Image credit:  CNX-software

LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper is an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth LE development board with a 2.13-inch e-Paper display and an SX1262 LoRa module that should make it suitable for off-grid messsaging even under sunlight.

LILYGO has made some ESP32-S3 boards with an e-Paper display and some ESP32-S3 boards with a LoRa module, but unless I’m mistaken, the T3S3 E-Paper is the first board from LILYGO that combines ESP32-S3 SoC with e-Paper display and a LoRa module. It builds upon the earlier LILYGO T3S3 board with a 0.96-inch OLED.

LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper specifications:

ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U wireless module

SoC – ESP32-S3FH4R2 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz with

  • 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity
  • Memory – 2MB PSRAM
  • Storage – 4MB SPI flash

IPEX antenna connector

Storage – MicroSD card slot

Display – 2.13-inch e-Paper display (DEPG0213BN) with 250×122 resolution; size: 48.55 x 23.70mm

Wireless

2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity (ESP32-S3)

Low-power LoRa module

  • SX1262 LoRa module @ 868/915 MHz
  • SX1276 LoRa module @ 868/915 MHz
  • SX1280 LoRa module @ 2.4 GHz
  • IPEX1 or SMA antenna connector

USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming

Expansion

  • 4-pin Qwicc connector
  • 2x 13-pin headers (unpopulated) with up to 21x GPIO, 2x UART, 4x ADC, SPI. Touch, 4x clock outputs, 5V, 3.3V, and GND

Misc

  • On/off switch
  • Reset and Boot buttons

Power Supply

  • 5V via USB Type-C port
  • 2-pin JST connector for LiPo battery with ADC pin for battery voltage, TP4065B battery charger chip (based on schematics)

Dimensions – 67 x 29 mm

The store points to the LILYGO LoRa Series’ GitHub repository with Arduino samples for LoRa P2P communication, LoRaWAN, display, sensors, and more. This repo also points to third-party open-source firmware that could eventually work with the board including SoftRF general aviation proximity awareness system, Paxcounter Wifi & BLE-driven passenger flow metering, and Meshtastic off-grid messaging firmware that uses LoRa communication between nodes and WiFi or Bluetooth to your smartphone. I say “could” because the LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper board is not listed on the GitHub repo just yet, so the e-Paper display might not be supported out of the box. It’s probably just a question of time, or you could check out the Arduino sketches for the LILYGO T5 that relies on the same 2.13-inch e-Paper display.

The T3S3 E-Paper ESP32-S3 board can be purchased on AliExpress for $29.98 including shipping with the SX1262 RF transceiver and accessories shown above. Other versions with SX1276 or SX1280 are not available yet including from the company’s Amazon store and own store where I can only find the T3S3/T3-S3 variants with an OLED display.