We’re excited to announce a new firmware version for HA over iHost — CoreBox.
What is CoreBox?
CoreBox is a new HA over iHost image designed for rapid setup, featuring the latest HA Core version (2025.05.03) pre-intergrated.
With CoreBox, you no longer need to wait during initial installation for the device to download HA Core from GitHub. Instead, you can directly boot from the built-in HA Core version, achieving startup within 3 minutes or even faster. CoreBox removes reliance on internet connectivity, allowing easy setup even in offline environments. You can still update to newer HA Core versions from within the system once it’s running.
Check this Video:
Why CoreBox?
We’ve been listening closely to your feedback.
Many users reported that the original installation process of HA over iHost often failed due to poor or unstable internet, especially during the initial HA Core download. This not only caused frustration but also discouraged many first-time users from continuing.
Even with our online support, troubleshooting network issues and walking through the installation process often took longer than expected — for both users and our team.
So we built CoreBox — a solution designed from the user’s perspective.
With CoreBox, you get:
A quick and reliable setup experience
No more delays or failed installations due to network issues
Confidence that your Home Assistant will run smoothly — anytime, anywhere
Can I update the built-in HA Core?
Yes!
Once HA boots up with the built-in version (2025.5.3), Home Assistant will detect if a newer version is available.
You can update HA Core as usual from the Settings > System > Updates page — just like a normal installation.
Installation Guide
Note: Please make sure to extract the .xz
archive before flashing the image to your SD card.
Try CoreBox today and experience a smoother, faster, and more reliable Home Assistant setup on iHost!
Let us know your feedback — as always, we’re building this together with the community.