Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 display: specs, driver revisions & setup
A 1.28-inch round 240×240 IPS display board with a GC9A01 controller, CST816S touch and a QMI8658 IMU on ESP32-S3: a common base for watch faces and knob interfaces.
Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 display specifications
| MCU | ESP32-S3 |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.28″ · 240×240 · round |
| Display bus | SPI |
| Driver IC | GC9A01 |
| Touch | CST816S capacitive (I2C) |
Which Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 revision do you have?
Known display configuration for this board.
| Revision | Driver IC | How to identify | Library settings |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 | GC9A01 | TFT_eSPI: GC9A01_DRIVER; LovyanGFX: Panel_GC9A01 |
Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 display and touch pins
| Signal | GPIO | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LCD SCLK | 10 | SPI |
| LCD MOSI | 11 | SPI |
| LCD CS | 9 | |
| LCD DC | 8 | |
| LCD RST | 14 | |
| Backlight | 2 | |
| Touch/IMU SDA | 6 | I2C, shared with QMI8658 |
| Touch/IMU SCL | 7 | I2C |
| Touch INT | 5 | CST816S |
| Touch RST | 13 | CST816S |
Same display spec for volume production
Prototyped on the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28? These modules from our direct factories share the panel size and resolution, come with a datasheet and a fixed driver IC per production lot, and are available from 1 pc samples. MOQ and lead time are agreed per project.
From Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.28 prototype to production
Dev boards are ideal for proving a UI, but their panels are bought on the open market: the controller can change between batches, there is rarely a datasheet, and lifetime is not guaranteed. For a product, specify a module with a fixed driver IC per production lot, a datasheet and a lifecycle commitment.
Our direct factories build modules with the same 1.28″ 240×240 format. Samples start at 1 pc; MOQ and lead time are agreed per project with our sales team.
Before you debug code
- Confirm which revision you have (table above): driver IC changes are the most common cause of a white screen.
- Check the backlight pin is not reused in your sketch.
- Change one setting at a time (driver, inversion, colour order), and keep a known-good example to compare against.
Configuration examples
#define GC9A01_DRIVER
#define TFT_WIDTH 240
#define TFT_HEIGHT 240
#define TFT_SCLK 10
#define TFT_MOSI 11
#define TFT_CS 9
#define TFT_DC 8
#define TFT_RST 14
#define TFT_BL 2
#define SPI_FREQUENCY 40000000Frequently asked questions
Why does touch return zero coordinates?
The CST816S shares the I2C bus (SDA 6, SCL 7) with the IMU and needs its reset (GPIO 13) released; check the I2C setup and address before debugging the driver.
Sources
Not sure which display fits your design?
Send us your size, interface and host processor. A display engineer replies within 12 hours with 2–3 options, datasheets and init code. Samples from 1 pc.