Raspberry Pi Smart Home Hub
go back home
Last updated: Nov 16, 2025
The Inspiration
In a recent(ish) home cleaning, I found an old Android tablet (circa 2013!). The battery drains fairly quickly, but otherwise it works well. Of course, the main issue is security: since I can't upgrade to a new version of Android, connecting it to my home wifi could put the rest of my devices at risk.

I'm also annoyed with all of the apps I'm expected to install onto my phone just to manage my various smart home devices. Every app wants my data, every app requires a log in.. it's a lot. I also dislike most of the interfaces. So, I'm going to try to make my own dashboard for my home devices, and use the tablet as the display. Think of it like a Google Nest Hub, except it'll work for me, and I won't have to worry about it listening to my conversations.
The Plan
Side note: I thought this was neat! I'm used to using Lucidchart at work, and was looking for something similar (and free). I found draw.io, which is very similar. Moreover, I didn't need to create an account to use it; I connected to my Google Drive to save and resume my work; and one of the options is to embed the image (so I don't have to export to JPG, then upload), as I did below.

Progress
Raspberry Pi Assembly
  1. Raspberry Pi and accessories ordered from PiShop.us

    Starting from upper-left and going clockwise:
    - Raspberry Pi 4
    - Power supply
    - Case
    - Heatsinks
    - Fan
    Photo of Raspberry Pi and accessories in their packages
    Photo of Raspberry Pi and accessories after removing packaging

  2. Assemble

    Stick the heatsinks onto the A) main processor, B) DDR 4 memory, and C) USB controller chip.
    (Shoutout to this video!)
    My photo

  3. Slide the fan into the slot in the case.
    Side note: Nifty that they included the simple instructions for placing the Pi on the inside of the case.
    Photo of Raspberry Pi case with fan. Printed instructions read 1 Insert, 2 Snap

  4. Put the Raspberry Pi in the case and connect the fan.
    While this isn't the same fan, this PDF (Raspberry Pi case fan product brief) shows which pins to use.
    Photo of Raspberry Pi in case with fan pins connected.

  5. Close the case.
    Photo of encased Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry Pi OS
  1. Download the Raspberry Pi Imager
  2. I opted for the 64-bit Lite since I planned to just SSH into the device
    (Click here to see a full list of official Raspberry Pi operating systems)
  3. I set up SSH options and included the wifi login.
  4. After imaging, I inserted the SD card into the Raspberry Pi, and plugged in the power. Since I don't have a power button, the Pi just turned on and booted up.
  5. I did a quick test on my laptop to make sure I could SSH into the Pi, and... it worked on the first try! I had nothing more to do at this time, so I just (remotely) shut down the Pi and unplugged the power.
Next Steps