--- title: I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an... description: A DIY project uses ESPectre firmware to turn Wi-Fi Channel State Information (CSI) into a motion sensor on an ESP32 board, avoiding the need for dedicated... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices | daily.dev og:description: A DIY project uses ESPectre firmware to turn Wi-Fi Channel State Information (CSI) into a motion sensor on an ESP32 board, avoiding the need for dedicated... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/fDaqHJ3Zn.png og:image:alt: I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A DIY project uses ESPectre firmware to turn Wi-Fi Channel State Information (CSI) into a motion sensor on an ESP32 board, avoiding the need for dedicated sensors or privacy-invasive cameras. ESPectre supports four firmware variants (HTTP server, Matter in progress, MicroPython, and ESPHome), and the ESPHome version integrates with Home Assistant. Positioning the ESP32 about 3 meters from the router and enabling a high-accuracy profile produced precise motion detection, which was then wired into Home Assistant automations to trigger smart lights, useful for pantry or hallway lighting rather than rooms where stationary presence matters. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How can I detect motion with an ESP32 without adding a PIR or other sensor module? ESPectre firmware turns an ESP32's built-in Wi-Fi radio into a motion sensor by analyzing Channel State Information (CSI) from Wi-Fi packets, which captures power decay, scattering, and other physical signal properties as it travels between transmitter and receiver. It works on classic ESP32 boards plus ESP32-C6, ESP32-S3, and ESP32-C3 variants, with an ESPHome build that integrates directly with Home Assistant. _daily.dev surfaces projects like this for makers wiring sensor-free motion detection into their smart home setup._ ### What is the ideal distance between an ESP32 running ESPectre and my Wi-Fi router for motion detection? Around 3 meters is the ideal distance between the ESP32 microcontroller and the router for accurate CSI-based motion detection with ESPectre. Enabling the high accuracy profile in the setup further improved detection precision in real-world testing, making the setup reliable enough to trigger Home Assistant automations like turning on lights when someone walks by. _daily.dev helps DIY smart home builders track setup details like this before wiring their own automations._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Motion detection system based on Wi-Fi spectre analysis \(CSI\), with Home Assistant integration.](https://daily.dev/posts/motion-detection-system-based-on-wi-fi-spectre-analysis-csi-with-home-assistant-integration--qo37bhgwk) · Hacker News · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Make Your Own ESP32-Based Person Sensor, No Special Hardware Needed](https://daily.dev/posts/make-your-own-esp32-based-person-sensor-no-special-hardware-needed-dfp3mevmp) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [My first ESP32 sensor solved a real problem, and now I'm building new projects every week](https://daily.dev/posts/my-first-esp32-sensor-solved-a-real-problem-and-now-i-m-building-new-projects-every-week-xg2qcsehh) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [5 ESP32 projects that punch way above their weight](https://daily.dev/posts/5-esp32-projects-that-punch-way-above-their-weight-iayhbilf9) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Scanning For Lifesigns With ESP32 And Raspberry Pi](https://daily.dev/posts/scanning-for-lifesigns-with-esp32-and-raspberry-pi-nfkwqkwyv) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn"},"datePublished":"2026-09-29T15:03:52.448Z","dateModified":"2026-09-29T19:19:47.690Z","description":"A DIY project uses ESPectre firmware to turn Wi-Fi Channel State Information (CSI) into a motion sensor on an ESP32 board, avoiding the need for dedicated...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/15402d905efb5bf8fe77ef7bcc7f5ba6?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/15402d905efb5bf8fe77ef7bcc7f5ba6?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"tech-news,hardware,iot","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-wi-fi-signal-into-a-home-motion-sensor-using-an-esp32-and-it-now-controls-my-smart-devices-fdaqhj3zn#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How can I detect motion with an ESP32 without adding a PIR or other sensor module?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"ESPectre firmware turns an ESP32's built-in Wi-Fi radio into a motion sensor by analyzing Channel State Information (CSI) from Wi-Fi packets, which captures power decay, scattering, and other physical signal properties as it travels between transmitter and receiver. 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