Dashboard blank for new users when using `visible:` after upgrade to 2026.1.x

[gate546]

Checklist

• I have updated to the latest available Home Assistant version.
• I have cleared the cache of my browser.
• I have tried a different browser to see if it is related to my browser.
• I have tried reproducing the issue in safe mode to rule out problems with unsupported custom resources.

Describe the issue you are experiencing

After upgrading to Home Assistant 2026.1.x, YAML dashboards that use the visible: option may appear completely blank for some users.
The problem occurs even when the affected users have administrator privileges.
Only the original admin user whose user_id is listed in the dashboard YAML can see the dashboard correctly.
Any newly created user (including new admin users) sees an empty dashboard with no cards rendered.
No error or warning is shown in the UI or in the logs.

Describe the behavior you expected

Dashboards should be visible to administrator users even if their user_id is not explicitly listed in the visible: section.
At minimum, Home Assistant should display a warning or validation error when dashboards are restricted to user IDs that no longer exist or cannot be managed from the UI.

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Create a YAML dashboard in Home Assistant.
2. Add a visible: section with a specific user_id.
3. Upgrade Home Assistant to version 2026.1.x.
4. Create a new user and assign administrator privileges.
5. Log in with the new admin user.
6. Open the dashboard.

Result:
The dashboard is completely blank.

7. Remove the visible: section from the YAML.
8. Reload the dashboard.

Result:
The dashboard becomes visible immediately.

What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?

core 2026.1.3 - Home Assistant OS: 17.0 - Frontend: 2026.1.x

What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?

No response

In which browser are you experiencing the issue?

Google Chrome 130.0.6723.70 64 bit - Android Chrome - Fully Kiosk Browser

Which operating system are you using to run this browser?

Android 13 SDK33

State of relevant entities

Dashboard YAML example:

visible:
  - user: f785222c18ac48498d475c881cb295a5

Notes:
- The listed user_id belongs to the original admin user.
- User IDs are no longer visible or copyable from the Home Assistant UI.
- Newly created users (including admins) cannot be added to the visible list.
- No frontend or backend logs report any error.

Problem-relevant frontend configuration

views:
  - title: Example Dashboard
    visible:
      - user: f785222c18ac48498d475c881cb295a5
    cards:
      - type: entities
        entities:
          - sensor.example_sensor

JavaScript errors shown in your browser console/inspector

Additional information

No response

[karwosts]

If you're not using the UI, user ids can be retrieved from '/config/users'

Otherwise I don't think there's a bug here, visibile flag is not specifically intended for non-admins only. If it was ignored for admins then admins wouldn't be able to hide views anymore for themselves.

Also in the UI all views are visible in edit mode, but you might not have that if you're doing raw yaml.

[gate546]

If you're not using the UI, user ids can be retrieved from '/config/users'

Otherwise I don't think there's a bug here, visibile flag is not specifically intended for non-admins only. If it was ignored for admins then admins wouldn't be able to hide views anymore for themselves.

Also in the UI all views are visible in edit mode, but you might not have that if you're doing raw yaml.

Thanks for the reply.

I think there is a misunderstanding — I’m not expecting visible: to behave differently for admins.
The issue is that after upgrading to 2026.1.x, dashboards that include visible: become completely blank for newly created users, even if they are administrators.
Only the original admin user whose user_id was already present in the YAML before the upgrade can see the dashboard.
New users (including new admins) see an empty dashboard with no cards rendered and no errors in the UI or logs.

This worked correctly before 2026.1.x and appears to be a regression.
Regarding /config/users: that path does not exist anymore in current Home Assistant OS installs and user IDs are no longer accessible via the UI, making it impossible to update visible: for new users.

Workaround: removing the visible: section immediately restores dashboard visibility for all users.
So the problem is not permission-related, but that visible: silently fails for newly created users after the upgrade.

[karwosts]

Regarding /config/users: that path does not exist anymore in current Home Assistant OS installs

This may be one of the features gated behind Advanced Mode, if you just created a new user maybe you don't have that turned on?

[gate546]

Regarding /config/users: that path does not exist anymore in current Home Assistant OS installs

This may be one of the features gated behind Advanced Mode, if you just created a new user maybe you don't have that turned on?

Thanks for the clarification.

Just to be clear: I’ve been using Home Assistant for many years across multiple installations, and Advanced Mode has always been enabled on my systems — including this one.
In the current HA OS 17 / 2026.1.3 setup, there is no accessible /config/users file via File Editor or SSH, regardless of Advanced Mode being enabled.
In any case, the main issue I’m reporting is not about retrieving user IDs.
The problem is that dashboards using visible: behave differently after the upgrade:

• the original admin user continues to see the dashboard correctly
• newly created users (including administrators, with Advanced Mode enabled) see a completely blank dashboard
• removing the visible: section immediately restores correct rendering for all users
  This worked as expected prior to 2026.1.x, so the regression appears to be related to how visible: is evaluated for users created after the upgrade, rather than to permissions or UI configuration visibility.
  At the moment there is no warning, error message, or indication in the frontend that the dashboard is being filtered out — it simply renders empty.
  That silent failure is what makes this particularly confusing to diagnose.

[maxexcloo]

I think I am also having this issue - new users can't see some of the dashboards and it seems to be fixed when I remove visible.

[karwosts]

The problem is that dashboards using visible: behave differently after the upgrade

I still don't understand what you think has changed.

You have a visibility list that has one user (the old admin). You make a new user. This user is not in the visible list. Why do you expect them to see a view that they are excluded from? Was visible just ignored prior to 2026.1?

And to clarify some terms, dashboards don't have visible, views have visible. Does your dashboard have a single view or multiple views? Are there any views that are visible to the newly created user?

I think I am also having this issue - new users can't see some of the dashboards and it seems to be fixed when I remove visible.

Again this just sounds like what I expect the expected behavior to be (and always has been), so please clarify if you can.

[gate546]

The problem is that dashboards using visible: behave differently after the upgrade

I still don't understand what you think has changed.

You have a visibility list that has one user (the old admin). You make a new user. This user is not in the visible list. Why do you expect them to see a view that they are excluded from? Was visible just ignored prior to 2026.1?

And to clarify some terms, dashboards don't have visible, views have visible. Does your dashboard have a single view or multiple views? Are there any views that are visible to the newly created user?

I think I am also having this issue - new users can't see some of the dashboards and it seems to be fixed when I remove visible.

Again this just sounds like what I expect the expected behavior to be (and always has been), so please clarify if you can.

---

Thanks, this helps clarify the misunderstanding.

Let me explain what has actually changed from a user perspective.
I am not expecting users who are not listed in visible: to suddenly bypass visibility rules.
What changed is how Lovelace behaves when a view is not visible to the current user.

Before 2026.1.x:

• if a user was not included in a view’s visible: list,
  the view simply did not appear in the sidebar
• the dashboard itself still rendered normally
• if the dashboard contained a single view, that view was still shown as the default
• importantly: the dashboard never rendered as completely empty

After upgrading to 2026.1.x:

• when a user is not included in visible:
• the view is still loaded
• but all cards are filtered out
• resulting in a fully blank dashboard with no message or fallback

So the regression is not about access control, but about rendering behavior.
This is why removing visible: immediately fixes the problem.

To answer your questions:

• the dashboard is YAML-defined
• it contains a single view
• newly created users see no views at all
• the UI shows an empty page rather than hiding the dashboard or displaying an access message

This makes the behavior very difficult to understand for users, especially on kiosk/tablet setups.
If the intended behavior is that views excluded by visible: should not render at all, then the frontend should either:

• hide the dashboard entirely, or
• show a clear “no visible views” message

Rendering a completely empty dashboard without warning appears to be new behavior introduced in 2026.1.x.

[karwosts]

Ok thanks. That's a lot to process, but I think that will make it a little clearer.

[gate546]

As reported by maxexcloo above, the same behavior is reproducible:

new users cannot see some dashboards when visible: is present,
and the issue is immediately resolved when visible: is removed.

This further suggests a regression introduced in 2026.1.x rather than expected behavior.

[github-actions]

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Please make sure to update to the latest Home Assistant version and check if that solves the issue. Let us know if that works for you by adding a comment 👍
This issue has now been marked as stale and will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.