--- title: I used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of... description: A DIY project uses a spare ESP32-S3 board flashed with ESPHome to measure Wi-Fi signal strength (RSSI) room by room instead of manually walking around with a... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone | daily.dev og:description: A DIY project uses a spare ESP32-S3 board flashed with ESPHome to measure Wi-Fi signal strength (RSSI) room by room instead of manually walking around with a... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/gxpNd7gdO.png og:image:alt: I used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone 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 used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A DIY project uses a spare ESP32-S3 board flashed with ESPHome to measure Wi-Fi signal strength (RSSI) room by room instead of manually walking around with a phone and unreliable Wi-Fi analyzer apps. The readings feed into Home Assistant via a short YAML config, with sensors for live reading, survey average, and per-room latest results, plus a custom dashboard to record and compare values. The survey revealed weak Wi-Fi in a kitchen and bedroom corner that phone signal bars never flagged. ## 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 measure Wi-Fi signal strength room by room instead of relying on my phone's signal bars? Flash an ESP32 board with an ESPHome YAML configuration that reads Wi-Fi RSSI and reports it as a sensor to Home Assistant. Set up three sensors (live reading, running survey average, and latest per-room result), then build a dashboard with entity cards for live signal, survey recording with room/duration selection, and a list of per-room results to walk through each room and log values. _Developers tracking home network DIY builds can follow practical ESP32 and Home Assistant projects on daily.dev._ ### Why shouldn't I trust Wi-Fi signal bars or phone analyzer apps to find dead zones in my house? Phone signal bars are imprecise indicators, and different Wi-Fi analyzer apps tested in the same spot gave conflicting readings, with one showing a strong connection and another flagging the same corner as borderline. Neither approach logs historical readings per location, making it hard to trust a single app's verdict on where connectivity actually drops. _Anyone debugging flaky home Wi-Fi can find more hands-on troubleshooting write-ups on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I turned Wi-Fi signal into a home motion sensor using an ESP32, and it now controls my smart devices](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) · XDA Developers · 2 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 - [I built a mesh network from old ESP32 boards instead of buying a new router, and my smart home coverage is better now](https://daily.dev/posts/i-built-a-mesh-network-from-old-esp32-boards-instead-of-buying-a-new-router-and-my-smart-home-cover-oioljyqaz) · 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 - [Peter's electric trick and electronic blog](https://daily.dev/posts/peter-s-electric-trick-and-electronic-blog-oupeaq4fm) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot), [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo) ```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 used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo"},"datePublished":"2026-10-14T19:33:14.720Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T19:36:25.287Z","description":"A DIY project uses a spare ESP32-S3 board flashed with ESPHome to measure Wi-Fi signal strength (RSSI) room by room instead of manually walking around with a...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/978ace2f2f6316e556c4d3d54e117ae0?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/978ace2f2f6316e556c4d3d54e117ae0?_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-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"iot,networking","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@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 used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-my-phone-gxpnd7gdo#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How can I measure Wi-Fi signal strength room by room instead of relying on my phone's signal bars?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Flash an ESP32 board with an ESPHome YAML configuration that reads Wi-Fi RSSI and reports it as a sensor to Home Assistant. 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