{
  "id": 14522454,
  "title": "I used an ESP32 to map my Wi-Fi dead zones instead of walking around with my phone",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/i-used-an-esp32-to-map-my-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-14T19:30:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/used-esp32-to-map-wi-fi-dead-zones-instead-of-walking-around-with-phone/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Many people have experienced being suddenly disconnected from Wi-Fi while in a corner of their home. The Wi-Fi signal bars on phones and routers are misleading and don't provide precise information about the connection. The author wanted a more accurate way to identify weak Wi-Fi areas in their house without relying on phone signal bars. They decided to use an ESP32 microcontroller to read the Wi-Fi signal strength directly and store the data. Initially, they considered using an ESP32-C6 with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, but found that the built-in Zigbee radio and Wi-Fi 6 chip didn't provide a significant advantage for this simple project. They opted for the ESP32-S3 for its mature tooling and ease of implementation. Instead of creating a custom dashboard, they integrated the data into their existing Home Assistant system, which they already used daily. The ESP32-S3 was configured to read the Wi-Fi signal strength, calculate an average RSSI value, and store the latest results per room. The author then created a few entity cards on their Home Assistant dashboard to display the live Wi-Fi signal, survey data, and room-specific history. By using this approach, the author was able to identify significant dead zones in their kitchen and bedroom, proving that even a simple setup with an ESP32 board can provide valuable insights into Wi-Fi connectivity issues.",
  "summary": "A spare board did the walking.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}