Backup & Security in Home Assistant

Backup Security 3-2-1

Your smart home is the result of many hours of work. Automations, integrations, dashboards - everything can be gone in an instant if something goes wrong. Backup is not optional - it’s necessary.

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🎯 The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

The golden standard for backup:

Why off-site?

What if lightning strikes and destroys both your HA server AND your NAS? With an off-site backup (cloud), you’re still covered.

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🆕 Automatic Backup (2025.1+)

Home Assistant 2025.1 introduced a completely new backup system:

New Features

Feature	Description
Automatic backups	Scheduled backups without add-ons
Multiple locations	Cloud + NAS + local simultaneously
Encryption	Default for cloud, optional for local
Retention policies	Automatic deletion of old backups
Easy setup	Wizard for quick configuration

Set Up Automatic Backup

1. Go to Settings → System → Backups

2. Click Configure automatic backups

3. Choose schedule:

   • Daily, weekly, or after updates
   • Time (e.g., 4:00 AM)

4. Choose retention:

   • Number of backups to keep (e.g., 3)

5. Choose locations:

   • Local
   • Google Drive
   • OneDrive
   • Home Assistant Cloud
   • NAS (SMB/NFS)

6. Choose encryption:

   • SAVE YOUR ENCRYPTION KEY! (Password manager)

7. Click Save

Important!

If you lose your encryption key, you cannot restore your backups. Store the key in a safe place - preferably multiple places.

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☁️ Cloud Backup Locations

Google Drive (Native 2025.2+)

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services

2. Click Add Integration → search “Google Drive”

3. Follow Google OAuth flow:

   • Log in to your Google account
   • Grant access to Google Drive

4. Go to Settings → System → Backups → Locations

5. Add Google Drive as backup location

6. Backups are automatically stored in “Home Assistant” folder

Free storage: 15 GB (shared with Gmail and Photos)

OneDrive (Native 2025.2+)

Same process as Google Drive - use the OneDrive integration.

Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa)

If you subscribe to Home Assistant Cloud:

1. Go to Settings → Home Assistant Cloud

2. Cloud backup is automatically available

3. Backups are always encrypted (cannot be disabled)

4. Add as backup location under Backups

Price: ~€7.50/month (includes remote access, Alexa/Google integration)

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🗄️ NAS Backup (SMB/NFS)

Prepare NAS

Synology

1. Open Control Panel → User & Group

2. Create user for Home Assistant:

   • Username: homeassistant
   • Strong password
   • Disable DSM access

3. Open Control Panel → Shared Folder

4. Create shared folder:

   • Name: ha-backups
   • Give HA user full access

5. Enable SMB under File Services → SMB

TrueNAS/QNAP

Similar process:

• Create dedicated user
• Create dedicated share
• Set permissions to read/write
• Enable SMB/NFS

Add NAS to Home Assistant

1. Go to Settings → System → Storage

2. Click Add Network Storage

3. Fill in:

   Name: NAS Backup
   Usage: Backup
   Server: 192.168.1.50  # Your NAS IP
   Type: SMB (or NFS)
   Share: ha-backups
   Username: homeassistant
   Password: ****

4. Click Connect

5. Go to Backups → Locations and add NAS

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🔐 Encryption

When to Encrypt?

Location	Recommendation	Reason
Cloud	✅ Always	Data leaves your network
Home Assistant Cloud	🔒 Automatic	Cannot be disabled
NAS (home)	⚖️ Optional	Easier recovery without
USB disk	✅ Yes	Can be lost/stolen

Encryption Key Management

# STORE IN THESE PLACES:
1. Password Manager (1Password, Bitwarden, etc.)
2. Physical copy in safe/safety deposit box
3. Shared with a trusted person

# DON'T STORE:
- In Home Assistant itself (lost on crash)
- In unencrypted file on NAS
- Only in your head

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📅 Backup Strategy

Recommended Setup

Backup Type	Frequency	Retention	Location
Daily	Every night at 4:00 AM	3 copies	Local
Weekly	Sunday at 4:00 AM	4 copies	NAS + Cloud
Before update	On every HA update	3 copies	All locations

Configure Differentiated Backups

# Automatic backup configuration
# Settings → System → Backups → Automatic backup

Schedule:
  Frequency: Daily
  Time: 04:00
  Day: Every day

Retention:
  Number of copies: 3

Locations:
  - Local (encrypted: no)
  - Google Drive (encrypted: yes)
  - NAS (encrypted: no)

On updates:
  Create backup: Yes

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🔄 Restoration (Restore)

From Backup UI

1. Go to Settings → System → Backups

2. Find backup (from local, cloud, or NAS)

3. Click on backup → Restore

4. Choose what to restore:

   • Everything
   • Configuration only
   • Specific add-ons

5. Wait for restoration (can take 5-30 min)

6. Log in again after restart

Disaster Recovery (New Installation)

If your HA server is completely dead:

1. Install Home Assistant on new hardware

2. Run through initial setup

3. Mount backup location:

   • NAS: Add network storage
   • Google Drive: Install integration
   • USB: Connect disk

4. Go to Settings → System → Backups

5. Find backup from your location

6. Restore full backup

7. Restart and log in with your old credentials

Cross-platform restore

Home Assistant backups work across CPU architectures! You can restore a backup from Raspberry Pi on an x86 server and vice versa.

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🛡️ Security Best Practices

Network Security

Practice	Implementation
Separate VLAN	IoT devices in own network
Firewall	Block unnecessary traffic
No port forwarding	Use VPN or Nabu Casa
HTTPS	SSL/TLS on all traffic

Home Assistant Security

# configuration.yaml
http:
  ssl_certificate: /ssl/fullchain.pem
  ssl_key: /ssl/privkey.pem
  ip_ban_enabled: true
  login_attempts_threshold: 5

User Security

Practice	Description
Strong passwords	16+ characters, password manager
2FA	Enable for all users
Least privilege	Grant only necessary permissions
Separate accounts	One per household member, admin separate

Enable 2FA

1. Go to your Profile picture (bottom left)

2. Scroll to Multifactor Authentication Modules

3. Enable Time-based One-Time Password

4. Scan QR code with authenticator app:

   • Google Authenticator
   • Authy
   • 1Password

5. Enter code to confirm

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🔧 Troubleshooting

Backup Fails

# Check:
1. Is there enough space on destination disk?
2. Is network connection stable (NAS)?
3. Are credentials correct (cloud/NAS)?
4. Check Supervisor logs for details

Restoration Fails

# Check:
1. Is backup corrupted? (try another backup)
2. Is encryption key correct?
3. Is HA version compatible?
4. Do you have enough disk space?

NAS Mount Fails

# Common problems:
1. SMB version mismatch → Try SMB 2.0 or 3.0
2. Wrong credentials → Check username/password
3. Share doesn't exist → Check share name on NAS
4. Firewall blocks → Port 445 (SMB) must be open

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📋 Checklist

Weekly

• Verify automatic backup runs
• Check backup status in UI
• Ensure space on backup locations

Monthly

• Test restoration on test server (if possible)
• Verify encryption key is accessible
• Clean up old/unnecessary backups

On Major Changes

• Create manual backup BEFORE changes
• Test backup after major updates
• Document changes

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Ofte stillede spørgsmål

How often should I backup?

Minimum weekly, preferably daily. With the new automatic backup system, there's no reason not to run daily backups. Also remember backup before updates.

Can I restore on different hardware?

Yes! Home Assistant backups are cross-platform and work across CPU architectures. You can go from Raspberry Pi to Intel NUC without problems.

What's included in a backup?

Everything! Configuration, automations, dashboards, add-ons and their data, integrations, history (if selected). The only thing not included is Home Assistant OS itself.

Should I use encryption on local backup?

It's optional for local/NAS backups. The advantage of unencrypted backups is that you can manually extract files without Home Assistant. Cloud backups should always be encrypted.

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📚 Next Steps

Dashboard Design

Build beautiful dashboards.

See guide →

Node-RED

Advanced automations.

See guide →

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Last updated: December 2025