ESP32-S3-BOX-3
Feature-rich ESP32-S3 board with screen, mic, and AI support - perfect for voice interfaces, smart hubs, and demos.
ESP32-S3-BOX-3 Pinout
31 pins
| Pin | GPIO | Labels | Status | Capabilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | TFT_MISO | strapping | - | |
| 2 | 1 | MUTE_PINPWM | safe | - | |
| 3 | 2 | I2S_MCLKPWM | safe | - | |
| 4 | 3 | TS_IRQPWM | strapping | - | |
| 5 | 4 | TFT_DCPWM | safe | - | |
| 6 | 5 | TFT_CSPWM | safe | - | |
| 7 | 6 | TFT_MOSIPWM | safe | - | |
| 8 | 7 | TFT_CLKPWM | safe | - | |
| 9 | 8 | I2C_SDAPWM | safe | - | |
| 10 | 9 | A8T9PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 11 | 10 | SSA9T10PWM | strapping | adc · touch · spi | |
| 12 | 11 | MOSIA10T11PWM | strapping | adc · touch · spi | |
| 13 | 12 | SCKA11T12PWM | strapping | adc · touch · spi | |
| 14 | 13 | MISOA12T13PWM | strapping | adc · touch · spi | |
| 15 | 14 | A13T14PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 16 | 15 | I2S_DOUTPWM | safe | - | |
| 17 | 16 | I2S_SDINPWM | safe | - | |
| 18 | 17 | I2S_SCLKPWM | safe | - | |
| 19 | 18 | I2C_SCLPWM | safe | - | |
| 20 | 40 | SCLPWM | strapping | i2c | |
| 21 | 41 | SDAPWM | strapping | i2c | |
| 22 | 43 | TXPWM | uart | uart | |
| 23 | 44 | RXPWM | uart | uart | |
| 24 | 45 | TFT_BLPWM | strapping | - | |
| 25 | 46 | PA_PIN | strapping | - | |
| 26 | 47 | I2S_LRCK | strapping | - | |
| 27 | 48 | TFT_RST | strapping | - | |
| 28 | - | ES7210_ADDR | safe | - | |
| 29 | - | ES8311_ADDRPWM | safe | - | |
| 30 | - | ICM42607P_ADDR | safe | - | |
| 31 | - | TT21100_ADDRPWM | safe | - |
Start with these
11 pins with no boot or system involvementFreely assignable - no strapping, flash, USB or JTAG duties. Ideal first picks for buttons, sensors and LEDs.
Fine - with a little care
16 pins · 10 things to knowTFT_MISOGPIO0 Bootstrapping pin (Chip boot mode selection) Strapping
Must be pulled high (default) or low (to enter UART download mode) at reset. Using it for other functions can interfere with boot mode configuration.
TS_IRQGPIO3 Bootstrapping pin (controls JTAG signal source) Strapping
Sampled at reset to select JTAG interface (USB Serial/JTAG controller vs. external pins). Improper use can disable external JTAG or alter debug interface.
A8GPIO9SSGPIO10MOSIGPIO11SCKGPIO12MISOGPIO13A13GPIO14 General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pins Other
IO MUX pin of the general-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) bus, not of the in-package flash - that sits on GPIO26-32. The datasheet lists it as a priority-2 pin ("can be freely used without restrictions"), so it is only taken if your board wires flash, an SD card or a display to FSPI.
- A8General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - hold/data line (FSPIHD)
- SSGeneral-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - chip select (FSPICS0)
- MOSIGeneral-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data in (FSPID)
- SCKGeneral-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - clock (FSPICLK)
- MISOGeneral-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data out (FSPIQ)
- A13General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - write-protect/data line (FSPIWP)
SCLGPIO40 JTAG test data out pin (MTDO) JTAG
Default JTAG TDO output for debugging. Using it as GPIO will interfere with JTAG debugging functionality.
SDAGPIO41 JTAG test data in pin (MTDI) JTAG
Default JTAG TDI input for debugging. Should be reserved for JTAG or left unused if JTAG is to remain available.
TXGPIO43 UART0 transmit pin (U0TXD), default serial console TX UART
Used for bootloader output and UART console logs. If repurposed, you will lose the default serial output (and programming via UART0).
RXGPIO44 UART0 receive pin (U0RXD), default serial console RX UART
Used for bootloader input (download mode via serial). If repurposed, you cannot use the default UART0 download mode for programming the chip.
TFT_BLGPIO45 Bootstrapping pin (selects VDD_SPI flash voltage) Strapping
Determines flash/PSRAM power voltage (3.3 V vs 1.8 V) at boot. Must match hardware configuration; using as GPIO can upset flash supply setting.
PA_PINGPIO46 Bootstrapping pin (used with GPIO0 for boot mode; controls ROM log output) Strapping
Must be at a defined level during reset (with GPIO0) to select normal or download boot and UART/USB print mode. This pin is input-only (no output drive), so it should be left for its intended strapping function.
I2S_LRCKGPIO47TFT_RSTGPIO48 Octal SPI differential clock legs (SPICLK_P/N_DIFF), used only by the 1.8 V octal flash/PSRAM variants Other
Only the 1.8 V octal parts (ESP32-S3R8V, ESP32-S3R16V) run the differential memory clock here, and on those the pin works at 1.8 V instead of 3.3 V. On the common 3.3 V modules it is a normal GPIO - several devkits drive their RGB LED from GPIO48.
- I2S_LRCKOctal SPI differential clock positive leg (SPICLK_P_DIFF), used only by the 1.8 V octal flash/PSRAM variants
- TFT_RSTOctal SPI differential clock negative leg (SPICLK_N_DIFF), used only by the 1.8 V octal flash/PSRAM variants
The ESP32-S3-BOX-3 breaks out 31 pins in total: 27 GPIO for your project.
For peripherals, I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO41 and SCL on GPIO40; the SPI bus (MOSI, MISO, SCK, SS) is broken out in full; TX/RX on GPIO43 and GPIO44 cover serial logging and flashing.
On the analog side there are 6 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring and 6 capacitive-touch inputs.
If you want zero surprises, MUTE_PIN, I2S_MCLK, TFT_DC, TFT_CS and 7 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks. 16 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (TFT_MISO, TS_IRQ, A8 and 13 more).
Getting started
flash your first firmware in ~2 minutesBoard: ESP32S3 Dev Module USB CDC On Boot: Enabled Flash Size: 16MB (128Mb) Flash Mode: DIO PSRAM: OPI PSRAM Partition Scheme: 16M Flash (3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS) Upload Speed: 921600
// toggle GPIO1 - wire an LED and resistor to it
void setup() {
pinMode(1, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(1, HIGH); delay(500);
digitalWrite(1, LOW); delay(500);
}[env:esp32s3box]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_opi
build_flags = -DBOARD_HAS_PSRAMesp32-s3-devkitc-1 - or type it after board =.esp32:
board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
variant: esp32s3
framework:
type: esp-idf
psram:
mode: octal
speed: 80MHz
# blink - GPIO1
output:
- platform: gpio
pin: 1
id: led_out
light:
- platform: binary
name: "LED"
output: led_outesp32-s3-devkitc-1 (same ids as PlatformIO).esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port /dev/ttyACM0 \
--baud 921600 write_flash 0x0 firmware.bin--port = your /dev/tty* (macOS/Linux) or COMx (Windows).Specifications
ESP32-S3 · vs other ESP32 chips →About this board
At its core is the ESP32-S3 - a dual-core Xtensa with vector extensions suited to AI workloads.
Expect to pay about $49.95 - above the ~$29 typical for ESP32-S3 boards.
Onboard you'll find 8MB (OPI) PSRAM, an LCD 2.4" 320x240 display with touch, a microphone (Dual mic array), a speaker, an audio codec (ES8311) and an ICM-42670-P IMU.
It flashes over native USB - no serial-converter driver needed, which isn't a given among ESP32-S3 boards.
- Current model is the ESP32-S3-BOX-3 (ILI9341 display, GT911 touch, ICM-42670-P 6-axis IMU, ES7210 mic ADC); the original BOX and BOX-Lite are end-of-life
- microSD lives on the bundled ESP32-S3-BOX-3-SENSOR dock accessory, not the main unit
- Detachable dock with a high-density PCIe-style expansion connector; ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 N16R8 (16MB flash + 8MB octal PSRAM)
Where to buy
prices are typical street pricesResources
Similar boards
