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Building a Multi-Protocol IoT Gateway with OpenMQTTGateway and ESP32

#openmqttgateway #mqtt #mqttgateway #esp32

Learn how to turn an ESP32 into a multi-protocol MQTT gateway that bridges BLE, RF, and IR devices with OpenMQTTGateway.

Managing multiple communication protocols in IoT—BLE, RF, IR, and LoRa—can be challenging.
Each device speaks its own “language,” requiring dedicated hubs, APIs, or integrations.

That’s where OpenMQTTGateway (OMG) comes in.
It’s an open-source firmware that turns an ESP32 board into a universal MQTT bridge, allowing diverse devices to coexist on one network.

Why OpenMQTTGateway?

OpenMQTTGateway is designed to make edge-level interoperability simple.
It translates signals from various wireless protocols and standardizes them using MQTT, the lightweight IoT messaging standard.

Key features:

  • Multi-protocol support: BLE, RF 433/868 MHz, IR, LoRa
  • Bi-directional communication (publish and subscribe)
  • Works with Home Assistant, Node-RED, and OpenHAB
  • Runs on affordable hardware: ESP32, ESP8266, STM32

In short, it acts as a universal IoT translator at the hardware level.

Quick Setup on ESP32

If you’ve worked with PlatformIO, you can get started in minutes:

git clone https://github.com/1technophile/OpenMQTTGateway.git
cd OpenMQTTGateway
platformio run
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Once flashed, your ESP32 automatically starts publishing sensor data via MQTT topics—ready to be consumed by your broker or automation platform.

You can also configure Wi-Fi and broker settings via the built-in WebUI.

Supported Protocols

OpenMQTTGateway supports a broad range of radio and communication modules:

Protocol Function Example Devices
BLE Scan and decode sensor data, track presence Xiaomi Mijia, Govee sensors
RF 433/868 MHz Decode and send radio commands Door sensors, RF outlets
IR Transmit and receive infrared codes TVs, air conditioners
LoRa Long-range communication Agriculture or warehouse sensors

Each module both publishes device data and subscribes to MQTT commands, so you can control devices remotely with minimal setup.

Integration with Home Assistant

To integrate OMG with Home Assistant, enable MQTT Discovery:

mqtt:
  discovery: true
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Once configured, your ESP32 gateway will automatically appear in the Home Assistant dashboard—no manual entity setup required.
It’s one of the cleanest ways to unify devices across different wireless technologies.

Why Developers Love It

  • Open-source flexibility – customize modules and add your own protocols
  • Modular design – enable only what you need (BLE, RF, IR, LoRa)
  • Lightweight and low-power – perfect for edge or embedded deployments
  • Scalable – extend from DIY experiments to commercial gateways

This makes OpenMQTTGateway a fantastic foundation for any IoT integration project.

Taking It Further

OpenMQTTGateway is an excellent starting point for building flexible, multi-protocol IoT gateways.
If you’re looking to scale this concept for real-world deployments—supporting hundreds or thousands of devices—ZedIoT can help.

👉 Explore our IoT Gateway Development Services
to see how we turn open frameworks like OpenMQTTGateway into enterprise-ready, production-grade gateways.

If you’re interested in full-stack IoT solutions that connect gateways, cloud, and analytics,
learn more about our AIoT Platform.

📎 Resources

GitHub: OpenMQTTGateway

Docs: https://docs.openmqttgateway.com/

More by ZedIoT: https://zediot.com/

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