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u-blox NORA-W10 series (ESP32-S3)
A series of modules combining Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity with enhanced security features, designed for IoT applications.
10.4 × 14.3 mm
ESP32-S3
MCU
240MHz
clock
4MB
flash
512KB
SRAM
30· 6 ADC
GPIO
BLE 5.0+ WiFi
radio
Pinout
35 pins| Pin | GPIO | Labels | Status | Capabilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | SW2SCL1 | strapping | - | |
| 2 | 1 | DTRT1PWM | safe | touch | |
| 3 | 2 | LED_GREEND5T2PWM | safe | touch | |
| 4 | 3 | D4T3PWM | strapping | touch | |
| 5 | 4 | D3T4PWM | safe | touch | |
| 6 | 5 | LED_REDA3T5PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 7 | 6 | CTSD15T6PWM | safe | touch | |
| 8 | 7 | DSRT7PWM | safe | touch | |
| 9 | 8 | T8PWM | safe | touch | |
| 10 | 9 | T9PWM | strapping | touch | |
| 11 | 10 | D7T10PWM | strapping | touch | |
| 12 | 11 | A0T11PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 13 | 12 | A1T12PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 14 | 13 | A2T13PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 15 | 14 | D6T14PWM | strapping | touch | |
| 16 | 15 | A4PWM | safe | adc | |
| 17 | 16 | A5PWM | safe | adc | |
| 18 | 17 | SCLPWM | safe | i2c | |
| 19 | 18 | SDAPWM | safe | i2c | |
| 20 | 33 | D8PWM | strapping | - | |
| 21 | 34 | SSD10PWM | strapping | spi | |
| 22 | 35 | MOSID11PWM | strapping | spi | |
| 23 | 36 | SCKD13PWM | strapping | spi | |
| 24 | 37 | MISOD12PWM | strapping | spi | |
| 25 | 43 | TXD1PWM | strapping | uart | |
| 26 | 44 | RXD0PWM | strapping | uart | |
| 27 | 45 | RTSD14PWM | strapping | - | |
| 28 | 46 | SW1D2 | strapping | - | |
| 29 | 47 | SW3D18 | strapping | - | |
| 30 | 48 | SW4D19 | strapping | - | |
| 31 | - | LED_BLUE | safe | - | |
| 32 | - | D9PWM | safe | - | |
| 33 | - | SDA1PWM | safe | - | |
| 34 | - | D16 | safe | - | |
| 35 | - | D17 | safe | - |
Start with these
11 pins with no boot or system involvementDTRT1LED_GREEND5D3T4LED_REDA3CTSD15DSRT7T8PWMA4PWMA5PWMSCLPWMSDAPWM
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW2 | 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 |
| D4 | 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 |
| TX | U0TXD (GPIO43) | Used for bootloader output and UART console logs. If repurposed, you will lose the default serial output (and programming via UART0). | Other |
| RX | U0RXD (GPIO44) | Used for bootloader input (download mode via serial). If repurposed, you cannot use the default UART0 download mode for programming the chip. | Other |
| RTS | GPIO45 | 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. | Strapping |
| SW1 | GPIO46 | 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. | Strapping |
Only if you know the tricks
wired to flash or USB - expect a fight| Pin | Label | What to know | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| T9 | FSPIHD | Connected to external flash (data/hold signal) on most modules. Not recommended for use as GPIO, since it must remain dedicated to flash communication. | Flash |
| D7 | FSPICS0 | Used to select the external flash chip. It is required for flash access and cannot be repurposed without losing flash connectivity | Flash |
| A0 | FSPID | Used as a data line for flash (and in-package PSRAM). It should not be used as GPIO when the flash/PSRAM is in use. | Flash |
| A1 | FSPICLK | Drives the flash (and PSRAM) clock. This critical signal must be reserved for memory and not used as general GPIO. | Flash |
| A2 | FSPIQ | Used as a data line for flash/PSRAM transfers. Not available for other uses when flash/PSRAM is connected. | Flash |
| D6 | FSPIWP | Connected to external flash (data/write-protect signal). Not recommended as GPIO because it’s reserved for flash operations. | Flash |
| D8 | FSPIHD | On chips/modules with integrated flash, this IO is wired to the flash hold pin internally. It cannot be reassigned to GPIO without breaking flash access. | Flash |
| SS | FSPICS0 | Wired to the chip select of the internal flash in flash-equipped variants. It must remain low during flash operation, so it’s not available for other use. | Flash |
| MOSI | FSPID / PSRAM_D0 | In modules with octal PSRAM, this pin is connected to the PSRAM data line. It is reserved for memory interface and not free for general GPIO when flash/PSRAM is present. | Flash |
| SCK | FSPICLK / PSRAM_CLK | In modules with octal PSRAM, this pin drives the PSRAM clock. It must be dedicated to the memory interface, not used as a regular GPIO when that interface is in use. | Flash |
| MISO | FSPIQ / PSRAM_DQS | In modules with octal PSRAM, this pin is connected to the PSRAM’s DQS signal. It cannot be repurposed without disrupting the PSRAM/flash communication. | Flash |
| SW3 | SPICLK_P | Used only on variants with Octal SPI interface (e.g. ESP32-S3R16V) as part of the differential clock pair. On such chips it operates at 1.8 V and is reserved for the high-speed octal SPI clock, not for general GPIO use. | Flash |
| SW4 | SPICLK_N | Used only on variants with Octal SPI interface, as the negative leg of the differential clock&. On such chips it operates at 1.8 V; it should be avoided for GPIO to prevent conflicts with the octal flash/PSRAM clock. | 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 u-blox NORA-W10 series (ESP32-S3) pinout brings out 35 pins - 30 usable GPIO. Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO18 and SCL…
The u-blox NORA-W10 series (ESP32-S3) pinout brings out 35 pins - 30 usable GPIO.
Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO18 and SCL on GPIO17; the SPI bus (MOSI, MISO, SCK, SS) is broken out in full; TX/RX on GPIO43 and GPIO44 cover serial logging and flashing.
Beyond plain digital I/O you get 6 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring and 14 capacitive-touch inputs.
6 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (SW2, D4, TX and 3 more) - check the guidance above before wiring anything to them. DTR, LED_GREEN, D3, LED_RED and 7 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks.
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
The onboard LED on GPIO1 blinks - swap the pin if your board's LED differs.
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
// blink the onboard LED
void setup() {
pinMode(1, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(1, HIGH); delay(500);
digitalWrite(1, LOW); delay(500);
}board to selectesp32-s3-devkitc-1⧉ copy
[env:nora_w10]
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: nora_w10
framework:
type: esp-idf
psram:
mode: quad
speed: 80MHz
# blink - GPIO1
output:
- platform: gpio
pin: 1
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 1310720 B · data 327680 B · DIO
Specifications
ESP32-S3 · 10.4 × 14.3 mmCompute
MCU
ESP32-S3
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
512 KB · 4MB
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
5.0 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
30 · 6
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 4
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
-
Serial
-
Boot address
0x0
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · QIO
Sketch · Data
1.25 MB · 320 KB
10.4 × 14.3 mm
The u-blox NORA-W10 series (ESP32-S3) uses esptool_py for firmware uploads, esp_ota for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Flash mode is DIO with QIO boot mode. The maximum sketch size is 1.25 MB with 320 KB available for data.
About this board
At 10.4 × 14.3 mm it's the smallest ESP32-S3 board we've measured.
Inside sits the ESP32-S3 - a dual-core Xtensa with vector extensions suited to AI workloads.
At $99.00 it's on the expensive side for an ESP32-S3 board - most land around $30.
With 30 GPIO broken out, you get more pins to play with than most ESP32-S3 boards offer.
- Three variants: NORA-W101 (external antenna), NORA-W106-00B (PCB antenna), NORA-W106-10B (PCB antenna + PSRAM)
- 8 MB embedded flash (quad SPI) on NORA-W101-00B and NORA-W106-00B
- NORA-W106-10B swaps the 8 MB flash for 8 MB embedded PSRAM (octal SPI, ECC); external flash then required
- NORA-W101 exposes a 50 Ohm ANT pin for an external antenna; u.FL connector reference design available
- NORA-W106 has an internal 2.4 GHz PCB trace antenna (Abracon-licensed)
- Globally pre-certified: RED/CE, UKCA, FCC, IC/ISED, MIC, NCC, KCC, ANATEL, ACMA, SRRC (W106)
- Industrial temperature range -40 to +85 °C; AEC-Q104 professional grade
- Wi-Fi 4 (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth LE 5.0, 2.4 GHz single-band
- Integrated cryptographic hardware accelerators with secure boot
- Module outline 10.4 x 14.3 x 1.9 mm; NORA form factor (migratable with NORA-B1)
Where to buy
prices are typical street pricesu-blox NORA-W10 series (ESP32-S3)
$99.00per unit, typical
Resources
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