Can we please get the ability to set a default dashboard for the companion app back?

[fribse]

Describe the feature

In previous versions, I was able to set a default dashboard on the device itself.
In lack of the ability to set it from HA, which I still don't understand why it isn't done, I don't think a variable there would hurt in any way pointing to a dashboard, it was possible to set a nice specially designed interface for the mobile phone.
This is an important WAF. My wife, daughter and son doesn't care for all the nice details that HA can do, so I've made special dashboards for them, simplifying the access to HA.
This is gone now.
The only way is to make a second user, and set the default for that user, what on earth are you guys thinking of? How is that making it easier for people to use HA, give up the naive notion that one interface fits all, it will never happen, no matter what kind of buttons and tiles and all the other you invent.

Use cases

Helping non-ha interested people in using HA the way they want to use it will improve the availability for new users to make their own way into the world

I see two options easily available.

1. Make a setting in the person profile on which dashboard a person should use on the companion app.
2. Make the setting available again for setting a dashboard in the app specifically.

Examples

No response

Anything else?

No response

[BBE-FR]

To be noted, same for theme: impossible for example to set a light theme on PC and a dark theme on mobile, as dashboards, as themes are now user defined and no longer device defined.

You also have to create a new user if you want different theme on different devices.

There was a PR, to bring back device choice, but it was closed...
home-assistant/frontend#29103

Very low hope for this.

You have my vote anyway!

[fribse]

This is important for WAF, my wife and daugther (and even I) wants to use a simplified interface with large clear buttons (my wife has very poor eyesight), and it is simply bad design that I have to make a special user for here to get the simplified interface as default.

[DustyArmstrong]

Just adding to this as it was obviously my PR that was closed. If the PR can be revisited - I think there was a mix-up in understanding with permissions and maintenance - that would be great, otherwise some further acknowledgement per the PR discussion that this was a useful feature people would like back, it would still be appreciated.

[Raptor05]

I thought it was a bug, but they sell this as a feature 👎
Issue

I would prefer to have an individual theme on each device, too.

[oblivioncth]

I know it's discouraged, but I'm also just going to make some noise about this. Feels half-baked and unfinished to me. I understand the appeal of what was added, but not the rationale of what was taken away.

IMO this feature should have been delayed until a third override tier was added, I don't think it would even be particularly complex (i.e. I agree that I'm not quite sure what the issue with the PR was).

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe there is also now a system/server default, that is overridden by the user default as soon as they set one, right? Just add a device override. Done.

App/browser opens a connection. Three config values:

System Default (Remote/Server)
User Default (Remote/Server)
Device Default (Local/Client)

Client Logic Pseudo Code:

sys_def = remote.system_default_layout
usr_def = remote.user_default_layout
dev_def = local.default_layout

layout= (
    dev_def if dev_def is not None else
    usr_def if usr_def is not None else
    sys_def 
)

load(layout)

Easy.

Sure there's some fine details left out but for contributors that have experience working with core, iOS, and android, I can't imagine this is a big deal, especially given there was already device default handling present. I don't see how this has anything to do with permissions or creates any kind of significant maintenance burden.

Yes, "Then feel free to make a PR", but IMO this is a significant breaking change that was forced upon people and should be handled by primary contributors if no one steps up given the nature of the issue,

I'd buy the change as-is a little more if you could assign multiple users to People, so that I could still have my same avatar and name as my main account. I'm not gonna add "People" for the new accounts too, especially since the decice trackers need to go to the original Person. Is this a huge deal? No, but this is all for the sake of polish and user experience, no?

[apfffr]

Who is responsible for design decisions like this?
Doesn't it need approval or how does it work at all?

[dao55]

+1 for this. Whereas if I squint very hard I can see some logic in this from kind of a security point but man, I can not understand the decision making. It does make me wonder if all the people making the decisions actually use the product outside of a dev environment.
Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for all that the devs do - I am not capable of doing anything like what they achieve but as a user and knowing a few users around here, none of them have one default dashboard they use on all devices. This might just be my default bubble I'm in (I'm a home assistant user from the very early days) so I apologise if this is the case but isn't the very idea of a customisable dashboard gone if you can only have one per user?

Yes, I know you can choose any and have it display but in my case, I have 10+ devices and going round each one manually choosing the dashboard to display when the power goes out (which is what has led to this rant!) is such a waste of time. The alternative - create 10 user accounts!

To me, it seems like the push to get new users onboard with the OOB experience with the automatic dashboard setup etc. has taken precedence over keeping some of the core features that made HA so good as a tool. And I do use it as a tool - some of the devices are kiosk displayed calendars and agendas, some are room specific smart home devices and so on. This is understandable. Most people into this kind of stuff tend to be early adopters. To grow, the company needs to get more users, which the largest majority are not the early adopter tinkers but 'normal' people who just wants something that 'just works'.

This is all fine, but don't remove the features that made HA so good in the first place in favour of new, inexperienced users

[DustyArmstrong]

While I do not wish to comment on anything I don't know the particulars of, specifically I don't know what people know or what their involvement is with developing the project, I will say this - my PR was closed citing dashboard permission issues, but I recently discovered that there actually are no dashboard permissions. You can modify card visibility on the basis of which user account is logged in, but you cannot hide or secure entire dashboards on a per-user basis. This of course confused me and I thought I must be mistaken given that was the reason my PR was closed, but it is indeed the case - you can only limit it to admins.

[oblivioncth]

Sure it's minor, but another complication of this I just ran into:

There are times now I have to login again on a browser or something while on the go in order to perform owner only tasks like resetting passwords as now my phone app is logged into my dumb second user account which is obviously no longer the owner account.