Question 1

What is OpenMote?

Accepted Answer

OpenMote is a programmable remote control built on the ESP32-S3: twelve buttons, a 6-axis motion sensor, infrared in and out, WiFi, and Bluetooth 5 LE, in a classic Wii-remote-style shell. It is made by Hat & Hammer, a two-person hardware studio in Los Angeles, and it is launching soon on Crowd Supply.

Question 2

Can I put OpenMote inside my old Wii remote?

Accepted Answer

Yes, that is the whole idea. The OpenMote board is a drop-in replacement for the board inside an original Wii remote, the one you may know as the Wiimote: open the shell, swap the board, close it up. No soldering, no adhesive, no drama. So far it has dropped into every official Wii remote shell we have tried. Third-party shells usually copy the original closely, but they do vary inside, so the guaranteed fit is for Nintendo's own shells. And if you would rather not open anything, the fully assembled OpenMote remote comes ready to go in its own shell.

Question 3

Does it work with an actual Wii console?

Accepted Answer

No, and we would rather you hear it from us. The original console talks to its remotes over Bluetooth Classic, and OpenMote is built on Bluetooth 5 LE, the modern standard that PCs, phones, and emulators use. OpenMote is for everything else: the emulator rig, the smart home, and whatever you build next.

Question 4

Does OpenMote work with Home Assistant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenMote works with Home Assistant out of the box, over your own network. Real physical buttons run your scenes and automations: lights, thermostats, media, anything Home Assistant can reach. And because you program the firmware, you decide what a single press, a double press, a long press, or a flick of the wrist actually does.

Question 5

Does OpenMote need the cloud?

Accepted Answer

No. OpenMote connects over your own WiFi and Bluetooth. There is no account to create and no subscription. You flash the firmware yourself, so you always know exactly what the remote is doing and who it talks to.

Question 6

Does it work with Alexa, Google Home, or Apple Home?

Accepted Answer

Yes, through Home Assistant. Its bridges connect OpenMote to Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Home, and its Matter integration lets OpenMote's buttons drive your Matter devices too. One remote can cover the whole living room: the TV over infrared, the lights over WiFi, the games over Bluetooth.

Question 7

Can OpenMote replace my old universal remote?

Accepted Answer

That is one of its favorite jobs. OpenMote carries a 940nm infrared emitter and a 38kHz receiver, so it can learn codes straight from any remote you point at it, then be that remote: TV, receiver, cable box, projector. If you have been nursing a discontinued Harmony remote, this is the programmable replacement. WiFi and Bluetooth pick up everything infrared cannot reach.

Question 8

Does OpenMote work with the Dolphin emulator?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenMote pairs as a standard Bluetooth gamepad on Windows, Mac, and Linux, with real motion data from its accelerometer and gyroscope. In Dolphin you map it as an emulated Wii Remote with motion input: no sensor bar adapter, no special Bluetooth stack, no sync-button ritual. The same goes for RetroArch and anything else that accepts a Bluetooth controller.

Question 9

Can I use it as a game controller on my PC or phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenMote shows up as a real Bluetooth HID gamepad on a PC, Mac, or phone, the same way a modern controller does. Buttons and motion are yours to map in firmware, and the haptic motor answers back with rumble.

Question 10

Can I program OpenMote with the Arduino IDE?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenMote programs like any ESP32: Arduino IDE, ESP-IDF, PlatformIO, or CircuitPython, all over USB-C. The OpenMote.h Arduino library covers the buttons, motion, sound, infrared, and LEDs. If you have ever flashed an ESP32 dev board, you already know how this works.

Question 11

Is OpenMote open source?

Accepted Answer

It will be. Complete schematics, PCB layouts, the bill of materials, and the Arduino library go public on GitHub before units ship. The board is built around the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, a pre-certified module the maker community already knows inside and out.

Question 12

Do I need to solder anything?

Accepted Answer

No. The board drops into the shell of an original Wii remote with every connection already made: buttons, battery, speaker, all of it. For expansion there is a Qwiic / STEMMA QT port, so thousands of off-the-shelf I2C sensors plug straight in, also without soldering.

Question 13

What exactly is inside?

Accepted Answer

Every part of a controller, on one board. ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, dual core at 240 MHz, with 16MB flash and 8MB PSRAM. WiFi 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth 5 LE, and ESP-NOW. 12 buttons, eleven freely programmable. A 6-axis IMU with accelerometer and gyroscope. A 940nm infrared emitter and a 38kHz receiver. A 3.2W Class-D amplifier with a PDM microphone. A haptic motor, 4 indicator LEDs, a Qwiic / STEMMA QT I2C port, and a 1200 mAh battery that charges over USB-C at 500 mA.

Question 14

Can OpenMote be a MIDI controller?

Accepted Answer

Yes, wired or wireless, with the right firmware. Over USB-C the ESP32-S3 can appear as a class-compliant USB MIDI device, and over Bluetooth LE it can speak wireless MIDI. Map buttons to notes and the motion sensor to CC messages and you have an instrument that fits in one hand.

One Remote.Controls Everything.

Control Your Whole Life.

Pick An App. Or Build One.

Your Tools Already Work.

Drive Your Own Hardware.

One Board Runs It All.

Everything In The Shell.

ESP32-S3-WROOM-1

12 Buttons

6-Axis IMU

IR Both Ways

Play Games

Run Your Home

Build Anything

Ready To Build?

Join the Waitlist