Home automation is becoming increasingly popular, and Home Assistant is a powerful tool that allows you to manage all your smart devices from a single platform. However, setting up a Home Assistant system can be challenging, especially for beginners. One of the most critical components in this process is the microSD card used to store the Home Assistant operating system and all its associated files. In this article, we will explore why it is essential to choose the right microSD card for your setup, and we will introduce the new Samsung PRO Endurance Memory Card, which offers unparalleled durability and performance for this application.
Don't trust any old microSD card
If you are new to Home Assistant, don't fret about your code potentially causing issues. Instead, you should be more concerned about the durability of the microSD card in your Raspberry Pi. As I mentioned earlier, if you intend to use your Raspberry Pi for anything beyond just testing Home Assistant, it is essential to invest in a suitable microSD card. Luckily, Samsung has recently unveiled a new microSD card that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone using a Raspberry Pi setup.
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Samsung PRO Endurance MicroSDXC Memory Card
- Capacity: 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB
- Limited warranty: 2-year (32 GB), 3-year (64 GB), or 5-year (128 GB and 256 GB)
- Speed Class: Class 10, U1, V10 (32 GB and 64 GB) or Class 10, U3, V30 (128 GB and 256 GB)
- Transfer Speed (read/write): 100/30 MB/s (32 GB and 64 GB) or 100/40 MB/s (128 GB and 256 GB)
- Endurance (Hours): 17,520 (32 GB), 35,040 (64 GB), 70,080 (128 GB), and 140,160 (256 GB)
Why Home Assistant is a menace to microSD cards
Home Assistant continuously reads and writes data to the microSD card, which means that standard microSD cards won't be able to handle it for an extended period. Unless it is built for continuous recording devices, such as security cameras or dashcams, it won't suffice.
That's where endurance cards come into play, and they're the perfect match for Raspberry Pis running Home Assistant. Samsung's new PRO Endurance Memory Card takes this to the next level by providing up to 16 years (140,160 hours) of continuous recording, which surpasses the competition.
There are compromises
Although its read and write speeds of 100/40 MB/s aren't as fast as microSD cards optimized for speed, they shouldn't pose a bottleneck in your system. If you are sticking with a Raspberry Pi, I still recommend making the switch to an external SSD. However, if that isn't part of your plans, the new Samsung PRO Endurance Memory Card will be a great option for you.