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SparkFun ESP32-S2 Thing Plus
Feather-compatible ESP32-S2 board with USB and LiPo - ideal for secure IoT and hardware prototyping.
64.8 × 22.9 mm
ESP32-S2
MCU
240MHz
clock
4MB
flash
320KB
SRAM
28· 15 ADC
GPIO
Wi-Fi
radio
Pinout
28 pins · 2.54 mm pitch| Pin | GPIO | Labels | Status | Capabilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | SDAT1PWM | safe | touch · i2c | |
| 2 | 2 | SCLT2PWM | safe | touch · i2c | |
| 3 | 3 | T3PWM | safe | touch | |
| 4 | 4 | T4PWM | safe | touch | |
| 5 | 5 | A5T5PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 6 | 6 | T6PWM | safe | touch | |
| 7 | 7 | A4A6T7PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 8 | 8 | A7T8PWM | safe | adc · touch | |
| 9 | 9 | A3A8T9PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 10 | 10 | A9T10PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 11 | 11 | A10T11PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 12 | 12 | A11T12PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 13 | 13 | LED_BUILTINA12T13PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 14 | 14 | A2A13T14PWM | strapping | adc · touch | |
| 15 | 15 | A14PWM | strapping | adc | |
| 16 | 16 | A15PWM | strapping | adc | |
| 17 | 17 | A0A16DAC1PWM | safe | adc · dac | |
| 18 | 18 | A1A17DAC2PWM | safe | adc · dac | |
| 19 | 19 | A18PWM | uart | adc | |
| 20 | 20 | A19PWM | uart | adc | |
| 21 | 33 | RX1PWM | strapping | - | |
| 22 | 34 | TX1PWM | strapping | - | |
| 23 | 35 | MOSIPWM | strapping | spi | |
| 24 | 36 | SCKPWM | strapping | spi | |
| 25 | 37 | MISOPWM | strapping | spi | |
| 26 | 42 | SSPWM | strapping | spi | |
| 27 | 43 | TXPWM | uart | uart | |
| 28 | 44 | RXPWM | uart | uart |
Start with these
12 pins with no boot or system involvementSDAT1SCLT2T3PWMT4PWMA5T5T6PWMA4A6A7T8A0A16A1A17TXPWMRXPWM
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A14 | XTAL_32K_P | If an external 32 kHz crystal is used for RTC, this pin is dedicated to the crystal and cannot be used as GPIO. | Other |
| A15 | XTAL_32K_N | If using an external 32 kHz crystal, this pin is connected to the crystal and should not be used as general I/O. | Other |
| SS | MTMS | JTAG TMS pin; should not be repurposed if JTAG debugging or programming via JTAG is required. | Other |
Only if you know the tricks
wired to flash or USB - expect a fight| Pin | Label | What to know | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| A3 | FSPIHD | Typically used as flash/PSRAM IO line in certain configurations; avoid using as GPIO if flash or PSRAM is present. | Flash |
| A9 | FSPICS0 | Often used as flash chip select in some designs; not available for GPIO when controlling flash. | Flash |
| A10 | FSPID | Used for flash data transfer in certain configurations; should be avoided for general use if flash is connected. | Flash |
| A11 | FSPICLK | Used as flash clock line in some boards; not free for GPIO if driving flash. | Flash |
| LED_BUILTIN | FSPIQ | Used for flash data output in certain configurations; avoid using as GPIO if connected to flash. | Flash |
| A2 | FSPIWP | Used as flash write-protect/data line on some modules; not recommended for other usage. | Flash |
| A18 | USB_D- | Used for USB communication; using this pin as general GPIO can interfere with USB functionality. | USB |
| A19 | USB_D+ | Dedicated to USB interface; repurposing as GPIO may disrupt USB connectivity. | USB |
| RX1 | SPIHD | Connected to SPI flash (hold/data line); not available for general-purpose use. | Flash |
| TX1 | SPIWP | Connected to SPI flash (write-protect/data line); not recommended for other use. | Flash |
| MOSI | FSPID | Used by internal flash/PSRAM on some ESP32-S2 variants; avoid using as GPIO to prevent conflicts. | Flash |
| SCK | FSPICLK | May be connected to internal flash or used for high-speed SPI; not intended for general GPIO use. | Flash |
| MISO | FSPIQ | Used for internal flash/PSRAM data in some models; should not be repurposed for GPIO. | 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 All 28 pins on the SparkFun ESP32-S2 Thing Plus are usable GPIO, spaced at the standard 2.54 mm pitch. Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to…
All 28 pins on the SparkFun ESP32-S2 Thing Plus are usable GPIO, spaced at the standard 2.54 mm pitch.
Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO1 and SCL on GPIO2; 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 15 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring, 14 capacitive-touch inputs and 2 true DAC outputs.
3 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S2 (A14, A15 and SS) - check the guidance above before wiring anything to them. SDA, SCL, T3, T4 and 8 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks.
Getting started
flash your first firmware in ~2 minutes1
Connect over USB
Uses a CP2102 bridge - install the CP210x driver 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: "ESP32S2 Dev Module"▸
Flash Size: "4MB (32Mb)"▸
Flash Mode: "QIO"▸
Partition Scheme: "Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS)" (default)▸
Upload Speed: "921600"▸
▸ every other Tools option — leave at default
Board: ESP32S2 Dev Module Flash Size: 4MB (32Mb) Flash Mode: QIO Partition Scheme: Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS) Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32S2 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-s2-saola-1⧉ copy
[env:sparkfun_esp32s2_thing_plus]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s2-saola-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600Find it: PlatformIO Home ▸ Boards, search
esp32-s2-saola-1 — or type it after board =.board to selectesp32-s2-saola-1⧉ copy
esp32:
board: esp32-s2-saola-1
variant: esp32s2thing_plus
framework:
type: esp-idf
# 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-s2-saola-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 esp32s2 --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 · QIO
Specifications
ESP32-S2 · 64.8 × 22.9 mmCompute
MCU
ESP32-S2
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
320 KB · 4MB
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz
Bluetooth
-
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
28 · 15
UART · I²C · SPI
2 · 1 · 4
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
CP2102
Boot address
0x1000
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
QIO · QIO
Sketch · Data
1.25 MB · 320 KB
64.8 × 22.9 mm · pin pitch 2.54 mm
The SparkFun ESP32-S2 Thing Plus uses esptool_py for firmware uploads, esp_ota for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Flash mode is QIO with QIO boot mode. The maximum sketch size is 1.25 MB with 320 KB available for data.
About this board
Inside sits the ESP32-S2 - a single-core Xtensa with native USB-OTG and no Bluetooth.
At $24.50 it's on the expensive side for an ESP32-S2 board - most land around $20.
Around the module: a Qwiic connector, battery charging (MCP73831) via JST-PH 2.0, status LEDs (Status (IO18), Charge) and Reset/Boot (IO0) buttons.
Where to buy
prices are typical street pricesSparkFun ESP32-S2 Thing Plus
$24.50per unit, typical
Resources
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