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This tutorial converts a second-generation Google Nest Mini into a Home Assistant voice satellite by replacing its original circuit board with a custom ESPHome PCB. The speaker says his Home Assistant setup uses a local LLM on an RTX 3060, but the walkthrough focuses on configuring the voice device and installing the replacement hardware.
The project requires a T6 screwdriver, a drop-in PCB and a micro USB cable for flashing. Home Assistant Voice must already be configured, and ESPHome must be installed. The software steps cover Wi-Fi secrets, creating a device, copying its encryption key into the supplied YAML, flashing over USB and adding the board to Home Assistant. The speaker reports USB connection errors that required disconnecting and reconnecting the board.
During disassembly, the original ribbon cables and backing plate must survive for reuse. The speaker reports breaking a cable on one attempt and recommends testing the connected speaker before replacing the screws. Demonstrated commands control lights and blinds and request a weather forecast. Side taps adjust volume, while a middle tap starts listening without the wake word.
Music playback remains a limitation: the speaker says his experimental configuration caused crashes, so he reverted it.
