Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Home Assistant running on your Unraid server, installed from scratch and completely free: no extra hardware is needed for this video.
In Part 1 we install Home Assistant OS, take a full tour so you know where everything lives, and build your first automation: a Find My Phone button that gets through silent and Focus mode on an iPhone.
I've just moved house, so my old smart home is gone and I'm rebuilding the whole lot from nothing. Rather than a test rig, you're watching the real setup go in exactly as I do it.
*Here's what's covered:*
--Why I use a VM instead of the Docker container (and the apps vs HACS thing everyone mixes up)
--Installing Home Assistant OS in about 2 minutes with Home Assistant in a Box v3
--Choosing your release, network, CPU cores, memory and vdisk size
--USB passthrough, and how the installer spots devices Home Assistant can actually use
--Adopting an existing Home Assistant VM, even if it's named something completely different
--Installing the companion app and turning your phone into a sensor
--A Find My Phone script that gets through Focus mode and silent on iPhone
--A proper tour of Home Assistant before we start adding hardware
--Your first backup, the emergency kit, and why restore only works on Home Assistant OS
This is Part 1 of a 4-part series, all built on Unraid.
Part 2 will go through Zigbee integrations. This is where presence detection and the first proper automations come in. Later parts add smart plugs, bring your Unraid server itself into Home Assistant, and we'll finish with local cameras.
🔗 *Key Links*
🔗 Home Assistant in a Box v3: ca.unraid.net/apps/homeassistant-inabox-v3-0z50mxl0rb0ud9?q=homeassistant
🔗 Home Assistant: home-assistant.io
🔗 Home Assistant companion app: companion.home-assistant.io
🔗 Home Assistant OS releases: github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/releases
📋 *The Find My Phone data field*
Paste this into the data box on the notify action:
push: {sound: {name: default, critical: 1, volume: 1.0}}
⏱️ *Timestamps*
0:00 - A brand new Home Assistant series
0:31 - You won't need to buy anything today
0:51 - So what actually is Home Assistant?
1:03 - Apps control things, Home Assistant lets things control each other
1:40 - Door sensors, films and dimming the lights
2:11 - Keeping everything local, and why that matters
2:41 - Why I've avoided making this for years
3:14 - I've just moved house, so we're starting from nothing
3:43 - Where the series is heading
4:14 - What we're building with your phone today
5:00 - The overview nobody gives you when you start
5:23 - Why a VM and not the Docker container
5:37 - Apps vs HACS, the bit everyone mixes up
6:50 - Every guide out there assumes Home Assistant OS
7:17 - Backups, and why you can only restore on Home Assistant OS
7:36 - Home Assistant in a Box, rewritten
7:50 - Over to the server
8:21 - Installing the container
8:45 - The web UI and the preflight checks
8:57 - Choosing your Home Assistant release
9:12 - Network settings and your VM's MAC address
9:35 - CPU cores, memory and vdisk size
10:38 - USB passthrough and how it spots compatible devices
11:41 - Watching the install happen
12:05 - First boot and getting an IP
12:26 - Home Assistant onboarding
13:20 - The container keeps an eye on your VM
13:26 - Your new VM in the Unraid VM manager
13:58 - Adopting an existing Home Assistant VM
14:58 - Opening Home Assistant from the VM manager
15:08 - Do you still need the container afterwards?
15:37 - Install done, now the fun bit
16:06 - Devices discovered, and what areas are for
17:13 - Installing the companion app on your phone
18:18 - Enabling critical alerts on iPhone
18:56 - What the default dashboard is showing you
19:32 - Finding your phone's sensors
20:04 - Enabling sensors in the companion app
20:52 - Building the Find My Phone script
21:46 - Names, icons and getting into good habits
22:05 - Testing it, and run script vs run action
22:41 - Putting a button on your dashboard
23:15 - What else the companion app can do
23:55 - Presence detection, and why I've moved it to part 2
24:26 - A proper tour of Home Assistant
24:47 - Map, energy, activity and history
25:10 - Media and to-do lists
26:04 - Home Assistant Cloud and Nabu Casa
26:36 - Devices and services, and the four tabs that matter
27:10 - Automations, scripts, scenes and blueprints
27:43 - Areas, labels and zones
28:16 - Apps, and what you'd be missing on the container
28:45 - Dashboards
29:19 - Voice assistants
29:26 - Bluetooth and the device map
29:52 - Tags and NFC stickers
30:10 - People and users
30:23 - System
30:50 - Making your first backup and the emergency kit
31:33 - Tools
31:47 - Notifications and user preferences
32:00 - Wrapping up part 1
*What will you build with Unraid?*
Get Started with Unraid in 15 minutes or less: unraid.net/getting-started
Home Assistant running on your Unraid server, installed from scratch and completely free: no extra hardware is needed for this video.
In Part 1 we install Home Assistant OS, take a full tour so you know where everything lives, and build your first automation: a Find My Phone button that gets through silent and Focus mode on an iPhone.
I've just moved house, so my old smart home is gone and I'm rebuilding the whole lot from nothing. Rather than a test rig, you're watching the real setup go in exactly as I do it.
*Here's what's covered:*
--Why I use a VM instead of the Docker container (and the apps vs HACS thing everyone mixes up)
--Installing Home Assistant OS in about 2 minutes with Home Assistant in a Box v3
--Choosing your release, network, CPU cores, memory and vdisk size
--USB passthrough, and how the installer spots devices Home Assistant can actually use
--Adopting an existing Home Assistant VM, even if it's named something completely different
--Installing the companion app and turning your phone into a sensor
--A Find My Phone script that gets through Focus mode and silent on iPhone
--A proper tour of Home Assistant before we start adding hardware
--Your first backup, the emergency kit, and why restore only works on Home Assistant OS
This is Part 1 of a 4-part series, all built on Unraid.
Part 2 will go through Zigbee integrations. This is where presence detection and the first proper automations come in. Later parts add smart plugs, bring your Unraid server itself into Home Assistant, and we'll finish with local cameras.
🔗 *Key Links*
🔗 Home Assistant in a Box v3: ca.unraid.net/apps/homeassistant-inabox-v3-0z50mxl0rb0ud9?q=homeassistant
🔗 Home Assistant: home-assistant.io
🔗 Home Assistant companion app: companion.home-assistant.io
🔗 Home Assistant OS releases: github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/releases
📋 *The Find My Phone data field*
Paste this into the data box on the notify action:
push: {sound: {name: default, critical: 1, volume: 1.0}}
⏱️ *Timestamps*
0:00 - A brand new Home Assistant series
0:31 - You won't need to buy anything today
0:51 - So what actually is Home Assistant?
1:03 - Apps control things, Home Assistant lets things control each other
1:40 - Door sensors, films and dimming the lights
2:11 - Keeping everything local, and why that matters
2:41 - Why I've avoided making this for years
3:14 - I've just moved house, so we're starting from nothing
3:43 - Where the series is heading
4:14 - What we're building with your phone today
5:00 - The overview nobody gives you when you start
5:23 - Why a VM and not the Docker container
5:37 - Apps vs HACS, the bit everyone mixes up
6:50 - Every guide out there assumes Home Assistant OS
7:17 - Backups, and why you can only restore on Home Assistant OS
7:36 - Home Assistant in a Box, rewritten
7:50 - Over to the server
8:21 - Installing the container
8:45 - The web UI and the preflight checks
8:57 - Choosing your Home Assistant release
9:12 - Network settings and your VM's MAC address
9:35 - CPU cores, memory and vdisk size
10:38 - USB passthrough and how it spots compatible devices
11:41 - Watching the install happen
12:05 - First boot and getting an IP
12:26 - Home Assistant onboarding
13:20 - The container keeps an eye on your VM
13:26 - Your new VM in the Unraid VM manager
13:58 - Adopting an existing Home Assistant VM
14:58 - Opening Home Assistant from the VM manager
15:08 - Do you still need the container afterwards?
15:37 - Install done, now the fun bit
16:06 - Devices discovered, and what areas are for
17:13 - Installing the companion app on your phone
18:18 - Enabling critical alerts on iPhone
18:56 - What the default dashboard is showing you
19:32 - Finding your phone's sensors
20:04 - Enabling sensors in the companion app
20:52 - Building the Find My Phone script
21:46 - Names, icons and getting into good habits
22:05 - Testing it, and run script vs run action
22:41 - Putting a button on your dashboard
23:15 - What else the companion app can do
23:55 - Presence detection, and why I've moved it to part 2
24:26 - A proper tour of Home Assistant
24:47 - Map, energy, activity and history
25:10 - Media and to-do lists
26:04 - Home Assistant Cloud and Nabu Casa
26:36 - Devices and services, and the four tabs that matter
27:10 - Automations, scripts, scenes and blueprints
27:43 - Areas, labels and zones
28:16 - Apps, and what you'd be missing on the container
28:45 - Dashboards
29:19 - Voice assistants
29:26 - Bluetooth and the device map
29:52 - Tags and NFC stickers
30:10 - People and users
30:23 - System
30:50 - Making your first backup and the emergency kit
31:33 - Tools
31:47 - Notifications and user preferences
32:00 - Wrapping up part 1
*What will you build with Unraid?*
Get Started with Unraid in 15 minutes or less: unraid.net/getting-started
