Almost every ESP32 device has Wi-Fi; it’s one of the things that makes the microcontroller so versatile.You can use this functionality to power a variety of wireless projects, from penetration testing to expanding the range of your home network.Here are some ideas on how best to spend your free time this weekend.
Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 Brand Seeed Studio The Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 is the perfect budget-friendly microcontroller for smart home projects.With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, it also features a super deep sleep mode for low power usage when it isn't doing anything.The compact size makes this ideal for building smart home projects, and ESPHome allows it to easily integrate into Home Assistant.
$5 at Seeed Studio $10 at Amazon Expand Collapse Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C6 Brand Seeed Studio The Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C6 is the perfect microcontroller for your next smart home project.The built-in Zigbee and Z-wave radios compliment Matter and Thread support.Plus, with Wi-Fi 6, it'll easily connect to modern wireless networks. $5 at Seeed Studio $12 at Amazon Expand Collapse ESP32 Marauder defensive and offensive pen-testing device With a little power comes great responsibility The ESP32 Marauder is a set of tools for penetration testing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.
The project can be purchased from the author’s website for $100, or you can build one yourself using a variety of different development kits for much less.The ESP32 Marauder wiki Getting Started page is a good place to start, but you’ll also find plenty of guides online that you can follow to build your own.Perhaps the easiest method is to follow a video like the one featured above from YouTube security enthusiast The Cyber Mentor.
His guide is particularly straightforward in that he avoids soldering in favor of breadboards and uses simple jumper wires to hook the whole thing up.Once you have a good idea of how the Marauder works, you can even 3D print yourself a case.A simple ESP32 Wi-Fi repeater Expand the range of your network on the cheap Do you have Wi-Fi dead zones in your home? Are you looking for a cheap way to expand your home network? The ESP32 Wi-Fi repeater might be just what you’re looking for.
This project connects to your main network as a client and rebroadcasts it using a different SSID (IP addresses are still assigned by the main router).Using an ESP32-C5 even allows you to use both 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands, though performance will always be limited as a result of the limited hardware.Expect speeds of between 3 and 10 Mbps, which is enough for simple web requests and smart home devices but not ideal for bandwidth-hogging tasks.
A full-blown ESP32 NAT router Do it because you can From the same author that brought you the Wi-Fi repeater above comes the ESP32 NAT router, which can be used as a range extender and a VPN router that uses WireGuard, a converter from a WPA2-Enterprise network to a WPA-PSK one for older devices, a travel router, and as a presence monitoring device with Home Assistant.Performance largely depends on the ESP32 chip you use, but the author estimates between 5 and 15 Mbps.They also state that “it is not intended as a [$2] full replacement for a professional home router.” Either way, it’s a pretty neat proof-of-concept (and who knows how performance will scale when better chips arrive).
ESP32-powered Ethernet to Wi-Fi bridge Build a bridge and get over it You can build all manner of bridges with an ESP32, from infrared and radio wave proxies through to ESP-NOW mesh network bridges.Though these projects are interesting, the one that caught my eye is the Ethernet to Wi-Fi bridge.This happens to be from the same author as the repeater and router above, but there are many similar projects out there (like this one).
As the name suggests, this allows you to connect an Ethernet-only device, like an old computer, to a wireless network.You’ll either need an ESP32 dev kit with an Ethernet port on it (like the WT32-ETH01), or to combine another variant with an SPI Ethernet chip.ESP32 Wi-Fi radio Don’t touch that dial (or maybe do) If you want a real project, why not build a fully functional internet radio that works anywhere you’ve got Wi-Fi coverage? The imaginatively named WIFI Radio ESP32 V2 has a display, rotary knobs, and a remote.
The author has designed two models: one repurposes a defunct iPod speaker dock, the other uses a portable radio case.Subscribe to the newsletter for DIY ESP32 project guides Join the newsletter to access curated ESP32 project ideas, step-by-step build notes, and practical troubleshooting tips—plus related maker projects that spark hands-on Wi-Fi, repeater, router, bridge, and radio builds.Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You can unsubscribe anytime.Powered by a base model ESP32, the finished project relies on an inexpensive DAC and features customizable audio and a web interface.Station information is pulled from RadioBrowser, and you can set up a list of stations to quickly switch through (with data backup and restore fully supported).
If wireless fun is your jam, you’re going to love last week’s collection of ESP32 mesh network projects.
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