Migrate Your Home Assistant Server From microSD Card to SSD

Publish date: 2024-03-02

If you use the Raspberry Pi for a Home Assistant server installed on a microSD card, you may begin experiencing performance issues as you add more entities and install or run multiple add-ons, such as a Plex media server or Samba, or use it as an NVR (network video recorder).

However, you can quickly migrate your existing Home Assistant server from the microSD card to a solid-state drive (SSD) and boot Home Assistant on your Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 from it. This will be much faster and more reliable, and SSDs are available in larger capacities at significantly lower prices than a performance-grade SD card.

Methods to Migrate Home Assistant Server From SD Card to SSD

There are two reliable ways to move or migrate your Home Assistant server from a microSD card to SSD.

  • Backup, reinstall, and restore the Home Assistant server.
  • Create a Home Assistant server image and burn it on the SSD.

    • You can use an external or internal (in a USB enclosure) SSD of any size. We are using a 500GB Samsung SSD to run the Home Assistant server since we also use the server as a surveillance NVR to record CCTV footage from IP cameras based on motion. Both NVMe and SATA SSDs will work as long as they have a USB port for connection.

    Also, you must enable USB boot on your Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 that you are using for your Home Assistant server.

    Below, we take you through both methods in detail to help you migrate your Home Assistant or any other server or OS from SD card to SSD with complete integrity and without any risk of data loss. Make sure to follow either of these methods in the given order of steps.

    Method 1: Backup, Reinstall, and Restore Home Assistant

    This is the recommended method to migrate your Home Assistant Server from a microSD card to SSD. This method comprises three steps.

    Step 1: Create the Home Assistant Server Backup

    On your Home Assistant server, go to Settings > System > Backups and then click the Create Backup button.

    Enter the backup name, choose the Full backup option, and click Create. Wait for it to create a backup. This can take a while to finish. Once the backup is complete, click on the backup's name and then click the three dots > Download backup.

    This will download the Home Assistant backup to your local storage.

    Step 2: Flash Home Assistant Image on SSD

    Download the same Home Assistant version which is running on the microSD card and use the Raspberry Pi Imager tool to flash the image onto the SSD.

  • Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager tool
  • Select the Home Assistant OS image in Choose OS, the connected SSD drive in Choose Storage, and click Write.
  • Connect the SSD to the USB port of your Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 and connect the power supply.
  • If you have enabled USB boot on your Raspberry Pi, the Home Assistant will boot from the connected SSD drive. Since it’s the first boot, it will take a while to finish.

    • Step 3: Restore Backup

    Once the Home Assistant installation is done on the SSD, you will see an option: "Alternatively, you can restore from a previous snapshot".

    Click on it and then select the backup that you downloaded on your local storage. Click Restore Selected. The backup will upload to your Home Assistant server running on SSD and restore it. During the process, your server will be offline for a while. This can take several minutes based on the size of your Home Assistant backup, so sit back and relax.

    Once the server is restored, the web interface will automatically load. At this stage, you have successfully migrated your Home Assistant server running via microSD card to SSD.

    Method 2: Create Home Assistant Image From SD Card and Burn It on SSD

    You can clone the current Home Assistant server as an image file from the microSD card using the Win32 Disk Imager tool and then flash this image to SSD using the Raspberry Pi Imager tool. The steps are as follows:

  • Turn off Raspberry Pi and disconnect the microSD card.
  • Use a card reader to connect the microSD card to your PC.
  • Download, install, and launch the Win32 Disk Imager tool.
  • Click the folder icon to choose a location where you want to save the Home Assistant backup image file. Type a name for the file and click Open.
  • Choose the drive letter under the Device option and then click Read.
  • The tool will create an image file containing the Home Assistant partitions and data information. This will take a while to complete based on the size of the microSD card and its read speed.
  • An estimated time will be displayed in the bottom right corner.
  • After the image is created, launch the Raspberry Pi Imager tool.
  • Click Choose OS and select the image file we just created.
  • Click Choose Storage and choose the connected SSD drive.
  • Click Write. Confirm if prompted.
  • Once the image is burned on the SSD, connect the SSD to the Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 with USB boot enabled and power on the device.
  • The Home Assistant will boot, and you can continue using the server normally as you were when it was running on a microSD card but with more storage capacity and faster performance.

    • Faster Performance With More Storage

    When it comes to performance and reliability, SD cards can be slower and less reliable due to their limited storage and read/write cycles. So, by migrating your Home Assistant server from SD card to SSD, you can significantly boost its performance and reliability.

    Besides, if you want to use your Home Assistant server as an NVR to record IP CCTV videos, as NAS or cloud storage to store files or backups, as a media server to stream movies and TV shows (such as Plex or Kodi), or as a VPN, by installing add-ons, you must migrate to a larger SSD as these services will increase the read/write operations and require more storage.

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