatic schedule.
Step 1: Take a backup before you update
Create a full backup and download a copy off the Home Assistant machine. The naming change does not touch entity IDs, but the same release also carries other breaking changes, so a restore point is cheap insurance. If you are updating from a beta, remember that betas are for testing and not for the install your family relies on.
Step 2: Update your custom cards first
The release notes advise updating custom cards before you upgrade. The creators of many popular custom cards were sent changes so their cards match the built-in behaviour, so a card that is a few versions behind is the likeliest place to see an odd name.
Open your card manager (HACS or, from 2026.11, the built-in Marketplace) and apply any pending frontend updates. Our Marketplace article covers how that migration works. If a card still shows an unexpected name afterwards, set a name in the card's own configuration or contact its creator.
Step 3: Find where names are displayed
Names appear in four places, and each needs a different fix.
- Dashboards: any card, badge or row where you never typed a name. This is where changes are most visible.
- Templates: anything reading the
friendly_nameattribute, such as notification text or template sensors. - Voice assistants: the old names stay as aliases, so this is a check rather than a fix.
- Notifications and logbook text: check automations that build a message from an entity's name.
In the file editor or a code search, search your configuration for friendly_name and make a list. Template entities created in the UI (helpers) are worth checking separately because their templates are not in your YAML files. Our 2026.6 template migration guide covers template entities in more depth.
Step 4: Shorten names with "Main entity of the device"
If an entity represents the device as a whole, such as the single switch on a smart plug, enabling Main entity of the device makes it use the device's name and area instead of repeating the device name. Open the entity's settings from Settings → Devices & services → Entities, pick the entity, and switch the option on.
The release notes give this as one of the ways to avoid a name like "Power meter Off-peak consumption" becoming longer than you want.
Step 5: Rename devices, not individual entities
Because every entity now follows its device, the quickest fix for a whole group of awkward names is to rename the device. A device called "Shelly 2PM 3F4A" will prefix every one of its entities with that text. Give it a human name such as "Landing lights" and the entities take it automatically.
Do this per device from Settings → Devices & services → Devices. If the rename dialog offers to change entity IDs as well, leave that off unless you are prepared to update every automation that uses them.
Step 6: Set explicit names on cards that still read badly
For the few cards that still look wrong, set the name on the card itself. In the card editor, type a name in the name field, or in YAML add a name: line:
type: entity
entity: sensor.power_meter_off_peak_consumption
name: Off-peak usageA card-level name always wins over the composed one, so this is the right fix for dashboards on wall tablets where space is tight. Our dashboard guide explains card options in more detail.
Step 7: Replace friendly_name in your templates
The friendly_name attribute is planned for deprecation, and the release notes tell template authors to use entity_name(), device_name() and area_name() to build the name they need. The attribute still carries the old name until a name is changed, so nothing breaks on day one, but new templates should not rely on it.
Take your list from Step 3 and work through it one template at a time. Decide what you want the text to say, then pick the function for the part you need: the entity's own name, its device, or its area. Check the Home Assistant template documentation for each function's exact arguments before editing, and test the result in Developer tools → Template before saving.
# Before: depends on the attribute planned for deprecation
{{ state_attr('light.landing', 'friendly_name') }}
# After: build the name from the pieces you want.
# Confirm each function's arguments in the template docs first.Common problems: why does a card show a longer name than before?
Because the card has no name of its own, it now shows the device name followed by the entity name. Fix it with one of three options from the release notes: rename the device, turn on Main entity of the device for the entity that represents it, or set a name on the card.
Will voice commands stop working after the update?
They should not. When an entity's displayed name changes, the old name stays as an alias for voice assistants, so a command such as "turn on the ceiling light" keeps working. If you later rename the device again, check that the phrase you actually use is still one of the aliases. Our UK voice assistant guide covers aliases and exposed entities.
What to do next
Once 2026.11 is out, a short review pass is enough: open your busiest dashboards, note any long names, and fix them with Step 4, 5 or 6. Home Assistant has said a separate blog post on entity naming follows before the release, so check it for details beyond the beta notes. Leave templates that still read friendly_name working for now, but schedule time to move them across.
