unlabeled buttons and images - accessibility

[shimi12x]

I am writing to report persistent accessibility issues in the Home Assistant Android Companion app (running on Android 16) when connected to Home Assistant core version 16.3 and using Google TalkBack (latest version) as my screen reader. The primary problem is widespread unlabeled controls, particularly icon-based buttons and images, which lack proper content descriptions or accessibility labels. This causes TalkBack to announce them as "unlabeled button," "unlabeled image," or simply "button" without context, making navigation extremely difficult and often impossible without sighted assistance.

A clear example occurs when attempting to create a new zone (in Settings > Companion app > Location > Zones > Add zone). In this flow:

• Multiple unlabeled icon buttons appear, announced only as "button" or "unlabeled button," with no indication of what they do.
• Several images and icons are read as "unlabeled graphic" or skipped entirely, leaving no information about available options or how to proceed.
• Similar unlabeled icon buttons are present when trying to make changes or complete the process.

This pattern of unlabeled image-based controls extends throughout the app, including dashboards, entity cards, and settings sections, severely limiting usability for screen reader users.

Adding proper android:contentDescription attributes to these elements would resolve the issue and improve compliance with Android accessibility guidelines. I would appreciate any updates on addressing this in a future release and am available to provide more details or test fixes.for the below 3 fields -->
Home Assistant Android app version(s):

Android version(s):

Device model(s):

Home Assistant version:

Last working Home Assistant release (if known):

Description of problem, include YAML if issue is related to notifications:

Companion App Logs:

Screenshot or video of problem:

Additional information:

[jpelgrom]

The path you're describing (Settings > Companion app > Location) doesn't exist.

Most of the areas you're describing sound like you're talking about the Home Assistant frontend, which is the shared interface across all devices. Does this also apply when using Home Assistant using Chrome on the device?

[shimi12x]

Hi Yes, i am talking about the front end Gui, the experience across devices, in context of accessibility, more or less It's the same. I attached a voice recording for you to hear the issue with buttons under the section, create zone, using Google talkback on android About my windows machine, using NVDA and firefox, the problem persists as mentioned above. Good day, Shimi Sent from [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) for Android.

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-------- Original Message --------

On Wednesday, 01/07/26 at 00:01 Joris Pelgröm ***@***.***> wrote: jpelgrom left a comment [(home-assistant/android#6230)](#6230 (comment)) The path you're describing (Settings > Companion app > Location) doesn't exist. Most of the areas you're describing sound like you're talking about the Home Assistant frontend, which is the shared interface across all devices. Does this also apply when using Home Assistant using Chrome on the device? — Reply to this email directly, [view it on GitHub](#6230 (comment)), or [unsubscribe](https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BHG3TY64BV65W6I6UTVUPAT4FQWFNAVCNFSM6AAAAACQWQX5ASVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTOMJWGUZDEOJWGA). You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[jpelgrom]

Thanks for confirming. This will need to be fixed in the frontend, the app cannot do this by itself.

There are already accessibility issues related to it here: https://github.com/home-assistant/frontend/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3AAccessibility. You may want to open a new one if something specific is missing.

I'm going to close this issue as all examples pointed out refer to the frontend. For the companion app specific UI we do (try to) pay attention to this, if there's anything specific please open a new issue.