T-Deck Plus get it now

Overview

LILYGO T-Deck Plus is a highly integrated multi-functional embedded development platform based on the ESP32-S3 chip. It integrates a 2.8-inch ST7789 LCD (320 × 240) with GT911 capacitive touch, trackball navigation module, physical keyboard (I²C), TF card, LoRa SX1262 wireless module, and ES7210 microphone array. Compared to the standard T-Deck, T-Deck Plus adds a GPS module (MIA-M10Q) with the Grove interface pins repurposed for GPS — the Grove interface is not available as a general-purpose connector on T-Deck Plus.

Notes:

1. The Grove interface pins on T-Deck Plus are allocated to the GPS module and cannot be used as a general-purpose interface. T-Deck Plus has a GT911 capacitive touchscreen; the standard T-Deck has no touchscreen and uses trackball navigation.
2. T-Deck updated the TFT_eSPI ST7789 initialization sequence on 2024-07-26. If screen display is incorrect, check whether the initialization sequence in the repo matches.
3. The LoRa radio module shares the SPI bus with other peripherals. Only one SPI device can be selected at a time — ensure all other SPI device CS lines are high (inactive) before communicating with the SX1262.
4. When powered by battery, GPIO10 must be set HIGH. This requirement can be ignored when the board is powered via USB.

Quick Start

Example Support

Example	PlatformIO/Arduino	ESP-IDF	Description
T-Deck Examples	✓		Keyboard, Microphone, GPS, Touchpad, Unit Test

examples
├─Keyboard_ESP32C3       # ESP32C3 keyboard I2C slave
├─Keyboard_T_Deck_Master # T-Deck read from keyboard
├─Microphone             # Noise detection
├─Touchpad               # Read touch coordinates
├─GPSShield              # GPS Shield example
└─UnitTest               # Factory hardware unit testing

If microphone is enabled, the middle trackball button (GPIO0) is not available.

PlatformIO

1. Install Visual Studio Code and Python
2. Search for and install the PlatformIO IDE extension in VS Code
3. After restarting VS Code, click File → Open Folder → select the T-Deck directory
4. Open platformio.ini, uncomment the example line you want to use (only one active at a time)
5. Click ✓ to compile, connect via USB, click → to upload

Arduino

1. Install Arduino IDE
2. Copy all folders from T-Deck/lib to your Arduino libraries folder
3. In Tools → Board, configure:

Arduino IDE Setting	Value
Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
USB CDC On Boot	Enable
CPU Frequency	240 MHz
USB DFU On Boot	Disable
Flash Mode	QIO 80 MHz
Flash Size	16MB(128Mb)
USB Firmware MSC On Boot	Disable
PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
Partition Scheme	16M Flash(3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS)
USB Mode	Hardware CDC and JTAG
Upload Mode	UART0/Hardware CDC
Upload Speed	921600

4. Click Upload. If upload fails, hold the trackball BOOT button, insert USB, then click Upload. Press RST to exit download mode.

The ESP32C3 programming interface is the 6-pin header near the RST button (top to bottom: 3V3, GND, RST, BOOT, RX, TX).

Development Platforms

1. Visual Studio Code
2. Arduino IDE
3. PlatformIO
4. MicroPython

Video

Key Features

• ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core LX7 @ 240 MHz, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0 LE
• SX1262 LoRa (433–915 MHz, optional)
• MIA-M10Q GNSS module (GPS, added vs. standard T-Deck)
• 2.8-inch ST7789 LCD (320 × 240), GT911 capacitive touch, trackball navigation
• Physical keyboard (I²C)
• ES7210 audio codec + MSM381A3729H9CP microphone array
• 2000 mAh lithium polymer battery
• 16 MB Flash + 8 MB PSRAM + TF card slot

Product Parameters

Feature	Specification
MCU	ESP32-S3FN16R8 @ Dual-core LX7, 240 MHz
Flash	16 MB
PSRAM	8 MB
Wi-Fi	2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 LE
LoRa	SX1262, 433–915 MHz (optional)
GPS	MIA-M10Q GNSS
Display	2.8-inch ST7789 LCD, 320 × 240
Touch	GT911 capacitive touch, I²C, INT=GPIO16
Input	Touchscreen + trackball + physical keyboard (I²C)
Audio	ES7210 codec + microphone array
Battery	2000 mAh lithium polymer
Storage	TF card expansion
USB	1 × Type-C
Dimensions	100 × 68 × 11 mm

Pin Diagram

Pin Mapping

Signal	GPIO
Power Enable	10
I2S WS	5
I2S BCK	7
I2S DOUT	6
I2C SDA	18
I2C SCL	8
Battery ADC	4
Touch INT	16
Keyboard INT	46
SD CS	39
TFT CS	12
LoRa CS	9
TFT DC	11
TFT Backlight	42
SPI MOSI	41
SPI MISO	38
SPI SCK	40
Trackball G01	3
Trackball G02	2
Trackball G03	15
Trackball G04	1
ES7210 MCLK	48
ES7210 LRCK	21
ES7210 SCK	47
ES7210 DIN	14
LoRa BUSY	13
LoRa RST	17
LoRa DIO1	45
BOOT	0
GPS TX	43
GPS RX	44

Peripheral Initialization

The following snippets show the minimum setup for each peripheral using the pin definitions above. Copy the #define block from Pin Mapping into your sketch, then use the relevant snippet.

Before any SPI transaction — pull all other CS lines HIGH first:

digitalWrite(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_CS,    HIGH);
digitalWrite(RADIO_CS_PIN,    HIGH);

Power Enable (battery-powered builds)

// Must be set HIGH when running on battery; safe to call on USB too.
pinMode(BOARD_POWERON, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(BOARD_POWERON, HIGH);

Display (ST7789 — Arduino_GFX)

#include <Arduino_GFX_Library.h>

Arduino_DataBus *bus = new Arduino_ESP32SPI(
    BOARD_TFT_DC, BOARD_TFT_CS,
    BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MOSI, BOARD_SPI_MISO);

Arduino_GFX *gfx = new Arduino_ST7789(bus, -1, 0, true, 320, 240);

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, HIGH);
    gfx->begin();
    gfx->fillScreen(BLACK);
}

Display (ST7789 — TFT_eSPI)

Requires User_Setup.h configured for T-Deck — see the 2024-07-26 commit for the correct initialization sequence.

#include <TFT_eSPI.h>

TFT_eSPI tft;

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, HIGH);
    tft.init();
    tft.setRotation(1);
    tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
}

LoRa (SX1262 — RadioLib)

#include <SPI.h>
#include <RadioLib.h>

SX1262 radio = new Module(
    RADIO_CS_PIN,   // CS
    RADIO_DIO1_PIN, // DIO1 / IRQ
    RADIO_RST_PIN,  // RST
    RADIO_BUSY_PIN  // BUSY
);

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_POWERON, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(BOARD_POWERON, HIGH);
    delay(200);

    pinMode(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, HIGH);
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_CS,    OUTPUT); digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_CS,    HIGH);
    pinMode(RADIO_CS_PIN,    OUTPUT); digitalWrite(RADIO_CS_PIN,    HIGH);

    SPI.begin(BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MISO, BOARD_SPI_MOSI, RADIO_CS_PIN);

    // frequency (MHz), bandwidth (kHz), spreading factor, coding rate, sync word, output power (dBm)
    int state = radio.begin(915.0, 125.0, 7, 5, RADIOLIB_SX126X_SYNC_WORD_PRIVATE, 22);
    if (state != RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) {
        Serial.printf("LoRa init failed: %d\n", state);
    }
}

GPS (MIA-M10Q — TinyGPSPlus)

T-Deck Plus only. The Grove interface pins are repurposed for GPS — Grove cannot be used as a general-purpose connector.

#include <TinyGPSPlus.h>

TinyGPSPlus gps;

void setup() {
    // GPS communicates over UART (Serial1 on ESP32-S3)
    Serial1.begin(9600, SERIAL_8N1, BOARD_GPS_TX_PIN, BOARD_GPS_RX_PIN);
}

void loop() {
    while (Serial1.available()) {
        gps.encode(Serial1.read());
    }
    if (gps.location.isUpdated()) {
        Serial.printf("Lat: %.6f  Lng: %.6f\n",
            gps.location.lat(), gps.location.lng());
    }
}

Keyboard (I²C)

#include <Wire.h>

#define KEYBOARD_ADDR 0x55

void setup() {
    Wire.begin(BOARD_I2C_SDA, BOARD_I2C_SCL);
    pinMode(BOARD_KEYBOARD_INT, INPUT_PULLUP);
}

void loop() {
    if (digitalRead(BOARD_KEYBOARD_INT) == LOW) {
        Wire.requestFrom(KEYBOARD_ADDR, 1);
        if (Wire.available()) {
            char key = Wire.read();
            Serial.printf("Key: %c\n", key);
        }
    }
}

Trackball

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G01, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G02, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G03, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G04, INPUT);
}

Microphone (ES7210 — I²S)

When the microphone is enabled, GPIO0 (BOOT / trackball center button) is not available.

#include <driver/i2s.h>

void setup() {
    i2s_config_t i2s_config = {
        .mode = (i2s_mode_t)(I2S_MODE_MASTER | I2S_MODE_RX),
        .sample_rate = 16000,
        .bits_per_sample = I2S_BITS_PER_SAMPLE_16BIT,
        .channel_format = I2S_CHANNEL_FMT_RIGHT_LEFT,
        .communication_format = I2S_COMM_FORMAT_STAND_I2S,
        .intr_alloc_flags = ESP_INTR_FLAG_LEVEL1,
        .dma_buf_count = 4,
        .dma_buf_len = 256,
        .use_apll = false,
    };
    i2s_pin_config_t pin_config = {
        .mck_io_num   = BOARD_ES7210_MCLK,
        .bck_io_num   = BOARD_ES7210_SCK,
        .ws_io_num    = BOARD_ES7210_LRCK,
        .data_in_num  = BOARD_ES7210_DIN,
        .data_out_num = I2S_PIN_NO_CHANGE,
    };
    i2s_driver_install(I2S_NUM_0, &i2s_config, 0, NULL);
    i2s_set_pin(I2S_NUM_0, &pin_config);
}

SD Card (SPI)

#include <SD.h>

void setup() {
    SPI.begin(BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MISO, BOARD_SPI_MOSI);
    if (!SD.begin(BOARD_SDCARD_CS)) {
        Serial.println("SD init failed");
    }
}

Dimension Diagram

Schematic

• T-Deck Schematic PDF

Datasheet

• ESP32-S3 Datasheet
• T-Deck ANT 868–915 MHz
• T-Deck ANT 433 MHz

Software Development

• T-Deck GitHub Repository

Dependent Libraries

• AceButton
• Arduino_GFX
• ESP32-audioI2S
• RadioLib
• SensorsLib
• TFT_eSPI
• TinyGPSPlus
• TouchLib
• LVGL v8.4.0

FAQ

• Q. Can the Grove interface on T-Deck Plus be used? A. No. On T-Deck Plus, the Grove interface pins are allocated to the GPS module and cannot be used as a general-purpose interface.

• Q. Does T-Deck Plus have a touch screen? A. Yes. T-Deck Plus has a GT911 capacitive touchscreen and also keeps the trackball navigation module. The standard T-Deck does not have a touchscreen.

• Q. Upload keeps failing? A. Hold the trackball center button (BOOT), insert USB, then click Upload. Press RST to exit download mode.

• Q. What should I do if LoRa initialization shows Radio init failed: -2? A. This usually means the sketch cannot detect the SX1262. Before initializing LoRa, set GPIO10 HIGH and pull the other SPI device CS pins HIGH, such as TFT_CS=12 and SD_CS=39. Also confirm that the sketch uses the T-Deck Plus LoRa pins: CS=9, DIO1=45, RST=17, BUSY=13.

• Q. How can I tell whether T-Deck Plus is charging or fully charged? A. Connect USB and check the blue charging indicator from the bottom side of the device. A lit blue LED means the battery is charging; when the blue LED turns off, the battery is fully charged. This is a quick way to confirm that the device can charge to full.

  

• Q. Arduino IDE prompts to upgrade libraries — should I? A. Do not upgrade. Stay with the library versions in the lib directory.

Version History

Version	Release Date	Update Description
V1.0	—	Initial release