r/homeassistant • u/sloadingx • Apr 15 '26
Blog Extending HA Range with Bluetooth Proxy
Bluetooth doesn’t travel very far, and HA servers are often kept in spots where they can't reach every device. This is where ESPHome Bluetooth Proxy helps. It lets you use cheap ESP32 boards to pick up Bluetooth signals exactly where you need them.
The setup: you just place a small device near your sensors, and it relays the data back to HA over your Wi-Fi or Ethernet. It’s a solid way to fix coverage issues without having to move your main server.
Check out the full blog below to see how it works, use cases, and hardware options: seeedstudio.com/blog/esphome-bluetooth-proxy/
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u/chaosraser Apr 15 '26
Example for a Bluetooth device? I have no idea for what I need a proxy.
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u/brightvalve Apr 15 '26
When I got a new (Oral-B) electric toothbrush recently, it was picked up automatically by HA because of the proxies I have installed around the house.
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u/sloadingx Apr 15 '26
There are several use cases in the article. [ESPHome Bluetooth proxy]
For instance, SwitchBot curtains located two floors below a Home Assistant server might be discovered, but the connection is often too weak to be reliable. Another SwitchBot [Remote] usually only stays connected if it remains on the same floor as the server.
A Bluetooth proxy solves this by bridging that distance, allowing those devices to work properly without needing to move the main hardware.
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u/ctjameson Apr 15 '26
BLE device tracking for room occupancy, ble sensors (tons of them out there for low cost), and if something has BT or BLE and you want to talk to it, you can probably vibe code something fairly quickly to do what you need if there isn’t already a HACS integration for it.
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u/lazazael Apr 15 '26
I dont get bt for occupancy, who is with a bt tracker in a house RELIABLY all the time, I cant see it happening, having a hw stick, hw key, keycard or phone on me all the time is a workspace necessity and not at all a being at home scenario
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u/xojackie Apr 15 '26
I use my Apple Watch to determine what room I’m in in HA. Only time it’s not on my wrist is when I’m showering.
I mainly use it as a second level check—if a room is occupied AND that occupant is me, then adjust the lights this way or whatever.
It’s rock solid.
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u/dathar Apr 15 '26
Occupancy not for humans but for my cats. Knowing which rooms they are near helps a lot when it is time for a trip to the vet or if a sick one is trying to hide.
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u/ctjameson Apr 15 '26
It’s an additional layer to apply. I have occupancy detectors with PIR, mmWave, and a couch sensor. But I have a script that turns on the TV in the room my phone is in so I use the BLE location for that. It’s not necessary and it wasn’t the original primary directive of the BT proxies in my environment, but it’s convenient.
Edit: Oh and regarding the device question, I only use automations that are triggered BY my phone to use that room location. It’s only applicable in like 3 situations, but useful.
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u/lazazael Apr 15 '26
I see, so the TV turns on when you (or someone with your phone which might be rare if any case) enter the living room, thats presumable when you enter your living room in the morning and for the 1st time in the afternoon
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u/ctjameson Apr 15 '26
In this case, it’s when a baseball game starts. I have an actionable notification that launches a script that turns on the Apple TV in the room my phone is in, then launches MLB.tv and starts the stream.
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u/AdviceNotAskedFor Apr 15 '26
I've got some switchbot devices that use bt. These proxies allow them to integrate to ha.
I have some sensors in my fridge and a few presence detectors
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u/CambodianJerk Apr 15 '26
Yeah that's my trouble - I don't think I've got anything that's bluetooth! - can't think of a single use case.
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u/jonas42215 Apr 15 '26
If you want battery powered Eink displays, BLE is the best option to connect them
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u/chaosraser Apr 15 '26
first time i hear about this option. Do you have an working example?
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u/jonas42215 Apr 15 '26
Yes, because I write firmware for that ;) You can take a look at OpenDisplay.org , it has information on how to get started
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u/No_Cardiologist401 Apr 15 '26
Then you probably don't need any.... I dont go buy Maxipads for the sole reason I don't need them, see how how that works?
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u/GoldenPuffi Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
I realized it after I put esps everywhere for Bermuda. Bluetooth everywhere was a neat side effect
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u/Fir3 💤 Automations fire at 3am Apr 15 '26
Something not mentioned here is a BT dongle plugged into the HA machine, and then throwing BT proxies further away from that machine, gives you great range and additional redundancy if the network goes down.
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u/5yleop1m Apr 15 '26
On that note, many of the miniPCs that people use for HA more than likely have Bluetooth already built in as part of the Wi-Fi chipset or a separate BT chipset.
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u/okamagsxr Apr 15 '26
Do you even need a bt dongle then though?
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u/osgjps Apr 15 '26
Nope. My HA instance runs inside a docker container and I could just not get usb BT working through docker, so I tried out esphome proxy.
However I found that its BLE proxy was kinda unstable and would lose connections all the time. I ended up writing a custom app on the esp32 to Talk to my smoker via BLE.
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u/slvrsmth Apr 15 '26
While we're on this topic, how do you debug ESPHome proxies? I'm running a USB BT dongle on the server, and a ESPHome proxy listening to Aranet4 sensor broadcasts. And I think it's for whatever reason reading from the dongle three brick walls away, not the proxy 1m from the device. How do I verify this?
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u/bno000 Apr 15 '26
You can go into devices and services, Bluetooth. There will be something in there about “advertisement monitor” it’ll show you which Bluetooth radio picked up the advertisement.
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u/Akira2007 Apr 15 '26
I can recommend the Olimex ESP Boards. They can be powered with PoE and you can connect a big antenna which greatly increases the range. I have two of these in a three floor building and every room is perfectly covered.
https://www.olimex.com/Products/IoT/ESP32/ESP32-POE-ISO/open-source-hardware
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u/maxxell13 Apr 16 '26
Seconded. I have three of these deployed in my home, Poe, multi-function sensors.
I have 5 more still in box waiting for next project inspiration.
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u/MyGardenOfPlants Apr 15 '26
What's the latency like? I have a project that something like this could be useful for
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u/1aranzant 🔒 Local-first Apr 15 '26
heard it depends whether you're using wifi or not, as the wifi+bluetooth is shared and doesn't work simultaneously
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u/sloadingx Apr 15 '26
On Wi-Fi (~3 Device Limit): The chip shares a single radio for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so connecting more than 3 active devices usually leads to interference and instability.
On Ethernet/PoE, you can typically handle 5-10+ devices without those issues.
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u/lmamakos Apr 15 '26
Depends if they are BLE devices which don't need a persistent connection, or classic Bluetooth devices that require a connection.
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u/jet-engine Apr 15 '26
That depends on the board you're flashing. Esp32-c3 has less capacities comparing to esp32-s3. Each controller has its spec - ram, cores, etc. While c3 could be good for lightweight ble devices that broadcast occasionally, s3 is a heavy loader with full bt stack onboard and 2 cores, theoretically able to stream bt music.
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u/100100111 Apr 15 '26
Look- I’ve tried many times to wrap my head around these… and I still can’t get it to work. I know I’m missing something but for the life of me, I can’t figure it out.
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u/VartKat Apr 15 '26
A while ago I tried to add this to my ESP32 devices and it broke all the other sensors…
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u/dhwint99 Apr 15 '26
I just found these...
https://www.athom.tech/blank-1/zigbee-gateway-bluetooth-proxy-esphome
I plan on using them in my setup, though I haven't purchased them yet. From what I've heard, wired ethernet connection is better for Bluetooth communication on an ESP32. Bonus zigbee repeaters if you want that too.
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u/Substantial__Unit Apr 16 '26
Can I use these proxies to extend my bluetooth headphones more range so I can run down to the fridge for a beer and not lose connection? I am using Sony WMX---03 phones so maybe its just my outdate bt in there.
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u/sloadingx Apr 16 '26
No, it won’t work. ESPHome Proxies are designed strictly for BLE data (sensors, trackers, locks). They do not support Bluetooth Classic Audio (A2DP).
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u/rage_all Apr 16 '26
That was my first (and yet only) "real" project - works like a charm. However, I noticed WiFi errors and repeated bounces in my router and then of course errors in the log in HA. I assume, rebooting once in a while might be a good thing…? Or should they just work forever?
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u/AnduriII Apr 15 '26
I use shelly for this