No
No
N/A
Espressif ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway
Reference gateway for Thread and Zigbee networks - enables secure Matter integration in smart home ecosystems.
ESP32-S3
MCU
240MHz
clock
4MB
flash
512KB
SRAM
24· 14 ADC
GPIO
BLE 5.0+ WiFi
radio
Pinout
24 pins
| Pin | GPIO | Labels | Status | Capabilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | A11T1PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 2 | 1 | TXPWM | uart | uart | |
| 3 | 2 | A12T2PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 4 | 3 | RXPWM | strapping | uart | |
| 5 | 4 | A10T0PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 6 | 5 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 7 | 12 | A15T5PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 8 | 13 | A14T4PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 9 | 14 | A16T6PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 10 | 15 | A13T3PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 11 | 16 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 12 | 17 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 13 | 18 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 14 | 19 | PWM | uart | - | |
| 15 | 21 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 16 | 22 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 17 | 23 | PWM | safe | - | |
| 18 | 25 | A18DAC1PWM | safe | adc · dac | |
| 19 | 26 | A19DAC2PWM | strapping | adc · dac | |
| 20 | 27 | A17T7PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 21 | 32 | A4T9PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 22 | 33 | A5T8PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 23 | 34 | A6 | strapping | adc | |
| 24 | 35 | A7 | strapping | adc |
Start with these
12 pins with no boot or system involvementTXPWMA12T2A10T0PWMA13T3PWMPWMPWMPWMPWMPWMA18DAC1
Freely assignable - no strapping, flash, USB or JTAG duties. Ideal first picks for buttons, sensors and LEDs.
Fine - with a little care
sampled at boot or shared with debug/serial| Pin | Label | What to know | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| A11 | GPIO0 | 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. | Strapping |
| RX | GPIO3 | Sampled at reset to select JTAG interface (USB Serial/JTAG controller vs. external pins). Improper use can disable external JTAG or alter debug interface. | Strapping |
| A15 | FSPICLK | 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. | Other |
| A14 | FSPIQ | 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. | Other |
| A16 | FSPIWP | 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. | Other |
Only if you know the tricks
wired to flash or USB - expect a fight| Pin | Label | What to know | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| PWM | USB_D- | By default connected to the on-chip USB Serial/JTAG controller. Using it as general GPIO without reconfiguring IO MUX will interfere with USB functionality. | USB |
| A19 | SPICS1 | Part of the SPI0/1 bus that runs the in-package flash and PSRAM, listed by the datasheet as "already allocated or not recommended for use". Modules keep these lines internal, so the pin is not available as GPIO. | Flash |
| A17 | SPIHD | Part of the SPI0/1 bus that runs the in-package flash and PSRAM, listed by the datasheet as "already allocated or not recommended for use". Modules keep these lines internal, so the pin is not available as GPIO. | Flash |
| A4 | SPID | Part of the SPI0/1 bus that runs the in-package flash and PSRAM, listed by the datasheet as "already allocated or not recommended for use". Modules keep these lines internal, so the pin is not available as GPIO. | Flash |
| A5 | SPIIO4 (GPIO33) | The datasheet keeps GPIO33-37 for "the higher 4 bits data line interface and DQS interface for the SPI0/1 interface in 8-line SPI mode", so octal-PSRAM modules (N16R8 and friends) consume it and do not break it out. On quad-PSRAM or PSRAM-less parts it is an ordinary GPIO - check which variant your module carries. | Flash |
| A6 | SPIIO5 (GPIO34) | The datasheet keeps GPIO33-37 for "the higher 4 bits data line interface and DQS interface for the SPI0/1 interface in 8-line SPI mode", so octal-PSRAM modules (N16R8 and friends) consume it and do not break it out. On quad-PSRAM or PSRAM-less parts it is an ordinary GPIO - check which variant your module carries. | Flash |
| A7 | SPIIO6 (GPIO35) | The datasheet keeps GPIO33-37 for "the higher 4 bits data line interface and DQS interface for the SPI0/1 interface in 8-line SPI mode", so octal-PSRAM modules (N16R8 and friends) consume it and do not break it out. On quad-PSRAM or PSRAM-less parts it is an ordinary GPIO - check which variant your module carries. | Flash |
These are recommendations, not hard rules - with the right pull-ups, timing and boot-state awareness most pins can be made to work. When in doubt, start green.
Pinout notes The Espressif ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway pinout brings out 24 GPIO pins - every one of them usable in your project. For peripherals, TX/RX on…
The Espressif ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway pinout brings out 24 GPIO pins - every one of them usable in your project.
For peripherals, TX/RX on GPIO1 and GPIO3 cover serial logging and flashing.
On the analog side there are 14 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring, 10 capacitive-touch inputs and 2 true DAC outputs.
If you want zero surprises, TX, A12, A10, PWM and 8 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks. 5 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (A11, RX, A15 and 2 more).
Getting started
flash your first firmware in ~2 minutes1
Connect over USB
Install your USB-serial driver (CH340 / CP210x) if no port appears. Not detected? Hold BOOT while plugging in.
2
Match & flash
Set the Tools options shown, then click Upload.
3
Verify it runs
GPIO2 toggles - wire an LED and resistor to it, or change the pin to your board's own LED.
Set these in Tools · leave everything else at default
Arduino IDE 2.x - Tools Copy
Board: "ESP32S3 Dev Module"▸
Flash Size: "4MB (32Mb)"▸
Flash Mode: "DIO"▸
PSRAM: "QSPI PSRAM"▸
Partition Scheme: "Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP/1.5MB SPIFFS)" (default)▸
Upload Speed: "921600"▸
▸ every other Tools option - leave at default
Board: ESP32S3 Dev Module Flash Size: 4MB (32Mb) Flash Mode: DIO PSRAM: QSPI PSRAM Partition Scheme: Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP/1.5MB SPIFFS) Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32S3 Dev Module
// toggle GPIO2 - wire an LED and resistor to it
void setup() {
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH); delay(500);
digitalWrite(2, LOW); delay(500);
}board to selectesp32-s3-devkitc-1⧉ copy
[env:esp-thread-br-zigbee-gw]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_qspi
build_flags = -DBOARD_HAS_PSRAMFind it: PlatformIO Home ▸ Boards, search
esp32-s3-devkitc-1 - or type it after board =.board to selectesp32-s3-devkitc-1⧉ copy
esp32:
board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
variant: esp32s3
framework:
type: esp-idf
psram:
mode: quad
speed: 80MHz
# blink - GPIO2
output:
- platform: gpio
pin: 2
id: led_out
light:
- platform: binary
name: "LED"
output: led_outFind it: search ESPHome's board list for
esp32-s3-devkitc-1 (same ids as PlatformIO).esptool doesn't pick board settings - a prebuilt .bin already has them baked in. This is just the raw flash command.
esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port /dev/ttyACM0 \
--baud 921600 write_flash 0x0 firmware.bin--port = your /dev/tty* (macOS/Linux) or COMx (Windows).Build details: sketch space 1966080 B · data 327680 B · DIO
Specifications
ESP32-S3 · vs other ESP32 chips →Compute
MCU
ESP32-S3
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
512 KB · 4MB · 2MB (QSPI) PSRAM
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
5.0 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
24 · 14
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 2
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
-
Serial
-
Boot address
0x0
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · DIO
Sketch · Data
1.88 MB · 320 KB
The Espressif ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway uses esptool_py for firmware uploads, esp_ota for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Flash mode is DIO with DIO boot mode. The maximum sketch size is 1.88 MB with 320 KB available for data.
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 $10.00 - less than the ~$29 most ESP32-S3 boards go for.
Onboard you'll find 2MB (QSPI) PSRAM, Zigbee and wired Ethernet (true).
The ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway is a development board designed to facilitate seamless wireless connectivity in IoT applications. It supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, 802.15.4 Thread, Zigbee®, and Bluetooth® 5.x (BLE) at 2.4GHz, making it highly versatile for a range of IoT use cases. Powered by the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 and ESP32-H2-MINI-1 modules, the board includes 4MB Flash and 2MB PSRAM, providing ample memory for smooth operation. Additionally, it features Sub-Ethernet capabilities, further enhancing its role as a robust Thread Border Router and Zigbee Gateway for seamless network integration and management.
- Dual-radio design - ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 host + ESP32-H2-MINI-1 802.15.4 (Thread/Zigbee) radio co-processor
- RJ45 Ethernet uplink for the Thread border router
Where to buy
prices are typical street pricesEspressif ESP Thread Border Router/Zigbee Gateway
$10.00per unit, typical
As an Amazon Associate, ESPboards earns from qualifying purchases.
Resources
Similar boards
