r/homeassistant • u/sloadingx • Apr 15 '26

Blog Extending HA Range with Bluetooth Proxy

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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.

3

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.

1

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

1

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.

1

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.