Quick answer: Install Kiosk Satellite on an Android 7.0 or newer tablet, connect it to Home Assistant with a long-lived access token, and pick a dashboard. Turn on Kiosk Mode and Start on boot, add the kiosk to Home Assistant through ESPHome for voice and screen control, then test it on a counter for a few days. Mount it once the layout and power plan are settled.
Kiosk Satellite is an Android app for dedicated Home Assistant kiosks. It shows your dashboard full screen, runs Voice Satellite on the device, and appears in Home Assistant as an ESPHome device, so the tablet can be automated like anything else in your house.
We make the wall mount in this build, not the app, and Worm Pop Labs isn't affiliated with the project. The app steps below come from the Kiosk Satellite documentation, which changes often because the app is updated often. If a menu has moved, trust the docs.
What you need
- An Android tablet running Android 7.0 or newer.
- A Home Assistant instance the tablet can reach.
- A long-lived access token, from Home Assistant Profile > Security > Long-lived access tokens.
- A wall mount that fits the tablet.
- A power plan. Decide this before you drill anything.
Kiosk Satellite is free for personal, non-commercial use under its CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. If you install kiosks for clients or a business, read the license first, because commercial use isn't permitted.
Step 1: Pick a tablet the app supports
| Tablet | Runs Kiosk Satellite? | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Android tablet, Android 7.0+ | Yes | Install the APK and follow the setup wizard |
| Amazon Fire, Fire OS 7 or 8 | Yes, with extra steps | Sideload with adb and grant permissions from a computer |
| Amazon Fire, Fire OS 5 | No | Android 5.1 is below the minimum, and the install fails |
| iPad | No | Android only |
The docs list a Fire HD 10 on Fire OS 8 as a verified setup. Fire OS 8 also needs a lock screen workaround, because it can bring the lock screen back after the app turns the screen off. The Fire tablet guide has the commands. If you're buying a tablet for this job and don't enjoy adb, choose a regular Android tablet.
Step 2: Install the app and connect Home Assistant
- Download the latest APK on the tablet.
- Open it and allow installation from that source if Android asks.
- Run the setup wizard. Paste your token and choose the dashboard to display.
- Leave Voice Satellite on if you want voice control.
- Turn on Remote Administration if you'd rather finish from a computer at
http://<device-ip>:2324.
Treat that token like a password, since it signs the tablet in to Home Assistant. A token from a regular, non-admin user still runs voice. You lose only the tool use lines and result panels in the voice overlay, which read a conversation log that needs an admin token.
Step 3: Lock it down as a kiosk
Under Settings > Kiosk Mode, turn on these settings:
- Enable kiosk mode, which keeps the tablet inside the app and survives reboots.
- Start on boot, so the dashboard returns after a power cut. On Android 10 and newer it needs the "display over other apps" permission.
- Kiosk exit gesture and Kiosk mode PIN, which set how you get back to the settings. The gesture is 5 or 7 fast taps.
- Disable status bar, Disable volume buttons and Disable home button, as suits the room.
Then turn on HA kiosk mode in the app's Home Assistant configuration to hide Home Assistant's own header and sidebar. Only the dashboard stays on screen.
Android has the final say on some of this. An app can't block the physical power button, so the app turns the screen back on instead. That's enough for a family hallway, but the docs have a separate device ownership section if the tablet is somewhere public.
Under Settings > Screen & Audio > Screen, set Screen orientation to match how the tablet hangs. A forced orientation stops the dashboard from rotating if the sensor reads the mounted position wrong.
Step 4: Add it to Home Assistant
- In the app, go to Settings > ESPHome and turn on Enable ESPHome. Copy the encryption key it shows.
- In Home Assistant, open Settings > Devices & services. The kiosk appears as a discovered device named something like
ks-<device name>. - Select Configure and paste the key.
If it isn't discovered, add the ESPHome integration by hand with the tablet's IP address and port 6053.
You now have entities for the screen, brightness, volume, screensaver and battery. Voice needs no extra add-on, because the kiosk is a standard Assist satellite. Pick the assistant and wake word on the device page, then test it from where you'll really stand. Settings > Voice Satellite > Wake Word Tester shows a live mic level, and 0.05 to 0.1 is the healthy range for normal speech.
Step 5: Design the dashboard for the wall
A wall tablet gets glanced at from a few steps away and tapped with one finger. Build a dedicated view for it instead of reusing the one on your phone. The Home Assistant sections view suits this, because it groups cards on a grid and you can cap the number of columns.
Four rules keep it usable:
- One view for daily use. Put lights, climate, locks and scenes on it. Move everything else to a second view.
- Big targets. Tile cards are easier to hit than rows of small icons.
- Local to the room. A bedroom panel doesn't need the garage door at the top.
- Few moving parts. Live charts and camera cards are what slow down older tablets.
Kiosk Satellite adds ks:// links, which let a dashboard button open the app's own features without leaving the page. Here's a starter view. Swap the entity IDs for yours.
title: Kitchen panel
type: sections
max_columns: 2
sections:
- type: grid
cards:
- type: heading
heading: Kitchen
- type: tile
entity: light.kitchen
- type: tile
entity: climate.home
- type: tile
entity: lock.back_door
- type: grid
cards:
- type: heading
heading: Kiosk
- type: button
name: Talk
icon: mdi:microphone
tap_action:
action: url
url_path: ks://voice
- type: button
name: Front door
icon: mdi:cctv
tap_action:
action: url
url_path: ks://camera/front-door
- type: button
name: Calendar
icon: mdi:calendar
tap_action:
action: url
url_path: ks://calendar/week
The camera link only works after you create a camera view with that name under Camera streams.
Step 6: Set the screensaver and brightness
A screen showing the same dashboard all day is wasted light. Under Settings > Screensaver, turn it on and choose a clock, photos or a black panel. The idle timeout defaults to 300 seconds.
The screensaver never powers off the display, so motion detection, wake word and the ESPHome connection keep running behind it. To turn the panel off as well, set Turn screen off after, or use the Screen light entity from an automation.
To wake on approach, turn on Enable camera under Settings > Camera, then use Dismiss on motion. The camera is off by default because motion detection costs roughly 10% CPU and adds heat. Motion analysis stays on the device. A mount that sits behind the tablet leaves the front camera clear.
Adaptive brightness under Settings > Screen & Audio dims the screen from the tablet's light sensor. It runs on the device, so it keeps working if your network drops.
Leave the defaults under Optimizations on. They keep the connection alive with the screen off, pause rendering behind the screensaver, and filter updates for entities that aren't on the current view.
Step 7: Plan power, then mount it
Run the tablet on a counter for a few days before you touch the wall. Check the Wi-Fi, the wake word, the heat and whether the household actually uses the layout.
Then decide how it gets power:
| Power option | Works best when | Mount to look at |
|---|---|---|
| Recessed box behind the tablet | You want no visible cable | Kiosk Satellite tablet wall mount |
| Outlet nearby, visible cable | You rent or can't open the wall | Kiosk Satellite tablet wall mount, fixed with screws or strips |
| Charge off the wall now and then | Voice is off and the screen is rarely on | Low-profile slide-out mount |
With voice on, plan for constant power. The app is listening for a wake word with the screen off, so it won't sit idle between charges.
The Kiosk Satellite mount has an open center and hole spacing for North American (3 9/32") and European (60 mm) boxes, so power can come out of the wall behind the tablet. Check which side your charging port is on first. Follow your local electrical code for in-wall wiring, and use a licensed electrician where it's required. If you own a model we make a dedicated mount for, such as a Samsung Galaxy Tab or Fire HD, the mount finder will take you to it.
To install it:
- Stick the tablet plate to the back of the tablet, as close to the top edge as you can.
- Fix the wall plate with the 2 screws or the command strips, and check it's level. If you use strips, wait one full hour before hanging anything.
- Slide the tablet down onto the plate.
The install instructions have photos of each step. Because the tablet slides up and off, you can take it down for a firmware update or a settings change without touching the wall plate.
Step 8: Automate the kiosk
The Battery sensor and Charging binary sensor let you keep an eye on a tablet that's on the wall for good. If it charges through a smart plug on a low-voltage USB adapter, this keeps it from sitting at 100% all year. Lithium batteries age faster when they're held full and warm. Check the tablet's back every few months for any swelling too.
alias: Kitchen tablet charge window
triggers:
- trigger: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kitchen_tablet_battery
below: 30
id: low
- trigger: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.kitchen_tablet_battery
above: 80
id: high
actions:
- action: "switch.turn_{{ 'on' if trigger.id == 'low' else 'off' }}"
target:
entity_id: switch.kitchen_tablet_plug
The entity IDs are examples. Yours are on the kiosk's device page in Home Assistant.
Common questions
Is Kiosk Satellite free?
It's free for personal, non-commercial use under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Commercial use isn't permitted.
Do I need the Voice Satellite integration from HACS?
No. Voice Satellite is built into the app and runs through its ESPHome server, so there's nothing to install in Home Assistant for voice to work. If a kiosk already uses the HACS integration, the app has a migration wizard.
Does voice need HTTPS?
No. According to the project, the microphone works with plain HTTP dashboards, so you don't have to set up HTTPS just for voice.
Can I use Kiosk Satellite on an iPad?
No, it's an Android app. An iPad on the wall can use the Home Assistant Companion app with Guided Access instead, and our iPad wall dock fits that setup.
Which size tablet fits the mount?
The Kiosk Satellite mount fits landscape tablets 16.5 cm (6.5") wide or more, and portrait tablets with a short edge of 12 to 16.4 cm. If you aren't sure, send us your model before ordering.
How do I get out of Kiosk Mode?
Use the exit gesture you set, then the PIN. If you've disabled the gesture, you can only reach the settings through the remote admin at http://<device-ip>:2324, so set that up first.