T-Display-S3 get it now

Overview

T-Display-S3 is a development board whose main control chip is ESP32-S3. It is equipped with a 1.9-inch LCD color screen and two programmable buttons. Communication using the I8080 interface Retains the same layout design as T-Display. You can directly use ESP32S3 for USB communication or programming.

Quick Start

Example Support

Example	PlatformIO/Arduino	ESP-IDF	Description
T-Display-S3	✓	✓	BLE, WIFI, SPIFFS, FFat examples

PlatformIO

1. Install Visual Studio Code and Python
2. Search for the PlatformIO plugin in the VisualStudioCode extension and install it.
3. After the installation is complete, you need to restart VisualStudioCode
4. After restarting VisualStudioCode, select File in the upper left corner of VisualStudioCode -> Open Folder -> select the T-Display-S3 directory
5. Wait for the installation of third-party dependent libraries to complete
6. Click on the platformio.ini file, and in the platformio column
7. Uncomment one of the lines default_envs = xxxx to make sure only one line works
8. Click the (✔) symbol in the lower left corner to compile
9. Connect the board to the computer USB
10. Click (→) to upload firmware
11. Click (plug symbol) to monitor serial output
12. If it cannot be written, or the USB device keeps flashing, please check the FAQ below

Arduino

Install Arduino IDE

1. In Arduino Preferences, on the Settings tab, enter the https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json URL in the Additional boards manager URLs input box. Please pay attention to the version. The test phase is using 2.0.14. It is not certain that versions above 2.0.14 can run. When the operation is abnormal, please downgrade to a version below 2.0.14. , As of 2024/08/02, TFT_eSPI does not work on versions higher than 2.0.14, see TFT_eSPI/issue3329

2. Download T-Display-S3 , move to Arduino library folder (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Arduino\libraries)

3. Copy all folders in lib folder to Arduino library folder (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Arduino\libraries)

4. Enter the downloaded T-Display-S3/examples directory

5. Select any example and double-click the any_example.ino to open it

6. Select any example and double-click the any_example.ino to open it

7. Open ArduinoIDE ,Tools ，Make your selection according to the table below

   Arduino IDE Setting	Value
   Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
   Port	Your port
   USB CDC On Boot	Enable
   CPU Frequency	240MHZ(WiFi)
   Core Debug Level	None
   USB DFU On Boot	Disable
   Erase All Flash Before Sketch Upload	Disable
   Events Run On	Core1
   Flash Mode	QIO 80MHZ
   Flash Size	16MB(128Mb)
   Arduino Runs On	Core1
   USB Firmware MSC On Boot	Disable
   Partition Scheme	16M Flash(3M APP/9.9MB FATFS)
   PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
   Upload Mode	UART0/Hardware CDC
   Upload Speed	921600
   USB Mode	CDC and JTAG

   • The options in bold are required, others are selected according to actual conditions.

8. Click upload , Wait for compilation and writing to complete

ESP-IDF

• T-Display-S3 esp-idf version example, please jump to this LilyGo-Display-IDF

Micropython

• russhughes/st7789s3_mpy
• Micropython

Development Platforms

1. Arduino IDE
2. PlatformIO
3. MicroPython

Video

• T-Display-S3 Arduino IDE Record

Key Features

• ESP32-S3R8 Dual-core LX7 microprocessor
• Wi-Fi 802.11, BLE 5 + BT mesh
• 1.9" diagonal, Full-color TFT Display
• 170(H)RGB x320(V) 8-Bit Parallel Interface
• STEMMA QT / Qwiic
• JST-GH 1.25mm 2PIN

Product Parameters

Feature	Specification
MCU	ESP32-S3R8 Dual-core LX7 microprocessor
Wireless Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11, BLE 5 + BT mesh
Programming Platform	Arduino-ide、 Micropython
Flash	16MB
PSRAM	8MB
Bat voltage detection	IO04
Onboard functions	Boot + Reset + IO14 Button
LCD	1.9" diagonal, Full-color TFT Display
Drive Chip	ST7789V
Resolution	170(H)RGB x320(V) 8-Bit Parallel Interface
Working power supply	3.3v
Support	STEMMA QT / Qwiic JST-SH 1.0mm 4-PIN
Connector	JST-GH 1.25mm 2PIN

Pin Diagram

Display

ST7789V	BL	Power EN	RST	CS	DC	WR	RD	D0	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7
ESP32-S3	GPIO38	GPIO15	GPIO5	GPIO6	GPIO7	GPIO8	GPIO9	GPIO39	GPIO40	GPIO41	GPIO42	GPIO45	GPIO46	GPIO47	GPIO48

Button

Button	BOOT	User
ESP32-S3	GPIO0	GPIO14

Battery

Battery	ADC
ESP32-S3	GPIO4

I2C (QWIIC / STEMMA QT)

I2C	SDA	SCL
ESP32-S3	GPIO18	GPIO17

UART

UART	TX	RX
ESP32-S3	GPIO43	GPIO44

Dimension Diagram

• DWG File

Schematic

• T-Display-S3 Schematic

Datasheet

• ESP32-S3 Datasheet

Software Development

• T-Display-S3 GitHub Repository

Dependent Libraries

• lvgl
• Arduino_GFX
• TFT-eSPI
• ESP32_Host_MIDI
• Gingoduino
• Adafruit_MPR121

FAQ

1. The screen does not light up when using battery?
   • When T-Display-S3 is powered by battery, GPIO15 must be set to HIGH to turn on the backlight.
   • Please add the following two lines at the beginning of the setup

   void setup(){
      //Turn on display power
      pinMode(15, OUTPUT);
      digitalWrite(15, HIGH);
   }

2. The program can be written normally, but there is still no display after writing

• If you are using TFT_eSPI, then you can try running Arduino_GFXDemo first. If nothing is displayed after writing, you can determine that there is a problem with the hardware.
• If Arduino_GFXDemo is written normally, but TFT_eSPI is not displayed, then it can be judged that User_Setup_Select has been overwritten, then please read the third article of FAQ to reconfigure TFT_eSPI

3. How to update TFT_eSPI, or confirm whether the TFT_eSPI pin configuration is correct?

   • Search for TFT_eSPI in the ArduinoIDE library manager and click Update.
   • Enter the default library manager installation location and open the TFT_eSPI folder. The default installation location is:(e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Arduino\libraries)
   • Open User_Setup_Select.h, comment out #include <User_Setup.h> which is enabled by default, or delete it
   • Search Setup206_LilyGo_T_Display_S3, find it, cancel the previous comment, then save it, and finally close it, so that TFT_eSPI uses the pin definition of T-Display-S3 by default

   #include <User_Setups/Setup206_LilyGo_T_Display_S3.h>     // For the LilyGo T-Display S3 based ESP32S3 with ST7789 170 x 320 TFT

4. Can't upload any sketch，Please enter the upload mode manually.

   • Connect the board via the USB cable
   • Press and hold the BOOT button , While still pressing the BOOT button
   • Press RST button
   • Release the RST button
   • Release the BOOT button (If there is no BOOT button, disconnect IO0 from GND.)
   • Upload sketch
   • Press the RST button to exit download mode

5. If you use external power supply instead of USB-C, please turn off the CDC option. This is because the board will wait for USB access when it starts.

   • For Arduino IDE users, it can be turned off in the options , Please note that turning off USB CDC will turn off Serial redirection to USBC. At this time, you will not see any Serial message output when opening the port from USB-C, but output from GPIO43 and GPIO44.

   Tools -> USB CDC On Boot -> Disable

   • For platformio users, you can add the following compilation flags in the ini file

   build_flags =
       ; Enable -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT will start printing and wait for terminal access during startup
       ; -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
   
       ; Enable -UARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT will turn off printing and will not block when using the battery
       -UARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT

6. If all the above are invalid, please flash the factory firmware for quick verification, please check here

7. Can I use an external 5V pin for power? Please see here issues/205

8. The default charging current is set at 500mA per hour. If you need to adjust the charging current, please see this issue

Version History

Version	Release Date	Update Description