# Home Assistant’s Aux-2 connects Bluetooth, radios and serial devices

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/hands-on-with-home-assistants-new-smart-home-multi-tool/
- Published: 2026-11-11T22:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T22:18:50+00:00
- Original publisher: The Verge
- Original article: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1031601/home-assistant-connect-aux-2-hands-on
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- Home Assistant’s $69 Aux-2 connects several types of devices.
- It supports Bluetooth, USB antennas, serial control and audio.
- Setup was easier than the tester expected.

## Summary

Nabu Casa has launched the Home Assistant Connect Aux-2, a compact device that helps connect more kinds of equipment to a Home Assistant smart home. A hands-on test found it useful and easier to set up than expected, potentially reducing some of the effort that can make Home Assistant difficult for people to adopt.

The $69 unit supports Bluetooth bridging, USB-connected Zigbee or Z-Wave antennas, serial control of equipment such as TVs and solar inverters, and audio streaming to older speakers or amplifiers. It runs on ESPHome and uses Home Assistant integrations; its serial feature is already available, while the audio software is still being developed. The tester used it to connect Bluetooth temperature sensors and explore using previously unused in-wall speakers.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.