Activate Assist with M5Stack CoreS3SE in Home Assistant

Today, we’re checking out another great device for running our assistant with excellent performance, and learning how to activate Assist using the M5Stack CoreS3SE.

Index

• M5Stack CoreS3SE
• M5Stack CoreS3SE vs ESP32-S3-BOX-3
• Prerequisites
• Configuring the M5Stack CoreS3SE
• Custom support

M5Stack CoreS3SE

Well, let's start with the basics. M5Stack is the brand behind well-known devices like the Atom Echo. As I mentioned before, this was the first external device used to interact with Home Assistant. I’m convinced that if you're getting into the world of local assistants, you’re already familiar with it.

But Atom Echo isn’t the only option. M5Stack also makes a variety of ESP-based devices that are easy to integrate with Home Assistant. Think of them like custom ESPHome builds, but without the hassle of soldering, wiring, or configuring components from scratch.

Now that the introduction is done, today I want to introduce you to the M5Stack CoreS3SE, a device that’ll definitely remind you of the ESP32-S3-BOX-3 we looked at recently, as we can also activate Assist with the M5Stack CoreS3SE.

M5Stack CoreS3SE vs ESP32-S3-BOX-3

Since the goal of this guide is to activate Assist using the M5Stack CoreS3SE, I’ll go over the differences and similarities I’ve found between the two devices.

• Both run on the ESP32-S3 chip and are fully compatible with ESPHome.
• Both come with two microphones for better voice recognition.
• Both have a built-in speaker and a touchscreen display.
• The setup process is nearly identical for both.
• The CoreS3SE is about €10 cheaper than the BOX-3B.
• The CoreS3SE has a black frame, while the BOX-3B comes in white.
• The CoreS3SE is a bit smaller and more square in shape compared to the BOX-3B.
• The M5Stack CoreS3SE doesn’t come with a stand or USB-C cable by default, whereas the ESP32-S3-BOX-3B does (which we’ll actually turn to our advantage, as you’ll see at the end of this article).

Prerequisites

To activate Assist on the M5Stack CoreS3SE, you’ll need:

• You have set up Assist in Home Assistant.
• A M5Stack CoreS3SE device.
• A USB-C data cable to power the DATA board (with a charging cable you will not be able to install the software) .
  

🥑 If you're setting up Assist, I highly recommend checking out the workshop from the academy to get the most out of it!

Configuring the M5Stack CoreS3SE

Follow these preparation steps to get your M5Stack CoreS3SE up and running:

1.  In Home Assistant, go to your ESPHome add-on, click on “New Device”, then “Continue”.

2.  Give your device a name (e.g., “Assist”) and click “Next”.

3.  For the device type, select “ESP32-S3”. You’ll see a new block for your device appear in the background.

4.  Click “Skip”, then click “Edit” on your device’s card. Copy the code that appears and keep it handy — you’ll need part of it later.

5.  Head over to the GitHub page linked in the guide, copy the provided code, and replace the original ESPHome code with it.

6.  Important: This new code doesn’t include your Wi-Fi or Home Assistant credentials, so you’ll need to manually add them. Specifically, look for the lines from the original code that you copied in step 4 and insert them into the new code.

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: "bg6hash6sjdjsdjk02hh0qnQeYVwm123vdfKE8BP5"

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: "asddasda27aab65a48484502b332f"

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Assist Fallback Hotspot"
    password: "ZsasdasdHGP2234"

7.  What you need to do is find the corresponding lines in the code  (it's at the beginning)  and  add the corresponding information . This code snippet would look like this:

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: "1fPr5BBxCfGiLLPgu/OEILB1T4XUdXN4Sh2pic4mgQk="
  on_client_connected:
    - script.execute: draw_display
  on_client_disconnected:
    - script.execute: draw_display

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: "a048862eecd273b682fde5d1a93acc36"
wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password
  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "M5Stack-Cores3Se"
    password: "uCh6BjJ34Tnl"
  on_connect:
    - script.execute: draw_display
    - delay: 5s # Gives time for improv results to be transmitted 
  on_disconnect:
    - script.execute: draw_display

8.  Now click “Save” and then “Install.” Select “Manual download” and wait for the code to compile. It might take a while, so feel free to do something else in the meantime.

9.  Once it’s finished, choose the “Modern format” option to download the corresponding .bin file.

10.  Connect the M5Stack CoreS3SE to your computer using a USB-C data cable, plugging it into the port on the left side of the device.

11.  Go to the ESPHome page and click “Connect.” In the pop-up window, select your device and click “Connect” again.

12.  Click “Install” and select the .bin file you downloaded in step 9. Then click “Install” again to upload it to the device.

13.  You may see a message saying “HA not found.” Don’t worry — this is normal. In Home Assistant, go to Settings > Devices & Services, where the device should appear as discovered. Click “Configure” and then “Submit.”

14. That’s it! You can now activate Assist with the M5Stack CoreS3SE. By default, just say “Ok, Nabu,” and it’ll respond using your preferred assistant settings.

Personalized support

As I mentioned in the comparison, the M5Stack CoreS3SE doesn't come with a standard stand, which gives us the opportunity to create one to our liking. For example, this time I wanted to create a simple and elegant stand, taking advantage of the black frame.

⭐ If you have a 3D printer, you can download this stand I designed for FREE from our Patreon page.