Option to enable kiosk mode missing on some devices

[rewilliams]

Model Name: iPad (5th Generation)
Software Version: iPadOS 16.7.5
App version: 2026.4.0

Home Assistant Core Version

2026.4.1

Describe the bug

The kiosk lab feature just introduced in the companion app version 2026.4.0 is available and works on my M2 iPad Air, but when I tried it on my iPad (5th Generation) running iPadOS 16.7.5 that serves as my primary home dashboard, the feature is not available. By that, I mean, when you go to Settings > Companion app, there's a new item for it on the Air but not on the 5th gen. It's just not in the menu list and thus, it can't be accessed.

The user I'm running on the dashboard iPad is a local-only, non-admin user. I tried turning off both restrictions and restarting the app to see if that would enable the feature, but it still didn't show. I also tried restarting the iPad, but no go.

Expected behavior

The new kiosk menu item should be in the app's settings on all devices.

[bgoncal]

If the option is not visible it means the feature is not compatible with that iPadOS yet, this is a Labs feature and improvements will come in iterations.

This is the intended behavior for now

[rewilliams]

That makes sense, and I look forward to seeing this fantastic feature set develop over the coming releases. I know some exciting additions are planned!

I’d like to suggest, though, showing the menu item on all devices but having it just display a static “not yet”-type message on devices yet unsupported. Or at least, include any requirements in the release notes that introduce the feature. This would cut down on confusion among that group of people who actually read release notes and eagerly run to try new features — a valuable group. And it would reduce wheel spinning for both the user community and the dev community. (FWIW, there’s also a Reddit thread about the “missing” feature.)

That said, thanks for the effort on this. It really is a great addition.