How to Set an ESP32 Access Point (AP) for Web Server

The ESP32 can act as a Wi-Fi station, as an access point, or both. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to set the ESP32 as
an access point using Arduino IDE.

In most projects with the ESP32, we connect the ESP32 to a wireless router (see our ESP32 web server tutorial). This way
we can access the ESP32 through the local network.

In this situation the router acts as an access point and the ESP32 is set as a station. In this scenario, you need to be
connected to your router (local network) to control the ESP32.

But if you set the ESP32 as an access point (hotspot), you can be connected to the ESP32 using any device with Wi-Fi
capabilities without the need to connect to your router.

In simple words, when you set the ESP32 as an access point you create its own Wi-Fi network and nearby Wi-Fi devices
(stations) can connect to it (like your smartphone or your computer).

Here we’ll show you how to set the ESP32 as an access point in your web server projects. This way, you don’t need to be
connected to a router to control your ESP32. Because the ESP32 doesn’t connect further to a wired network (like your
router), it is called soft-AP (soft Access Point).

Installing the ESP32 board in Arduino IDE

There’s an add-on for the Arduino IDE that allows you to program the ESP32 using the Arduino IDE and its programming
language. Follow one of the following tutorials to prepare your Arduino IDE:

 Windows instructions – Installing the ESP32 Board in Arduino IDE

 Mac and Linux instructions – Installing the ESP32 Board in Arduino IDE
ESP32 Access Point

In this example, we’ll modify an ESP32 Web Server from a previous tutorial to add access point capabilities. What we’ll
show you here can be used with any ESP32 web server example.

Upload the sketch provided below to set the ESP32 as an access point.

/*********

Rui Santos

Complete project details at https://randomnerdtutorials.com

*********/

// Load Wi-Fi library

#include <WiFi.h>

// Replace with your network credentials

const char* ssid = "ESP32-Access-Point";

const char* password = "123456789";

// Set web server port number to 80

WiFiServer server(80);

// Variable to store the HTTP request

String header;

// Auxiliar variables to store the current output state

String output26State = "off";

String output27State = "off";

// Assign output variables to GPIO pins

const int output26 = 26;

const int output27 = 27;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(115200);

// Initialize the output variables as outputs

 pinMode(output26, OUTPUT);

pinMode(output27, OUTPUT);

// Set outputs to LOW

digitalWrite(output26, LOW);

digitalWrite(output27, LOW);

// Connect to Wi-Fi network with SSID and password

Serial.print("Setting AP (Access Point)…");

// Remove the password parameter, if you want the AP (Access Point) to be open

WiFi.softAP(ssid, password);

IPAddress IP = WiFi.softAPIP();

Serial.print("AP IP address: ");

Serial.println(IP);

server.begin();

void loop(){

WiFiClient client = server.available(); // Listen for incoming clients

if (client) { // If a new client connects,

Serial.println("New Client."); // print a message out in the serial port

String currentLine = ""; // make a String to hold incoming data from the client

while (client.connected()) { // loop while the client's connected

if (client.available()) { // if there's bytes to read from the client,

char c = client.read(); // read a byte, then

Serial.write(c); // print it out the serial monitor

header += c;

if (c == '\n') { // if the byte is a newline character

// if the current line is blank, you got two newline characters in a row.

// that's the end of the client HTTP request, so send a response:

if (currentLine.length() == 0) {

// HTTP headers always start with a response code (e.g. HTTP/1.1 200 OK)

// and a content-type so the client knows what's coming, then a blank line:

client.println("HTTP/1.1 200 OK");

client.println("Content-type:text/html");

client.println("Connection: close");

client.println();

// turns the GPIOs on and off

if (header.indexOf("GET /26/on") >= 0) {

Serial.println("GPIO 26 on");

output26State = "on";

digitalWrite(output26, HIGH);

} else if (header.indexOf("GET /26/off") >= 0) {

Serial.println("GPIO 26 off");

output26State = "off";

digitalWrite(output26, LOW);

} else if (header.indexOf("GET /27/on") >= 0) {

Serial.println("GPIO 27 on");

output27State = "on";

digitalWrite(output27, HIGH);

} else if (header.indexOf("GET /27/off") >= 0) {

Serial.println("GPIO 27 off");

output27State = "off";
 digitalWrite(output27, LOW);

// Display the HTML web page

client.println("<!DOCTYPE html><html>");

client.println("<head><meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\">");

client.println("<link rel=\"icon\" href=\"data:,\">");

// CSS to style the on/off buttons

// Feel free to change the background-color and font-size attributes to fit your preferences

client.println("<style>html { font-family: Helvetica; display: inline-block; margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;}");

client.println(".button { background-color: #4CAF50; border: none; color: white; padding: 16px 40px;");

client.println("text-decoration: none; font-size: 30px; margin: 2px; cursor: pointer;}");

client.println(".button2 {background-color: #555555;}</style></head>");

// Web Page Heading

client.println("<body><h1>ESP32 Web Server</h1>");

// Display current state, and ON/OFF buttons for GPIO 26

client.println("<p>GPIO 26 - State " + output26State + "</p>");

// If the output26State is off, it displays the ON button

if (output26State=="off") {

client.println("<p><a href=\"/26/on\"><button class=\"button\">ON</button></a></p>");

} else {

client.println("<p><a href=\"/26/off\"><button class=\"button button2\">OFF</button></a></p>");

// Display current state, and ON/OFF buttons for GPIO 27

client.println("<p>GPIO 27 - State " + output27State + "</p>");

// If the output27State is off, it displays the ON button

 if (output27State=="off") {

client.println("<p><a href=\"/27/on\"><button class=\"button\">ON</button></a></p>");

} else {

client.println("<p><a href=\"/27/off\"><button class=\"button button2\">OFF</button></a></p>");

client.println("</body></html>");

// The HTTP response ends with another blank line

client.println();

// Break out of the while loop

break;

} else { // if you got a newline, then clear currentLine

currentLine = "";

} else if (c != '\r') { // if you got anything else but a carriage return character,

currentLine += c; // add it to the end of the currentLine

// Clear the header variable

header = "";

// Close the connection

client.stop();

Serial.println("Client disconnected.");

Serial.println("");

}
}

View raw code

Customize the SSID and Password

You need to define a SSID name and a password to access the ESP32. In this example we’re setting the ESP32 SSID name
to ESP32-Access-Point, but you can modify the name to whatever you want. The password is 123456789, but you can
also modify it.
// You can customize the SSID name and change the password

const char* ssid = "ESP32-Access-Point";

const char* password = "123456789";

Setting the ESP32 as an Access Point

There’s a section in the setup() to set the ESP32 as an access point using the softAP() method:
WiFi.softAP(ssid, password);

There are also other optional parameters you can pass to the softAP() method. Here’s all the parameters:
.softAP(const char* ssid, const char* password, int channel, int ssid_hidden, int max_connection)

 SSID (defined earlier): maximum of 63 characters;

 password(defined earlier): minimum of 8 characters; set to NULL if you want the access point to be open
 channel: Wi-Fi channel number (1-13)
 ssid_hidden: (0 = broadcast SSID, 1 = hide SSID)
 max_connection: maximum simultaneous connected clients (1-4)

Next, we need to get the access point IP address using the softAPIP() method and print it in the Serial Monitor.
IPAddress IP = WiFi.softAPIP();

Serial.print("AP IP address: ");

Serial.println(IP);

These are the snippets of code you need to include in your web server sketches to set the ESP32 as an access point. To
learn how the full web server code works, take a look at the ESP32 Web Server tutorial.

Parts Required

For this tutorial you’ll need the following parts:

  ESP32 development board –  read ESP32 Development Boards Review and Comparison
 2x 5mm LED
 2x 330 Ohm resistor
 Breadboard
 Jumper wires

You can use the preceding links or go directly to MakerAdvisor.com/tools to find all the parts for your projects at the
best price!

Schematic

Start by building the circuit. Connect two LEDs to the ESP32 as shown in the following schematic diagram – one LED
connected to GPIO 26, and the other to GPIO 27.

Note: We’re using the ESP32 DEVKIT DOIT board with 36 pins. Before assembling the circuit, make sure you check the
pinout for the board you’re using.

ESP32 IP Address

Upload the code to your ESP32 (make sure you have the right board and COM port selected). Open the Serial Monitor at
a baud rate of 115200. Press the ESP32 “Enable” button.

The IP address you need to access the ESP32 point will be printed. In this case, it is 192.168.4.1.

Connecting to the ESP32 Access Point

Having the ESP32 running the new sketch, in your smartphone open your Wi-Fi settings and tap the  ESP32-Access-
Point network:
Enter the password you’ve defined earlier in the code.

Open your web browser and type the IP address 192.168.4.1. The web server page should load:

To connect to the access point on your computer, go to the Network and Internet Settings and select the “ESP32-Access-
Point“.

Insert the password you’ve defined earlier.

And it’s done! Now, to access the ESP32 web server page, you just need to type the ESP32 IP address on your browser.