Voice Assistant Timers With On-Device Wake Word Detection On ESP32 S3

In this article, we will look at how to add timers to your voice Assistant with On-Device Wake Word detection on an ESP32 S3.

Table of Contents

Requirements
Set up Voice Assistant
Implement Timers

Requirements

Home Assistant up and running.
You can check this link to see how you can install it for the first time
ESPHome is setup and running
In case you have not set it up, you can look at it here.
ESP32 S3 N8R2 or N16R8 Dev Board

AliExpress Amazon

Guide for ordering ESP32 N8R2 or N16R8 Board is here

INMP441 Microphone

AliExpress Amazon

MAX98357A Audio Amplifier

AliExpress Amazon

3-watt Speakers (Optional: Only required to listen to the pipeline output)

AliExpress Amazon

COB 5mm WS2812B LED Strip

AliExpress Amazon

Set up Voice Assistant

To create your voice assistant with ESP32 S3, you can refer to my article "How To Setup On-Device Wake Word Detection For Voice Assistant using Micro Wake Word". You will get a step-by-step guide to create your voice assistant there.

Implement Timers

To implement the timers feature, use the following YAML code.

** Updated for Home Assistant 2025.07 **

esphome:
  name: esp32-s3-wake-word
  friendly_name: ESP32-S3-Wake-word
  platformio_options:
    board_build.flash_mode: dio
  on_boot:
    - light.turn_on:
        id: led_ww
        blue: 100%
        brightness: 60%
        effect: fast pulse

esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

    sdkconfig_options:
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DEFAULT_CPU_FREQ_240: "y"
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DATA_CACHE_64KB: "y"
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DATA_CACHE_LINE_64B: "y"
      CONFIG_AUDIO_BOARD_CUSTOM: "y"
   
psram:
  mode: octal # Please change this to quad for N8R2 and octal for N16R8
  speed: 80MHz

# Enable logging
logger:
  # hardware_uart: UART0

api:
  encryption:
    key: "TFpb+pBAvQIS1MVwaA7EoJ2DkpWE+79UvVro7yMyGdU="
  on_client_connected:
        then:
          - delay: 50ms
          - light.turn_off: led_ww
          - micro_wake_word.start:
  on_client_disconnected:
        then:
          - voice_assistant.stop: 



ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: "1245211a05eef56614a2ef5a3f3e971c"

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password
  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Esp32-S3-Wake-Word"
    password: "LJfUrdJk3svP"

captive_portal:


button:
  - platform: restart
    name: "Restart"
    id: but_rest

switch:
  - platform: template
    id: mute
    name: mute
    optimistic: true
    on_turn_on: 
      - micro_wake_word.stop:
      - voice_assistant.stop:
      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_ww           
          red: 100%
          green: 0%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 60%
          effect: fast pulse 
      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_strip           
          red: 100%
          green: 0%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 60%
          effect: fast pulse 
          
      - delay: 2s
      - light.turn_off:
          id: led_ww
      - light.turn_off:
          id: led_strip

      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_ww          
          red: 100%
          green: 0%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 30%
      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_strip           
          red: 100%
          green: 0%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 30%

    on_turn_off:
      - micro_wake_word.start:
      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_ww           
          red: 0%
          green: 100%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 60%
          effect: fast pulse 
      - light.turn_on:
          id: led_strip  
          red: 0%
          green: 100%
          blue: 0%
          brightness: 60%
          effect: fast pulse 
      - delay: 2s
      - light.turn_off:
          id: led_strip
      - light.turn_off:
          id: led_ww
  - platform: template
    id: timer_ringing
    optimistic: true
    internal: False
    name: "Timer Ringing"
    restore_mode: ALWAYS_OFF


# GPIO Mute Button Config
binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    id: button01
    name: "Mute Button" # Physical Mute switch
    pin:
      number: GPIO10
      inverted: True
      mode:
        input: True
        pullup: True
    on_press: 
      if:
        condition:
          switch.is_on: timer_ringing 
        then:
          - switch.turn_off: timer_ringing
        else:
          - switch.toggle: mute



light:
  - platform: esp32_rmt_led_strip
    id: led_ww
    rgb_order: GRB
    pin: GPIO48
    num_leds: 1
    rmt_symbols: 96
    chipset: ws2812
    name: "On board light"
    effects:
      - pulse:
      - pulse:
          name: "Fast Pulse"
          transition_length: 0.5s
          update_interval: 0.5s
          min_brightness: 0%
          max_brightness: 100%

  - platform: esp32_rmt_led_strip
    id: led_strip    # LED Strip Config
    rgb_order: GRB
    pin: GPIO09
    num_leds: 29
    rmt_symbols: 96
    chipset: ws2812
    name: "Led Strip"
    effects:
      - pulse:
      - pulse:
          name: "Fast Pulse"
          transition_length: 0.5s
          update_interval: 0.5s
          min_brightness: 0%
          max_brightness: 100%
      - addressable_scan:
          name: "Scan Effect With Custom Values"
          move_interval: 5ms
          scan_width: 10

          
          
 # Audio and Voice Assistant Config          
i2s_audio:
  - id: i2s_in # For microphone
    i2s_lrclk_pin: GPIO3  #WS 
    i2s_bclk_pin: GPIO2 #SCK

  - id: i2s_speaker #For Speaker
    i2s_lrclk_pin: GPIO6  #LRC 
    i2s_bclk_pin: GPIO7 #BLCK

microphone:
  - platform: i2s_audio
    id: va_mic
    adc_type: external
    i2s_din_pin: GPIO4 #SD
    channel: left
    pdm: false
    i2s_audio_id: i2s_in
    bits_per_sample: 32bit
    
speaker:
  - platform: i2s_audio
    id: i2s_audio_speaker
    sample_rate: 48000
    bits_per_sample: 16bit
    i2s_audio_id: i2s_speaker
    i2s_dout_pin: GPIO8   #  DIN Pin of the MAX98357A Audio Amplifier
    dac_type: external
    channel: stereo
    timeout: never
    buffer_duration: 100ms


media_player:
  - platform: speaker
    id: external_media_player
    name: Media Player
    internal: False
    volume_increment: 0.05
    volume_min: 0.4
    volume_max: 1
    announcement_pipeline:
      speaker: i2s_audio_speaker
      format: FLAC     # FLAC is the least processor intensive codec
      num_channels: 1  # Stereo audio is unnecessary for announcements
      sample_rate: 48000
    files:
      - id: timer_finished_sound
        file: https://github.com/esphome/home-assistant-voice-pe/raw/dev/sounds/timer_finished.flac
      

micro_wake_word:
  on_wake_word_detected:
    
    - voice_assistant.start:
        wake_word: !lambda return wake_word;
        silence_detection: true
    - light.turn_on:
        id: led_ww           
        red: 30%
        green: 30%
        blue: 70%
        brightness: 60%
        effect: fast pulse 
    - light.turn_on:
        id: led_strip
        effect: "Scan Effect With Custom Values"
        red: 80%
        green: 0%
        blue: 80%
        brightness: 80%
  models:
    - model: okay_nabu
    
voice_assistant:
  id: va
  microphone: va_mic
  auto_gain: 31dBFS
  noise_suppression_level: 2
  volume_multiplier: 4.0
  media_player: external_media_player
  on_stt_end:
       then: 
         - light.turn_off: led_ww
         - light.turn_off: led_strip
  on_error:
          - micro_wake_word.start:  
  on_end:
        then:
          - light.turn_off: led_ww
          - light.turn_off: led_strip
          - wait_until:
              not:
                voice_assistant.is_running:
          - micro_wake_word.start: 
  
  
  on_timer_finished:
    - micro_wake_word.stop:
    - voice_assistant.stop:
    - switch.turn_on: timer_ringing
    - wait_until:
        not:
          microphone.is_capturing:
    
    - wait_until:
        not:
          micro_wake_word.is_running:
    - light.turn_on:
        id: led_strip
        effect: "Scan Effect With Custom Values"
        red: 80%
        green: 0%
        blue: 30%
        brightness: 80%
    
    - media_player.speaker.play_on_device_media_file:
          media_file: timer_finished_sound
    - micro_wake_word.start:
    - wait_until:
        and:
          - micro_wake_word.is_running:
    #       - microphone.is_capturing:
    - while:
        condition:
          switch.is_on: timer_ringing
        then:
          - media_player.speaker.play_on_device_media_file:
              media_file: timer_finished_sound
          - delay: 2s
    - wait_until:
        not:
          speaker.is_playing:
    
    - light.turn_off: led_strip
    - micro_wake_word.start:

With this, you can configure timers in an ESP32 S3 with On-Device Wake Word detection for your Voice Assistant connected to Home Assistant.

Voice Assistant Timers With On-Device Wake Word Detection On ESP32 S3

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Requirements

Set up Voice Assistant

Implement Timers

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