ESP32 with Azure IoT Hub – Is There a More Recent Middleware Project?

Question

ESP32 with Azure IoT Hub – Is There a More Recent Middleware Project?

DJ 70

Hi All

I am using an Espressif ESP32 connected to IoT Hub via the IoT middleware project shown below. Could someone advise whether there are more recent frameworks or examples I could use for my IoT project?

https://github.com/Azure-Samples/iot-middleware-freertos-samples

0 comments

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 MVP

Hello DJ,

welcome to this moderated Azure community forum.

I use the open source .Net Nanoframeworkfor my embedded projects.

I am skilled in C# so doing embedded project using the same programming language is great.

The projects are stable and all embedded features are available.

One project is this connected coffeemaker.

Meanwhile Microsoft is putting extra effort in new Azure IoT Hub features. You can expect Device SDK updates soon. See this blog post series for more details.

--

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar questions will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

DJ 70 Reputation points

2026-03-02T18:19:08.1933333+00:00

@Sander van de Velde

This looks very interesting, especially if you can use C# for embedded designs.In addition, even though it is open source, does Azure provide support for this stack?

Are there specific libraries available for certain ESP32 variants?

Is there a programming guide for implementing multithreading on the ESP32? I am aware of FreeRTOS, so am I correct in understanding that this framework would work independently?
Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 Reputation points MVP

2026-03-03T18:09:58.0266667+00:00

Hello DJ,

as seen in my blog post, it connects to the Azure IoT Hub. If you want to use plain MQTT, you can connect to the Azure Event Grid MQTT broker too.

Check the documentation for specific ESP32 support.

ESP32 do not support multithreading as-is (it's just an ESP32) but it's simulated so from a developer point of view, callbacks etc. are there.

Just try it out and have fun!
SRILAKSHMI C 17,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-05T06:59:58.2266667+00:00

Hi DJ,

Did you get any chance to review the above response. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!
DJ 70 Reputation points

2026-03-05T13:29:51.49+00:00

Yes, I have a few questions.

We already use Azure IoT Hub, so we would use that instead of Event Grid. However, similar to the middleware stack, does the .NET nanoFramework support Azure IoT Hub Device Provisioning?

Also, when updating the firmware, is this only done using the command prompt, or is there a GUI option available?

Does this framework work with ESP32 devices in general, or is it limited to specific ESP32 variants?

I also noticed that ESP32 has a configuration GUI used to set up memory and a few hardware elements. Do you offer similar configuration options? Are there any limitations we should keep in mind?
Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 Reputation points MVP

2026-03-05T22:30:08.4733333+00:00

Hello DJ,

As seen here, both the Azure IoT Hub and Azure Device Provisioning Services are supported.

As mentioned above, quite a number of ESP32 and other constrained devices are supported. Check the documentation for details.

I'm not sure what GUI you are referencing. Perhaps it was Visual Studio? The .Net NanoFramework depends on Visual Studio and Visual Studio code. These are great for writing C# and it also offers debugging line by line while having the ESP32 connected.

The firmware update can be part of running and debugging using Visual Studio code. Check the documentation on how to get started and work through the samples. I can also recommend this book with both an explanation on how to get started and how to build commercial devices.

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar questions will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
DJ 70 Reputation points

2026-03-06T11:50:06.9+00:00
Hi @Sander van de Velde | MVP

The GUI I was referring to is from the ESP-IDF command prompt. You can see this in the link below.

https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/esp32/get-started/windows-setup.html

I had a look at the link you provided.

Traditionally, when I have been using mobile data modules, I would receive a file containing all the device IDs (IMEI numbers). I would then register them directly with Azure IoT Hub and have my firmware query an HTTP API every few hours to obtain a SAS token to access the IoT Hub. However, for Wi-Fi modules, as our volumes are currently very low, we cannot obtain a list of all devices in advance. Therefore, we need to use the provisioning option.

In regard to debugging, is this done entirely via the USB/UART interface for the ESP, and no additional debugger is required?

I have also been looking at the first link you sent. I have a question regarding the certificate referenced in the following line of code. Is this automatically included in the SDK, or do we need to place a file in the device’s memory? I believe this relates to the root certificate, and with recent updates, it needs to be the DigiCert Global G2 Root CA.

X509Certificate azureCA = new X509Certificate(DpsSampleApp.Resources.GetBytes(DpsSampleApp.Resources.BinaryResources.BaltimoreRootCA_crt));
Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 Reputation points MVP

2026-03-07T15:07:55.31+00:00

Hello DJ,

Regarding the Digicert certificate, yes, this is the right one for securing the cloud connection via TLS. Any reference to a 'Baltimore' certificate should be updated using this new one.

Regarding unique id, I'm not use regarding the procedure you describe. Normally, a connection to an IoT Hub is made accessible via the Azure Device provisioning service.

Via the .Net Nanoframework an ESP32 is programmed as a generic Azure IoT device so you need to follow the guidelines as described in the Azure IoT Documentation.

Be aware that the WIFI setup must be provided to. This can be configured via the USB connection although the ESP can be turned into a temporary Wifi endpoint so a user could provide wifi secrets that way too.

--

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar questions will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
DJ 70 Reputation points

2026-03-09T11:29:47.47+00:00

The unique ID can be MAC address.

I presume we can update the WIFI via the BLE.?
Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 Reputation points MVP

2026-03-09T21:55:41.3733333+00:00

Hello DJ,

It's nice to see you are interested in the .Net Nanoframework.

you can get the MAC address via the PhysicalAddress.

On ESP32, the MAC address is stored in hardware but can be changed in software. If you need it to be immutable, you must burn the appropriate eFuse. You can get access to the low-level esp32 features here.

Regarding changing the WIFI settings via BLE, I have no clue. Please check the documentation or ask around on the active forums like Discord.

Note: This thread started with a generic Esp32 programming questions. Please try to ask subsequent questions in separate question threads so readers with the same questions are pointed to the right questions/answers. Thanks.

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar questions will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
DJ 70 Reputation points

2026-03-10T08:59:44.99+00:00

Hi @Sander van de Velde | MVP

Thanks. We plan to use the MAC address as this will be unique.

This week I aim to start using the nanoFramework. If I have any questions related to ESP and nanoFramework, where would be the best place to ask them? Is it here, or do you have another forum?
Sander van de Velde | MVP 37,056 Reputation points MVP

2026-03-12T23:40:39.48+00:00

Hello DJ,

The best place would be the Discord forums so you can communicate with the teams directly.

Here are several guides to get started.

How to chat and engage is shown here.

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar questions will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Share via

ESP32 with Azure IoT Hub – Is There a More Recent Middleware Project?

1 answer

Your answer