ESP-NOW - Peer to Peer ESP32 Network

Set up a private peer-to-peer network without WiFi using ESP-NOW! I’ll show you how to use this powerful protocol with several ESP32 boards.

ESP-NOW is a protocol that allows you to use ESP32 and ESP8866 boards to create a private peer to peer network. Use two boards, or use ten. Transmit in one direction (half-duplex) or bidirectionally (full-duplex). With or without encryption.

This magic all comes courtesy of the 2.4GHz radio transceiver that powers the ESP board's WiFi and Bluetooth features. We can also use this radio to set up a network to send small (250 bytes) packets of data between ESP boards.

No WiFi or Router is required. Mix and match boards as much as you want.

I’ll be showing you how ESP-NOW works, and we’ll perform a few simple experiments with a bunch of ESP32 boards. We’ll end by building a remote temperature sensor system, then expanding it to use multiple sensors.

Here is the Table of Contents for today's video!

00:00 - Introduction
01:59 - ESP-NOW
06:56 - Getting MAC Address
09:59 - Getting Started with ESP-NOW
19:05 - ESP-NOW Broadcast Mode
28:26 - Remote Temperature Sensing
35:57 - Multiple Temperature Sensors
40:58 - Conclusion

I’ve only scratched the surface of what we can do with ESP-NOW in this video, so I'll probably be incorporating it into another project soon.

Hope you find it interesting!

Bill

[Dronebotworkshop]

Hi everyone - It's come to my attention that there has been someone masquerading as myself, responding to some comments here with a link to a Telegram chat to win a prize from me. THIS IS A SCAM, I am not holding a contest, nor do I have a Telegram account. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THESE MESSAGES!!


Thanks!

Bill (The real one!)

[Sikuq]

Thank you so much for your "ESP NOW – Peer to Peer ESP32 Communications" video as well as the code listings on your web site. It absolutely got me up and running with my old DHT11 and two new Adafruit ESP32 Feather boards. Just getting the MAC addresses was a huge help. You are my primary ESP32 source of help and examples. And your 4K picture quality makes it all clear to read.

[JonathanDeWitt]

Bill,

A while back I started looking into ESP32's using your Introduction Video on the topic. Then I stared working on developing a 6-servo remote controller using 2 ESP32 Node MCU development boards that used the WiFi protocol but did not require any internet or even the wireless router. One board is a server which sends the readings from 6 potentiometers to the receiver board which then uses the 6 angles to control 6 servo motors. I used your ESP32 servo video to learn how to control servos with the ESP32. It works great! This project wet my appetite for remote control applications with ESP32. The video you just uploaded has expanded greatly what I can now do with the ESP32 in remote control applications.

Thank you so much for putting this video out and all of the quality content you produce. It is very much appreciated.

Jonathan

[fritzfindeklee]

Thank you so much for your videos! Not only are they very informative, you also create an atmosphere that makes it such a pleasure to learn. You truly are an amazing teacher!

[bigpickles]

One of my fav channels to watch. Even if some of the videos are basic knowledge to me, it's refreshing to listen to and have playing in the background. A great presenter, great topics and excellent delivery. Thank you, kindly!

[Adrian-yzoe]

Your channel has been a great discovery for me, Sir! Congratulations! Your videos are excellent!

[carlarrowsmith]

I ordered three ESP32s just to try this out last week. Great timing, thanks Bill.

[your_utube]

I agree with the other people who said that your lessons are well structured. You are an inspiration. Because of you I have ordered an ESP32 to start my own journey. God bless from here in South Africa.

[BerndSchmitt-Martinique]

Always important things to learn from the drone-bot headquarters in toronto. Thank you BILL ! This is absolutely usefull.

[svlaststar]

I just subscribed to your channel. I have been using ESP-NOW for a little over a year. It took me some struggles to get it working. I wish I would have seen your video back then when I started with my project. I want to say I really like your videos. I have retired and now have more time for my projects. I look forward to following more of your projects. Thank you for sharing with us all.

[jamesfalkofske]

I am so grateful for all of your excellent tutorials. I am a photographer / videographer who is planning on building a combination camera slider, pan & tilt mechanism with remote focusing system. Your awesome tutorials and detailed explanations help me feel confident buying and building with microcontrollers for my needs. I subscribed to this channel and also signed up for your newsletter. I am so happy that I stumbled upon your channel! (I've watched at least a dozen of your videos so far, and this wireless peer communication is exactly what I needed to set up my remote camera operations platform!!!)

[m_bonny_p]

I love that your Videos are such long, and you understand everything because you explain from a -z ! Thanks!

[hanshaerdtle]

Brilliant tutorial and elegant solution which saves the use of nRFxx or other transmitters which I use in similar meshed projects, at least within the shorter range coverage normally sufficient for home automation projects. Thank you.

[maxxxhelll]

Best ESP-NOW tutorial that I have watched so far. Thanks for the detailed explanations.

[jdholbrook]

Thank you for the clear and concise explanation of how this works. I was able to understand it all an the demo worked on the first try.
The good thing is, I understand all of it so making my next project will be much easier!
Now to dig into transmitting audio through ESPNOW. Audio data from the I2S mic that you also have up. It too worked on the first shot and your clear explanation helped me to understand fully what was going on.
Thank you again.

[sinjhguddu]

Fantastic. Been yearning for this tutorial. My lucky day I guess. Thank you for your beautifully structured lessons.

[SaifulIslam-qleb]

Your video is easy to reach everyone. I do not understand the complex English language. But I can easily understand your speech. Thank you very much for teaching us electronics.

[alanmusicman]

Excellent tutorial - thank you. For some years I have been using Particle's ARM based microcontrollers where you get this kind of thing built in - i.e event generation and event receive (encrypted) all built into their bundled system and messages are handled via their secure infrastructure - but there's the rub. If they have a problem on their infrastructure or if your comms to the internet go down then the event messaging stops working. If (as in my case) the messages are between people sensors and lighting systems, then that can leave you fumbling around in the dark now and then!

I really like Particle's events handling system, cos you can use it between any two points on the planet where you have net access, but I think for my local sensor/appliance messaging I shall seriously consider a gradual re-implementation using 8266 and ESP-Now. Many thanks!

[ahmadaboshaker]

I enjoy watching you very much my dear brother, I hope to see you healthy always, you have the love from the Syrian Arab Republic

[lnbt]

Love it! I have been searching for a ESP32 tutorial for multiple remote (peer-to-peer) push buttons. Thank you so much!