Waveshare 2.9" Touch ePaper Panel

ESPHome project for the Waveshare 2.9inch Touch e-Paper HAT on an ESP32-WROOM-32 (NodeMCU-32S). Drives an LVGL UI with 2-bit grayscale rendering and touchscreen input.

Hardware

• MCU: ESP32-WROOM-32 (NodeMCU-32S)
• Display: SSD1680, 296×128, 2-bit grayscale via custom component
• Touchscreen: GT1151 / ICNT86X (I2C, polling mode)

Wiring

Function	ESP Pin	HAT Pin
Display SCLK	GPIO18	Pin23/GPIO11/SPI0_SCLK
Display MOSI	GPIO23	Pin19/GPIO10/SPI0_MOSI
Display CS	GPIO19	Pin24/GPIO8/SPI0_CE0
Display DC	GPIO17	Pin22/GPIO25
Display BUSY	GPIO4	Pin18/GPIO24
Display RST	GPIO5	Pin11/GPIO17/SPI1_CE1
Touch SDA	GPIO21	Pin3/GPIO2/I2C1_SDA
Touch SCL	GPIO22	Pin5/GPIO3/I2C1_SCL
Touch RST	GPIO15	Pin13/GPIO27
Touch INT	GPIO16	Pin15/GPIO22

Project Structure

waveshare-panel/
├── waveshare-test.yaml         # Main ESPHome config (edit LVGL layout here)
├── secrets.yaml                # WiFi/API credentials (not committed)
├── FreeSans.ttf                # Font used in LVGL
└── custom_components/
    ├── waveshare_epaper_2bit/  # 2-bit grayscale display driver
    └── icnt86x/                # ICNT86X touchscreen driver

Build Environment Setup

1. Install Python 3.11

ESPHome 2026.1.0 requires Python 3.11. Check your version:

python3 --version

On Ubuntu/Debian, install it if needed:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.11 python3.11-venv python3.11-dev

On macOS with Homebrew:

brew install python@3.11

2. Create a virtual environment for ESPHome 2026.1.0

Using a dedicated venv keeps this version isolated from other ESPHome installs.

python3.11 -m venv ~/esphome-env/esphome-2026.1.0
source ~/esphome-env/esphome-2026.1.0/bin/activate

3. Install ESPHome 2026.1.0

pip install esphome==2026.1.0

Verify the install:

esphome version
# Expected: Version: 2026.1.0

4. Activate the environment (each session)

source ~/esphome-env/esphome-2026.1.0/bin/activate

You can add this to your shell profile or run it manually before working on the project.

Building and Flashing

All commands assume the venv is active and you are in the project directory.

Compile only

esphome compile waveshare-test.yaml

Flash via USB (first flash or if OTA fails)

esphome upload waveshare-test.yaml

Connect the ESP32 via USB before running. You may need to hold the BOOT button during flashing if the device doesn't enter download mode automatically.

Flash via OTA (subsequent flashes)

Once the device is on WiFi, OTA upload works without USB:

esphome upload waveshare-test.yaml

ESPHome will automatically attempt OTA if the device is reachable.

Monitor serial output

esphome logs waveshare-test.yaml

Or via USB:

esphome logs --device /dev/ttyUSB0 waveshare-test.yaml

Secrets

Copy the secrets template and fill in your credentials:

cp secrets.yaml.example secrets.yaml   # if an example exists, otherwise create it

secrets.yaml format:

wifi_ssid: "YourNetworkName"
wappw: "YourWiFiPassword"
enckey: "<32-byte base64 Home Assistant API key>"
apipw: "YourOTAPassword"
hotspotpw: "FallbackPassword"

The fallbackssid variable is set in waveshare-test.yaml and does not go in secrets.

Making Layout Changes

The LVGL UI is defined in waveshare-test.yaml under the lvgl: block. The display renders at 296×128 pixels in a 4-shade grayscale palette:

LVGL color	Shade
0xFFFFFF	White
0xAAAAAA	Light grey
0x555555	Dark grey
0x000000	Black

After editing the YAML, compile and flash:

esphome upload waveshare-test.yaml

The display uses a two-tier refresh:

• Partial refresh (fast, 1-bit) — triggers immediately after any draw event for interactive feedback
• Full refresh (2-bit grayscale quality) — triggers 10 seconds after the last draw event

Full refresh restores proper 4-shade rendering after the fast partial updates.