XIAO Smart IR Mate – Infrared Remote Control Hub for Home Assistant, ESP32-C3

Your IR Devices Are the Last Frontier of Your Smart Home — The IR Mate Crosses It

You've automated your lights, your sensors, your switches, and your locks. But your air conditioner, your TV, your projector, your fan — they still use infrared remote controls. They're not smart. They can't be automated. They can't be controlled remotely. They're the gap in your smart home that no amount of Zigbee devices can fill, because they speak a completely different language: infrared.

The XIAO Smart IR Mate is the translator. A compact, intelligent infrared hub powered by the ESP32-C3 core that learns the IR codes from your existing remotes and makes every IR-controlled device in your home automatable, schedulable, and remotely controllable — including through Home Assistant. One device. Every remote. Your entire smart home, finally complete.

One-Touch IR Learning: No Codes, No Databases, No Frustration

The one-touch learning feature is the IR Mate's most practical capability. Instead of searching online for IR code databases, manually entering hex codes, or hoping your device is in a pre-loaded library, you simply point your existing remote at the hub and press the button you want to learn. The hub captures the IR signal, stores it, and makes it available for automation and remote control. The process takes seconds per button and works with virtually any IR remote — regardless of brand, age, or protocol.

This means you can bring any IR-controlled device into your smart home ecosystem, even obscure or older devices that no smart home platform has ever heard of. If it has a remote, the IR Mate can learn it.

Haptic Feedback: Confirmation You Can Feel

The haptic feedback feature is a thoughtful design detail that sets the IR Mate apart from basic IR blasters. When you press a button or complete a learning sequence, the hub provides a subtle tactile vibration — confirming that your input was registered without requiring you to look at a screen or wait for a visual indicator. It's the kind of detail that makes the device feel premium and reliable rather than cheap and uncertain.

ESP32-C3 Core: Open, Powerful, Home Assistant Native

The ESP32-C3 is one of the most capable and widely supported microcontrollers in the maker and smart home community. For Home Assistant users, the ESP32-C3's ESPHome compatibility means deep, native integration with your existing automation setup — triggering IR commands as part of complex automations, combining IR control with sensor data, and managing all your IR devices through the same interface as your other smart home devices.

AliExpress Standard Sizing Reference

One Size — compact IR hub. Core: ESP32-C3. Features: one-touch IR learning, haptic feedback, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth. Compatible with Home Assistant and ESPHome. Works with any IR remote.

SPECIFICATIONS

Brand Name: XIAO

Model: Smart IR Mate

Core: ESP32-C3

Features: One-touch IR learning, haptic feedback

Connectivity: Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

Compatibility: Home Assistant, ESPHome

IR Protocol: Universal (learns from any remote)

State of Assembly: Ready-to-Go

High-Concerned Chemical: None

Origin: Mainland China