Nest Hub Max
The Nest Hub Max is Google's 10-inch smart display with a built-in camera and a Thread border router for the Google Home fabric. Home Assistant adds it through the local cast integration as a media_player for announcements and music, and Home Assistant Cast can put a dashboard on its larger screen. Google has stopped making it, so it suits homes that already own one.
Google has wound down production and the Hub Max is out of stock at the Google Store and major retailers. Reuse one the client already owns rather than planning a new install around it. For a new kitchen or bedside screen, the Nest Hub (2nd gen) joins Home Assistant the same way.
The Hub Max is set up in the Google Home app with the client’s Google account. The cast integration then finds it
over mDNS and polls it locally, without asking Home Assistant for any Google credentials. That gives a media_player
for TTS announcements, chimes, and music, plus Home Assistant Cast, which shows a dashboard on the 10-inch screen.
Cast needs Home Assistant reachable over HTTPS. The Hub Max also ignores mDNS and resolves names through Google’s
public DNS, so media URLs must use an IP address or a public hostname, never a .local name. Its stereo speakers
make it a better announcement target than the smaller Hub.
Treat the dashboard as a convenience screen, not a wall panel. Touch works only through a workaround Home Assistant injects into its Cast receiver, which Google can block with any firmware update, and the cast session drops back to the ambient screen on its own, so an automation has to recast the view to keep it up. A dashboard the client must be able to tap every day belongs on a dedicated panel such as the Shelly Wall Display XL.
The camera does not come through the cast integration. Home Assistant can only reach it through the cloud Nest integration, which needs a paid Google Device Access project and streams through Google’s servers. If the client wants a camera in that room, a local camera is the better fit. The Thread border router belongs to the Google Home fabric, and the Ambient EQ light sensor stays inside Google Home. Put it on an unswitched outlet, since the barrel power supply is its only source.
Recipes using this device
Pause Media on Doorbell
Installs a Home Assistant automation that pauses whatever is playing the moment someone rings the doorbell, so you hear it over the film. Add your TV and streaming box so they pause too, and an outdoor light that comes on to greet the caller.
Tornado Alert Pack
Selora AI watches for tornado watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, then sounds the indoor siren and announces the shelter zone to move to, on every speaker and on your phone.
National Weather Service (NWS)Recipes that can use it
These recipes are built around other hardware, and pick this device up as an optional extra.
Door or Window Left Open Alert
Installs a Home Assistant automation that watches your door and window sensors and pushes a notification to your phone when one is left open past a grace period while nobody is home. Add lights and it flashes the room, add a speaker and it announces the warning out loud.
High Energy Usage Alert
Installs a Home Assistant automation that watches your whole-home power draw and warns you when it stays high for longer than it should, so a heater or a forgotten appliance does not run all day unnoticed. Add speakers to hear it, add a smart plug to shed the load.
Irrigation Rain Skip
Installs a Home Assistant automation that checks the day's forecast each morning and skips your irrigation when enough rain is on the way, then re-enables it when the forecast is dry. Add a speaker and it tells you when it skips a day.
Meteorologisk institutt (Met.no)Leak Auto Shutoff
Installs a Home Assistant automation that closes your water shutoff valve the instant a leak sensor goes wet, so a burst hose or a failed valve stops flooding within seconds. Add a smart plug to cut the appliance, a siren, and a speaker.
LG Dishwasher: Cycle Finished
Sends a Home Assistant push notification the moment your LG dishwasher finishes its cycle, so clean dishes get unloaded while they are still warm and dry instead of sitting overnight. Add a speaker and it announces the finished cycle out loud. Built around the LG ThinQ integration.
LG ThinQLG Dryer: Cycle Finished
Sends a Home Assistant push notification the moment your LG dryer finishes, so you unload it while the clothes are still warm and skip the wrinkles. Add a speaker and it announces the finished cycle out loud. Built around the LG ThinQ integration.
LG ThinQLG Fridge: Door Alert
Installs a Home Assistant automation that watches your LG fridge and freezer doors, straight from the ThinQ integration, and alerts you when one is left open longer than a grace period you set. Add lights and it flashes the room; add a speaker and it announces the warning out loud.
LG ThinQLG Washer: Cycle Finished
Sends a Home Assistant push notification the moment your LG washer finishes, so the wet load moves to the dryer before it starts to smell. Add a speaker and it announces the finished cycle out loud. Built around the LG ThinQ integration.
LG ThinQMovie Mode
Installs a Home Assistant automation that dims the lights when the TV starts playing and brings them back when it stops. Add shades to close, a soundbar to power on, a scene button to trigger it by hand, and dimmable accent lights.
Oral-B: Kids' Brushing Check
Installs Home Assistant automations that record a brushing session from your Oral-B toothbrushes and notify you when the morning or evening brush never happened. Add a speaker and the household gets a spoken nudge before the deadline instead of a notification after it.
Oral-BSelora AI Health Alert
Watches Selora AI's own Home Health sensor and notifies you when your home's score is declining: a sustained drop below your warning score, a fall past your critical score, or a sharp drop in a single reassessment while the score is still healthy. Add a speaker and critical alerts are announced out loud.
Shades by Sun and Heat
Installs a Home Assistant automation that closes your shades when the sun climbs high and the day is hot, and opens them again as the sun drops, using Home Assistant's own sun position. Add a light and temperature sensor to hold it to genuinely bright, hot afternoons.
Water Leak Alert
Installs a Home Assistant automation that watches every water leak sensor you select and alerts you the moment one goes wet, naming the spot so you know where to look. Add a speaker and the same warning is announced out loud.