T-Deck Plus Quick Start

Required Libraries

Library	Version	Source
RadioLib	Latest	GitHub
TFT_eSPI	Latest	GitHub
TinyGPSPlus	Latest	GitHub
SensorLib	Latest	GitHub
LVGL	8.4.0	GitHub

Do not upgrade libraries beyond the versions included in T-Deck/lib/.

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Arduino

PlatformIO (Recommended)

1. Install VS Code and the PlatformIO IDE extension
2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Xinyuan-LilyGO/T-Deck.git

3. Open platformio.ini and uncomment the example line you want to use (only one active at a time)
4. Click ✓ to build, connect via USB, click → to upload

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Arduino IDE

1. Install ESP32 Board Support

1. Open Arduino IDE → File → Preferences
2. Add to "Additional Board Manager URLs":

   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

3. Go to Tools → Board → Boards Manager, search esp32, install esp32 by Espressif Systems

2. Install Libraries

Copy all folders from T-Deck/lib/ to your Arduino libraries directory.

3. Board Settings

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

4. Upload

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

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Examples

Example	Description
Keyboard_T_Deck_Master	Read keyboard input from T-Deck
Microphone	ES7210 microphone noise detection
Touchpad	Trackball position reading
GPSShield	GPS module (MIA-M10Q) example
UnitTest	Full factory hardware test

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LVGL

T-Deck Plus uses an ST7789 TFT (320×240). LVGL 8.4.0 is included in the T-Deck/lib/ folder.

#include <LilyGo_TDeck.h>

void setup() {
  board.begin();
  board.display.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);

  lv_init();
  // LVGL draw buffer and display driver are set up by the board library
  board.display.lvgl_begin();

  lv_obj_t *label = lv_label_create(lv_scr_act());
  lv_label_set_text(label, "T-Deck Plus");
  lv_obj_align(label, LV_ALIGN_CENTER, 0, 0);
}

void loop() {
  lv_timer_handler();
  delay(5);
}

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Peripheral Examples

Display (ST7789)

#include <TFT_eSPI.h>

TFT_eSPI tft;

void setup() {
  tft.begin();
  tft.setRotation(1);
  tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
  tft.setTextColor(TFT_WHITE, TFT_BLACK);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.drawString("T-Deck Plus", 80, 110);
}

void loop() {}

LoRa (SX1262)

#include <RadioLib.h>

// T-Deck SX1262: CS=9, IRQ=40, RST=17, BUSY=13
SX1262 radio = new Module(9, 40, 17, 13);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  // Power on LoRa module
  pinMode(10, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(10, HIGH);
  delay(100);

  int state = radio.begin(915.0);
  if (state != RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) {
    Serial.print("Radio init failed: "); Serial.println(state);
    while (true);
  }
  Serial.println("SX1262 ready");
}

void loop() {
  int state = radio.transmit("Hello T-Deck Plus");
  if (state == RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) Serial.println("Sent OK");
  delay(2000);
}

GPS (MIA-M10Q)

#include <TinyGPSPlus.h>

TinyGPSPlus gps;
// GPS on Serial1: RX=21, TX=48, 38400 baud
HardwareSerial gpsSerial(1);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  gpsSerial.begin(38400, SERIAL_8N1, 21, 48);
}

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

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Important Notes

• The Grove interface pins on T-Deck Plus are allocated to the GPS module — they cannot be used as a general-purpose connector.
• When powered by battery, GPIO10 must be set HIGH.
• The LoRa SX1262 shares the SPI bus — keep all other SPI device CS lines HIGH before communicating with it.

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FAQ

Q: Upload keeps failing?
A: Hold the trackball center button (BOOT), insert USB, then click Upload.

Q: Does T-Deck Plus have a touchscreen?
A: No. It uses a trackball navigation module for input.

Q: Screen display looks wrong?
A: T-Deck updated the ST7789 initialization sequence on 2024-07-26. Make sure your library matches the current repo version.