Even when you buy a product outright, you may still need to pay a subscription to access all of its features. These subscriptions can soon add up, but thankfully, there are alternatives. You can often avoid subscription fees with an inexpensive ESP32.
Turn a Peloton into a subscription-free smart exercise bike
SmartSpin2k can make even dumb spin bikes smart
Peloton is a popular brand of smart exercise equipment, best known for its connected stationary bikes with a built-in touchscreen. The bikes cost upward of $1600, but many useful features require a subscription, and the All-Access membership currently costs $49.99 per month in the US. The membership gives you access to instructor-led classes, leaderboards, and more.
An ESP32 can’t replace the instructor-led training that Peloton offers, but it can help you make a Peloton bike useful even without a subscription. It can even turn a standard spin bike into a smart bike that matches many of the features Peloton and other expensive models offer. That’s because an ESP32 is the brain inside the SmartSpin2k project.
The SmartSpin2k is a simple device that you can buy ready-made or build yourself that uses the ESP32 and a stepper motor to let third-party fitness apps such as Zwift automatically control the resistance knob of your spin bike. When you’re riding up a virtual hill in your training app, the resistance automatically increases to match.
The SmartSpin2k PCB and wiring harness cost $110, or you can buy the finished product for $239. You can use it with a Peloton or many models of conventional spin bikes that cost significantly less than Peloton models. When you factor in the subscription savings for your Peloton sessions, you could save yourself a small fortune.
Remote start your car without paying for it
An ESP32 can press the same button that you do
SmartSpin2k is a complex project with many parts. Sometimes, though, all you need is a cheap ESP32 board and a couple of wires to avoid paying a subscription fee.
Some cars have smart features that let you do things like start the car remotely or warm up the cabin before you get in on a cold day. Many car makers charge subscription fees for these types of features, with GM’s OnStar Connect plan starting at $14.99 per month.
If you have a spare key fob with remote features, there is a much simpler and far cheaper solution. You can hook up an ESP32 to the contacts beneath its buttons and simulate button presses remotely, using options such as ESPHome. You can then start your car remotely without a subscription, as long as your key fob is within range. You may want to consider ways to mitigate the additional security risks of giving your car keys remote access.
Stop paying to store your security camera recordings
An ESP32-CAM can detect motion and store recordings locally
Many popular security camera and smart video doorbell brands offer some kind of subscription. A Ring subscription, for example, is required in order to play back video history, get person, package, and vehicle alerts, and more. If you want to cover more than one camera, the subscription fee is even higher.
You can set up your own local security camera system using an ESP32 and some other hardware. For example, an ESP32-CAM combines an ESP32 chip with a camera module, giving you everything you need to capture images and video. Applications such as ESP32-CAM_MJPEG2SD allow you to capture video when motion is detected and save it locally to an SD card.
Alternatively, you can stream the video to a computer running Frigate or other Network Video Recorder (NVR) software. You can then save all of your video on your local hard drives and access it when you need it. You don’t need to pay a subscription, and none of the data needs to leave your home.
Open your garage door remotely without paying
Home Assistant and an ESP32 can do the same job
Popular garage door opener brands, including Chamberlain and LiftMaster, use the myQ platform to let you open and close your garage door remotely. In some cases, taking full advantage of this platform requires a subscription. For example, the Connected Garage for Tesla integration can automatically open your garage when your Tesla approaches your garage and close it when you leave, but it comes with a $45 per year fee.
The ratgdo (Rage Against the Garage Door Opener) project is a small, open-source garage door interface that allows you to remotely control your garage door without a subscription. ESP32-based versions can run ESPHome firmware and expose your garage door opener to Home Assistant without going via myQ’s cloud service.
You can then build your own automation that will open your garage door when you get home and close it when you leave. You get automatic garage door control without paying a subscription fee.
An ESP32 alone often isn’t enough
In some cases, an ESP32 and a few wires are all you need, but if you want to replace a subscription, you’ll often need additional hardware. The SmartSpin2k project, for example, requires significant outlay even if you’re building it yourself. However, when you add up the ongoing cost of subscription fees, ESP32-based solutions could save you significant money in the long run.