The homeThing S3 can still be ordered fully assembled from PCBWay. The code, case files, and PCB files stay here for anyone who wants to build their own.
The successor is homeThing C6
a universal remote with a scroll wheel. It has no screen, better battery life, and also sponsored by PCBWay.
homeThing is a collection of software and hardware for creating universal remotes that control smart home devices.
There are 3 components that belong to homeThing: the case and circuit board, the menu system code, and the code to control smart home devices
- Hardware specific for smart home remotes that's open source, customizable, and 3D printable.
- Menu system for ESP32 devices focused on controlling smart home devices similar to an iPod's menu.
- ESPHome Components for controlling Home Assistant devices.
- Get Started - Learn how to build your own remote
- Discord - support / chat with the community and the team
- Instagram - Follow along on Instagram
- Website - Check out our website for more information
We designed the two remotes below to be ideal for controlling smart home devices without a touch screen. They are both battery-powered but can also be plugged into USB and left in one place. The first remote was based on a Lilygo TDisplay. We moved on to the homeThing S3 because the original device had slow performance, lacked buttons, and had challenges with assembly. Neither is in active development anymore; work has moved to homeThing C6.
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More Info |
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| Not available for purchase | No longer developed, still available fully assembled from PCBWay |
| Order Case from PCBWay | Order parts or fully assembled from PCBWay |
| Sold: 27 assembled, 32 PCBs, 10 cases | |
| Case 3D Files | Case 3D Files |
| ESPHome Config | ESPHome Config |
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We made a couple of custom devices for running homeThing, but it can also run on almost any ESP32 such as,
- M5Stack Fire
- M5Stick C
- Lilygo T4
- Lilygo T-Display TTGO
- Lilygo T-Display S3
- Lilygo T-Display S3 AMOLED
| t-display demo | m5stack fire demo | lilygo T4 demo |
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- Scroll through list and press center to select
- With a scrollwheel the top button goes back
- On M5Stack going up past the top of the list will go back
- A scroll bar appears if list extends past the screen.
- Screen returns to now playing after display sleeps
- Display sleeps after 10s of idle. Device sleeps after 2h of idle 💤
- Font size and UI size is adjustable in yaml 🔨
- Simple yaml configuration. all of the complicated code is included in other files 🛠
- Header is always shown at the top with info about the current state
- Control media players using the scroll wheel buttons
- Scroll for volume using the scroll wheel
| Music | TV |
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- Custom UI and buttons to control infrared cat toys
- Snake
- Breakout
- Home Assistant Voice Contest - Best Starting Guide https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2024/03/16/voice-assistant-community-contest-winners-annoucement/
- Hackaday https://hackaday.com/2022/09/08/scroll-through-esphome-with-ipod-style-click-wheel/
- Hackster https://www.hackster.io/news/ipod-style-esphome-remote-3ca38edab2b4
- Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/x59dcp/i_built_an_ipod_style_esphome_remote_for_home/
- Self Hosted - Episode 80 - Solving Whole Home Audio (around 30:00) https://selfhosted.show/80
PCBWay sponsored 3D Printing and PCB assembly costs on this project during the prototyping phase, and also sponsors homeThing C6!
If you are interested in their awesome fabrication services please check them out. They offer 3D prototyping, PCB design and assembly, as well as CNC metal fabrication. Costs are reasonable and the quality is as good as it gets. Thank you PCBWay for sponsoring us and other fun projects!
cargo sponsors our website!
They make it super easy to keep things pretty and up to date! It’s honestly so much easier than managing our own site, highly recommended!