Home Assistant just cut ties with this smart home brand

Home Assistant has just announced a significant change to its partner program, officially removing smart home brand HELTUN from the “Works with Home Assistant” certification. The popular open source home automation platform has released a full explanation of the decision.

It’s important to note that this decision was not driven by hardware bugs or security vulnerabilities. Instead, this change stems from an expired agreement. Home Assistant, through the Open Home Foundation, spent much of 2025 trying to reconnect with HELTUN to discuss formal contract renewal. Despite several attempts to contact them, the team said they never received a response. Since the expiration of the previous contract, the platform has had no choice but to formally withdraw HELTUN from the partner program.

This whole situation is a perfect example of why these official contracts are so much more than just a formality. The agreement is legally binding and details exactly how the manufacturer agrees to support its users. This ensures that the devices continue to work in the long term and that the partners respect the open source principles defended by the project. Without this binding commitment, the Open Home Foundation cannot maintain certification.

For anyone who already owns HELTUN devices, there is no need to panic just yet. Home Assistant said it had no specific issues with the hardware itself. Since HELTUN products operate on the open Z-Wave standard, they should continue to work within your setup.

The critical risk here is the absence of a formal obligation for continued support. If devices require future firmware updates, which are often distributed via Z-Wave JS, HELTUN is no longer under contract to provide these files. This lack of guaranteed long-term maintenance is a major inconvenience for anyone who depends on stability.

Personally, I think it’s the right decision for the team. Holding partners accountable to the standards outlined in the contract protects the entire user base. If a company can simply ignore awareness and let its commitments expire, the entire certification program becomes meaningless. This action gives a lot more meaning to the “Works with Home Assistant” badge and proves that it’s not just a marketing label.

Since HELTUN did not respond, the precise reason for this silence remains a mystery. However, given how difficult it is to access the partner program, moving away from it seems an odd choice. Many blog posts detail the strict rules and tests, and this removal is proof that the Open Home Foundation takes this very seriously.

As a result of this removal, Home Assistant removed HELTUN from its certified listings. The onboarding page is now removed from the partner filter and the platform has updated its original launch blog post to state that the information is “no longer applicable.” HELTUN no longer has the right to display the official certification logo on any of its marketing materials.

Home Assistant has left the door open for a future partnership. The message said it would be willing to readmit HELTUN into the program if the company attempted to renew its contract at a later date.

For now, if you have a HELTUN device, it might be best to change it if the lack of response persists.

Source: Home Assistant