Where Home Assistant Device Triggers Moved in 2026.7
Home Assistant 2026.7 changed the automation editor's starting point. It now leads with purpose-specific triggers—plain choices such as motion detected or temperature crossed a threshold—instead of first showing the older technical categories. The familiar Device trigger still exists; it is nested under By type → Generic → Device.
Open Settings → Automations & scenes, create or edit an automation, choose Add trigger, and select By type. Scroll to Generic, choose Device, then pick the physical button, remote, or switch. The next field should list actions supplied by its integration—the software connection that translates the device for Home Assistant—such as single press, double press, hold, release, or a numbered scene.
If searching by entity shows only Battery or Update, back out. An entity is one reading or control Home Assistant keeps a state for. A momentary press may be a device event instead, so it will not appear beside a battery percentage. This is an editor-navigation problem, not evidence that the button has been deleted.
Try These Checks in This Order
- Use Add trigger → By type → Generic → Device, not the Entity search result.
- Select the physical device before looking for single-, double-, hold-, or release choices.
- Press the real button once. For a multi-action remote, perform every action you plan to automate at least once.
- Confirm the source integration saw those presses. In Zigbee2MQTT, open the device and watch its action or event information while pressing it.
- Close and reopen the trigger picker. If Zigbee2MQTT saw the event but Home Assistant still did not, reload the MQTT integration or restart Zigbee2MQTT once so discovery is sent again.
- If the source integration never sees the press, update that integration and the device firmware—the software stored on the button—when its official instructions recommend it. Check device support before considering re-pairing.
Test with something harmless first. Use the restored trigger to toggle a lamp or send a normal notification. For locks, garage doors, alarms, or safety equipment, keep the physical control and manual access available until repeated tests prove the trigger and action behave correctly.
Choose Device, Entity, or Event?
The labels describe different kinds of information. Choosing the correct one is more useful than repeatedly searching for the same device name.
| Choice | What it means | Use it when | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose-specific trigger | A friendly trigger described by what happened | The editor offers the exact behavior you need | Not every integration provides every new trigger yet |
| Generic Device | An event the integration ties to the whole physical device | A remote sends single, double, hold, release, or scene events | It is now nested under By type, so it is easy to miss |
| Entity | A reading or control with a stored state | You need battery low, contact open, temperature, or on/off | A stateless button press may never appear here |
| Event received | A specific event reported through an event entity | Your integration creates a supported event entity | Zigbee2MQTT still labels this route experimental |
The editor can show only the triggers that a device's integration provides. A device can therefore be online, report its battery, and still have no button event available.
If the Button Uses Zigbee2MQTT
Zigbee2MQTT's current Home Assistant guide recommends its normal button-event path, called an MQTT device trigger. MQTT is the local message system Zigbee2MQTT uses to pass device events to Home Assistant. Its guide also documents a detail that explains many empty trigger lists: each action is discovered only after the real device produces that event at least once.
Press single once, double once, hold once, and release once—only for actions the device actually supports. Then reopen Generic → Device. A sleepy battery remote may need to be awake while Zigbee2MQTT receives the press. You do not need to create a battery-based trigger or copy a raw MQTT topic just because the event list was initially empty.
Zigbee2MQTT can also create Home Assistant event entities, but its documentation still calls that method experimental and warns that event types or attributes may change. The older action-sensor method is deprecated. For a household automation you want to leave alone, use the stable MQTT device-trigger route unless you deliberately choose to test the newer event-entity path.
If the Button Uses ZHA, Z-Wave, or Another Integration
The same Generic → Device route applies when the integration exposes device triggers, but the names can differ. A Z-Wave wall switch may report a scene number instead of “double press.” A Zigbee remote may need a device-specific support rule, often called a quirk, so Home Assistant knows how to translate its messages.
If the device page updates when you press the button but no useful trigger appears, check the integration's current device-support notes and Home Assistant release before changing the network. If nothing at all reaches the integration, replace the battery if needed, wake the device, check range to the coordinator—the radio that runs the Zigbee network—and follow that integration's pairing guidance. Re-pair only after the source connection—not merely the new editor—has been shown to be the problem.
Your Existing Device Automations Were Not Removed
The 2026.7 redesign changes how you start a new trigger; it does not delete the generic Device type or require you to rebuild saved device automations. Home Assistant's release notes say generic triggers and YAML remain available, and its trigger documentation still describes device events from remotes.
If a previously saved automation now fails at runtime, that is a different question. Open its trace to see whether the trigger fired, then use Tara's Home Assistant automation-not-firing checks. Do not delete a working automation simply because the new picker looks different.
Does the Trigger Choice Change Local Control?
No. Choosing Device instead of Entity changes how Home Assistant listens for the action; it does not change the device's connection. ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT can report button events through equipment inside your home, so those presses can keep working without the internet when the radio, Home Assistant host, and powered network gear remain available.
A vendor-cloud integration can still need internet access even when its event is shown as a Device trigger. If outage behavior matters, check the integration page's IoT class label, which identifies a local or cloud connection, and test by disconnecting the internet without powering down your local network. Tara's ZHA versus Zigbee2MQTT guide explains the two common local Zigbee paths.
Tara's Practical Recommendation
Use the friendly purpose-specific trigger when it plainly describes the behavior. Keep Generic → Device as the reliable fallback for button and remote events, and write the actual press beside the automation name—“bedside button, double press, all lights off”—so someone else can maintain it later.
For a supported household system, Tara's configured Home Assistant setup documents the integration, coordinator, physical button behavior, local-control boundary, and recovery path instead of leaving the trigger source as a mystery.
FAQ
Where are Device triggers in Home Assistant 2026.7?
Open or create an automation, choose Add trigger → By type → Generic → Device, select the physical device, then choose one of the triggers its integration supplies.
Why does my button show only a battery entity?
Battery level is a stored entity state. A short button press is often a momentary device event. Back out of the Entity picker and use the Generic Device path. If no presses appear there, verify that the source integration actually receives and exposes them.
How do I make Zigbee2MQTT button actions appear?
Physically perform every supported action you want to use. Zigbee2MQTT documents that its MQTT device triggers are discovered after an event is produced at least once. Reopen the automation editor after the event appears in Zigbee2MQTT.
Should I enable Zigbee2MQTT experimental event entities?
Not as the first fix. Zigbee2MQTT recommends MQTT device triggers for buttons and labels event entities experimental. Use them only if you intentionally want that newer path and accept that event details may change.
Do I need to re-pair a button with missing triggers?
Usually not. Choose the correct Device path, make every action fire once, and confirm the integration sees it. Re-pair only if the source integration no longer receives the button at all and its own recovery instructions call for pairing again.