Building a Hybrid Ethernet + Wi-Fi IoT Gateway with LILYGO T-ETH ELite and WIZnet W5500

WIZnet is well known for its hardwired TCP/IP Ethernet controllers such as W5500, which are widely used in reliable, wired IoT and industrial products.

In this post, I introduce a new development board that integrates our W5500 directly on the PCB: the LILYGO T-ETH ELite. By combining an ESP32-S3 module with W5500 Ethernet, PoE, and a stackable expansion ecosystem, this board makes it very easy to build hybrid wired + wireless IoT gateways.

1. What is the LILYGO T-ETH ELite?

The LILYGO T-ETH ELite is an ESP32-S3 based IoT development board that integrates:

ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module (dual-core LX7 MCU with Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth LE 5)

WIZnet W5500 SPI-to-Ethernet controller providing 10/100 Mbps Ethernet with hardware TCP/IP offload

PoE (Power over Ethernet) support (IEEE 802.3af, around 36–57 V input) so a single Ethernet cable can provide both power and data

16 MB Flash + 8 MB PSRAM for more complex applications and networking stacks

40-pin GPIO header with a Raspberry Pi–compatible layout for stackable shields (LoRaWAN, cellular, etc.)

MicroSD / TF card slot, USB-C, user LEDs, reset/boot buttons, and USB-OTG switch

From WIZnet’s perspective, the key point is simple:

This board is a ready-made W5500 Ethernet platform with modern Wi-Fi/BLE and PoE in one small form factor.

The official public GitHub repository “LilyGO-T-ETH-Series” provides board definitions, Arduino/PlatformIO examples, and ESP-IDF code for the various T-ETH family boards, including T-ETH ELite.

2. Why is it “new” and worth introducing?

New in our W5500 ecosystem

This is not a simple breakout board. T-ETH ELite combines W5500 + ESP32-S3 + PoE + stackable shields on a single board.

Compared to traditional W5500 Arduino shields, this board targets more advanced, edge-gateway-class applications (multiple radios, more memory, secure connections, etc.).

Hybrid netwo

Many ESP32 boards rely only on Wi-Fi/BLE. Here we get wired Ethernet (W5500) and Wi-Fi/BLE at the same time. 

This hybrid design is especially useful when you need a stable wired uplink and flexible local wireless network.

PoE + stackable expansion = gateway platform

PoE means easier installation: just one cable for power and data, ideal for ceilings, hallways, factory lines, and remote locations. 

The 40-pin header is compatible with stackable shields (LoRaWAN, cellular, camera, etc.), which are documented in the T-ETH series repo and community resources. 

This naturally leads to new application classes: LoRaWAN gateways, remote monitoring nodes, edge data loggers, etc.

Community and external attention

The T-ETH series GitHub repo is active and maintained, with multiple contributors and many example sketches (MQTT, HTTP, TCP/UDP, LoRa, sensors, etc.). 

Tech blogs and news sites have highlighted this class of board as a compact solution combining Ethernet PoE, Wi-Fi/BLE, and expansion shields for industrial and hobby projects. 

So, introducing T-ETH ELite on maker.wiznet.io is not just “yet another dev board review”.
It is a new platform in the WIZnet ecosystem that demonstrates:

How W5500 can be used in modern ESP32-S3 designs

How PoE + multi-radio hardware opens the door to new high-value IoT applications

3. Hardware overview

3.1 Key components

MCU: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 (dual-core, up to 240 MHz, Wi-Fi 4 and BLE 5) 

Ethernet:

WIZnet W5500 SPI-to-Ethernet controller

10/100 Mbps RJ-45 connector

Supports common protocols such as TCP, UDP, IPv4, ARP, PPPoE, ICMP (through W5500’s hardware engine) 

PoE:

IEEE 802.3af compliant

~36–57 V input range via PoE, step-down to 5 V for the board 

Memory: 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM 

Expansion:

40-pin header (Raspberry Pi-style pinout) for stackable shields

Up to ~23 GPIOs, UART, USB 2.0, 5 V, 3.3 V, and GND exposed 

Shields for LoRa, cellular (NB-IoT, LTE), and other functions are available in the ecosystem. 

Storage & I/O:

MicroSD/TF card slot

USB-C connector for power and programming

Reset and boot buttons, user LED, power LEDs, USB-OTG switch 

3.2 Positioning in the WIZnet ecosystem

From WIZnet’s view, T-ETH ELite can be seen as:

A W5500 reference platform that already includes:

High-performance MCU

Rich wireless connectivity

Power options (USB, PoE)

Expansion header

This makes it ideal for sample projects, demos, and real-world prototypes that show W5500 in practical, modern applications.

Specifications

W5500 Ethernet Module