diff --git a/content/components/bluetooth_proxy.md b/content/components/bluetooth_proxy.md
index f8287f3d1a..4b10340e71 100644
--- a/content/components/bluetooth_proxy.md
+++ b/content/components/bluetooth_proxy.md
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ bluetooth_proxy:
   Each configured slot consumes ~1KB of RAM, with a maximum of `9`. It is recommended not to exceed `5`
   connection slots to avoid memory issues. Defaults to `3`.
   The value must not exceed the total configured `max_connections`
-  for {{< docref "esp32_ble_tracker/" >}}.
+  for {{< docref "esp32_ble/" >}}.
 
 The Bluetooth proxy depends on {{< docref "esp32_ble_tracker/" >}} so make sure to add that to your configuration.
 
diff --git a/content/components/esp32_ble.md b/content/components/esp32_ble.md
index db9c752b58..b1c90d2932 100644
--- a/content/components/esp32_ble.md
+++ b/content/components/esp32_ble.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ esp32_ble:
   io_capability: keyboard_only
   disable_bt_logs: true  # Default, saves flash
   connection_timeout: 20s  # Default, matches client timeout
+  max_connections: 3  # Default, total BLE connections
   # advertising: true  # Only needed for advanced use cases
   max_notifications: 12  # Default, increase if needed
 ```
@@ -64,6 +65,18 @@ esp32_ble:
 > The `advertising` option is an advanced feature that manually enables BLE advertising compilation. In most cases, you don't need to set this as advertising is automatically enabled when using components that require it (like `esp32_ble_server` or `esp32_ble_beacon`  ). This option is primarily useful for custom components or special use cases where you need advertising functionality without the standard server or beacon components.
 
 - **advertising_cycle_time** (*Optional*, [Time](#config-time)): The time interval for cycling through multiple advertisements. Only applicable when advertising is enabled. Defaults to `10s`.
+
+- **max_connections** (*Optional*, integer): The maximum number of simultaneous BLE connections (client + server combined). Defaults to `3`.
+
+  - Range: 1 to 9
+  - Each connection slot consumes approximately 1KB of RAM
+  - This limit is shared between {{< docref "esp32_ble_tracker/" >}} (BLE client), {{< docref "bluetooth_proxy/" >}}, and {{< docref "esp32_ble_server/" >}} (BLE server)
+  - Total BLE instances (ADV/SCAN + connections) is limited to 10 on ESP32-C3/S3
+  - It is recommended not to exceed `5` connection slots to avoid memory issues
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The `max_connections` option sets both `CONFIG_BT_ACL_CONNECTIONS` (total instances including ADV/SCAN) and `CONFIG_BTDM_CTRL_BLE_MAX_CONN` (connection slots only) in ESP-IDF. This configuration was previously located in `esp32_ble_tracker` but has been moved here as it applies to all BLE functionality (client and server). For backward compatibility, setting it in `esp32_ble_tracker` will still work but will show a deprecation warning.
+
 - **max_notifications** (*Optional*, integer): The maximum number of BLE characteristics that can have notifications enabled across all connections. Defaults to `12`.
 
   - Range: 1 to 64
diff --git a/content/components/esp32_ble_tracker.md b/content/components/esp32_ble_tracker.md
index da7fee7d86..6023183c96 100644
--- a/content/components/esp32_ble_tracker.md
+++ b/content/components/esp32_ble_tracker.md
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ the MAC address of a device and track it using ESPHome.
 ```yaml
 # Example configuration entry
 esp32_ble_tracker:
-  max_connections: 3
 
 binary_sensor:
   - platform: ble_presence
@@ -94,12 +93,8 @@ sensor:
     Defaults to `true`.
 
 - **id** (*Optional*, [ID](#config-id)): Manually specify the ID for this ESP32 BLE Hub.
-- **max_connections** (*Optional*, int): The maximum number of BLE connection slots to use.
-  Each configured slot consumes ~1KB of RAM. It is recommended not to exceed `5`
-  connection slots to avoid memory issues. Defaults to `3`, with a maximum of `9`.
-  This value cannot exceed the total number of `connection_slots` for the
-  {{< docref "bluetooth_proxy/" >}} component combined with the total
-  configured {{< docref "ble_client/" >}} instances.
+- **max_connections** (*Optional*, int): **DEPRECATED** - This option has been moved to the {{< docref "esp32_ble/" >}} component.
+  Please configure `max_connections` there instead. This option is kept for backward compatibility only. This option will be removed in ESPHome 2026.10.0.
 
 Automations: