Features​

• Processor
  • Equipped with a RISC-V 32-bit dual-core processor (HP system), with DSP and instruction set extensions and a floating-point unit (FPU), running at up to 360 MHz
  • Equipped with a RISC-V 32-bit single-core processor (LP system), running at up to 40 MHz
  • Equipped with an ESP32-C5 Wi-Fi / Bluetooth co-processor, expanding dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 (LE) functionality via SDIO
• Memory
  • 128 KB high-performance (HP) system read-only memory (ROM)
  • 16 KB low-power (LP) system read-only memory (ROM)
  • 768 KB high-performance (HP) L2 memory (L2MEM)
  • 32 KB low-power (LP) SRAM
  • 8 KB system tightly coupled memory (TCM)
  • 32 MB PSRAM packaged in the chip, and 32 MB onboard Nor Flash
• Peripheral Interfaces
  • 2 × 20 pin headers onboard, exposing 27 remaining programmable GPIOs
  • Onboard speaker connector and microphone; audio capture and playback can be implemented using the codec chip and amplifier chip
  • Onboard MIPI-CSI HD camera interface, supporting Full HD 1080P image capture and encoding; integrated image signal processor (ISP) and H.264 video encoder, supporting H.264 and JPEG video encoding (1080P @30fps), suitable for computer vision, machine vision, and other fields
  • Onboard MIPI-DSI HD display interface, integrated pixel processing accelerator (PPA) and 2D graphics acceleration controller (2D DMA), supporting JPEG image decoding (1080P @30fps), suitable for smart home control panels, industrial control panels, vending machines, and other scenarios

Onboard Resources​

1. ESP32-P4NRW32X: ESP32-P4 with 32 MB PSRAM packaged in the chip.
2. ESP32-C5 Module: Communicates with the ESP32-P4 via an SDIO interface, providing 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 (LE).
3. 32 MB Nor Flash.
4. Display Interface: MIPI-DSI, 2‑lane. Compatible with 5 / 7 / 8 / 10.1-inch DSI screens.
5. Camera Interface: MIPI-CSI, 2‑lane. Compatible with cameras such as the OV5647.
6. Type-C Port: For power supply, program flashing, and serial debugging.
7. Microphone: Onboard audio capture.
8. Speaker Connector: MX1.25 2P connector, supports 8 Ω 2 W speakers.
9. 4PIN USB Interface: USB OTG 2.0 High-Speed interface.
10. Wireless Module UART Pads: Exposes the serial port of the wireless co-processor.
11. BOOT Button: Press during power‑on or reset to enter download mode.
12. RESET Button: Resets the board.
13. PWR: Power indicator.
14. TF Card Slot: SDIO 3.0 interface protocol.

Peripheral Quick Reference​

Pin Definitions​

When using the GPIO headers on the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB, note the multiplexed functions marked on the pin diagram. Some GPIOs are already connected to onboard peripherals; before using them as general‑purpose I/O, confirm that the corresponding peripheral is not enabled.

GPIO Allocation​

The table below lists the GPIOs already occupied by onboard circuits and those brought out to expansion headers.

Precautions​

• GPIO7 / GPIO8 are the onboard shared I2C bus. When connecting external I2C devices, confirm that the addresses do not conflict.
• GPIO45 is used for TF card power control, GPIO53 for the audio amplifier, and GPIO54 for ESP32-C5 communication reset; it is not recommended to use these as general‑purpose GPIO while the corresponding peripherals are active.
• The LCD reset, GT911 reset, and interrupt signals are not connected; the corresponding control is handled through software in the display or touch drivers.

Dimensions​

This chapter includes the following sections, please read as needed:

• Arduino Getting Started
• Setting Up the Arduino Development Environment
• Arduino Examples
• Board Resources and Shared Interfaces

Arduino Getting Started​

New to Arduino ESP32 development and looking for a quick start? We have prepared a comprehensive Getting Started Tutorial for you.

• Section 0: Getting to Know ESP32
• Section 1: Installing and Configuring Arduino IDE
• Section 2: Arduino Basics
• Section 3: Digital Output/Input
• Section 4: Analog Input
• Section 5: Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
• Section 6: Serial Communication (UART)
• Section 7: I2C Communication
• Section 8: SPI Communication
• Section 9: Wi-Fi Basics
• Section 10: Web Server
• Section 11: Bluetooth
• Section 12: LVGL GUI Development
• Section 13: Comprehensive Project

Note: This tutorial uses the ESP32-S3-Zero as a reference example, and all hardware code is based on its pinout. Before you start, we recommend checking the pinout of your development board to ensure the pin configuration is correct.

Setting Up the Arduino Development Environment​

1. Install Arduino IDE​

Please refer to the Install and Configure Arduino IDE Tutorial to install the Arduino IDE and add ESP32 board support.

2. Install Arduino-ESP32 and Board Definitions​

1. Install Arduino-ESP32 3.3.11. The example code and board definitions are organized around this version. Do not mix the board files in this directory with other versions.
2. Copy examples/Arduino/esp32/variants/waveshare_esp32_p4_wifi6_db from the example package to the variants directory in your Arduino-ESP32 installation.
3. examples/Arduino/esp32/boards.txt is a complete boards.txt snapshot based on Arduino-ESP32 3.3.11. If your Arduino-ESP32 installation has no other local board modifications, you can back up the original file and replace it. If you have already added other boards, merge only the entries beginning with waveshare_esp32_p4_wifi6_db..
4. Restart Arduino IDE and select Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB from the board list.

The Arduino examples are located in the examples/Arduino directory of the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB example repository.

3. Arduino IDE Tool Options​

After connecting the board, select the board and port from the "Tools" menu in Arduino IDE. The default parameters in the board definition are as follows:

The development board uses the onboard CH343P USB-to-serial chip for program flashing and serial log output. Keep the upload mode at the default UART0. When changing the partition scheme or upload speed, confirm the corresponding example's memory requirements and actual connection. The serial output for all examples uses 115200.

Arduino Examples​

The example directory is examples/Arduino and currently includes the following examples:

board_check: Board Information Check​

Open board_check/board_check.ino, compile and upload, then set the serial monitor to 115200. The example will output:

• Chip model and chip revision;
• CPU core count and frequency;
• Flash size;
• PSRAM size;
• Remaining heap memory.

This example does not access the LCD, camera, audio, SDMMC, or ESP-Hosted, making it suitable for first confirming that the Arduino board definition is working correctly.

gpio: GPIO Console​

Open gpio/gpio.ino and upload it. Set the serial monitor line ending to Newline. Enter help to see the command list.

gpio read <pin>
gpio write <pin> <0|1>
gpio mode <pin> <in|out|in_pu|in_pd>

For example:

gpio mode 2 out
gpio write 2 0
gpio write 2 1
gpio mode 4 in_pu
gpio read 4

This board variant does not define an onboard LED_BUILTIN. When testing GPIO, avoid using pins that are already occupied by the MIPI display, touch controller, camera, SDMMC, ESP-Hosted/SDIO, or audio codec.

i2c: I2C Address Scan​

Open i2c/i2c.ino and upload it. The example uses Arduino Wire1 to scan the I2C1 bus. The default parameters are:

This bus is shared by devices such as the ES8311, LCD backlight controller, GT911, and camera SCCB. Do not run other examples that initialize I2C1 at the same time as this scan. If no device responds, the program will not list it as a device; this does not indicate an issue with the scanning program.

i2s: ES8311 Audio Loopback​

Open i2s/i2s.ino and upload it. This runs a mono audio loopback using the onboard microphone and speaker. The example runs at 48 kHz, 16-bit, I2S standard mono mode using the left-channel slot.

The ES8311 Arduino Wire1 control address is the 7‑bit address 0x18. If the serial output does not show ES8311 ready, or if there is no sound in the loopback, check the I2C address, MCLK, amplifier enable, and the microphone and speaker connections. Acoustic feedback (howling) may occur if the microphone and speaker are too close together.

sdmmc: TF File Read/Write​

Insert a TF card, then open sdmmc/sdmmc.ino and upload it. The example mounts the card using the 4-bit SDMMC interface, reads the capacity, and performs write and read tests on the /arduino_test.txt file in the root directory.

If mounting fails, check that the TF card is inserted, the format is recognized, and the SDMMC pins are not occupied by other examples.

mipi_dsi: MIPI-DSI LCD​

mipi_dsi uses a project-local LCD driver to initialize the MIPI-DSI panel, cyclically displays horizontal and vertical color bars, and verifies the LCD backlight through the I2C backlight controller.

Before running, install or confirm the following libraries and versions:

In mipi_dsi/esp_panel_drivers_conf.h, select only one local LCD driver:

• ESP_PANEL_DRIVERS_LCD_ENABLE_JD9365_LOCAL
• ESP_PANEL_DRIVERS_LCD_ENABLE_HX8394_LOCAL
• ESP_PANEL_DRIVERS_LCD_ENABLE_ILI9881C_LOCAL

The current default configuration is for the 10.1inch JD9365, with 800 × 1280 resolution, RGB565, and dual DSI lanes. When using a different LCD panel, you must select the controller and configuration that match the actual panel.

mipi_csi: Camera Display​

mipi_csi initializes the OV5647 MIPI-CSI camera and the MIPI-DSI LCD, and displays the camera's live feed on the LCD. The LCD interface supports JD9365, HX8394, and ILI9881C. mipi_csi/lcd_panel.h currently defaults to the 10.1inch JD9365 configuration.

Before running, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

• Use Arduino-ESP32 3.3.11 and its corresponding ESP32-P4 precompiled libraries.
• Confirm that ESP_Video has the MIPI-CSI video device enabled: CONFIG_ESP_VIDEO_ENABLE_MIPI_CSI_VIDEO_DEVICE=y.
• In lcd_panel.h, set LCD_PANEL_TYPE to match the actual connected LCD panel type.
• Connect the OV5647 camera and the actual LCD panel, and verify that camera power, MIPI cables, and the shared I2C/SCCB connections are correct.

mipi_csi, mipi_dsi, i2s, and i2c do not all initialize I2C1 in the same way: i2s and i2c use Arduino Wire1, mipi_dsi uses the legacy I2C API, and mipi_csi uses the newer i2c_master API. Do not run these examples simultaneously in the same Arduino project, or re-initialize the same bus repeatedly.

Board Resources and Shared Interfaces​

Pin Aliases​

The Arduino board variant provides the following common pin aliases:

GPIO7 and GPIO8 are the onboard I2C1 shared bus. The LCD backlight, GT911, ES8311, and camera SCCB all use the relevant board-level bus resources. Before changing pins, check both the actual hardware connections and the initialization code in the corresponding examples.

I2C and Onboard Peripherals​

The board uses GPIO7 (SDA) and GPIO8 (SCL) to connect multiple I2C devices, with a default frequency of 400 kHz. Different examples use different I2C APIs:

• i2c and i2s use Arduino Wire1.
• mipi_dsi uses the legacy API from driver/i2c.h to control the LCD backlight.
• mipi_csi uses Wire1 to create a new‑style i2c_master bus, and passes the bus handle to the camera SCCB and LCD backlight.

Do not mix the initialization methods from these examples within the same program. The build results and hardware state for complex examples must be verified individually on the target board; the current configuration cannot be applied directly after changes to the Arduino-ESP32 version, LCD panel model, or hardware connections.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• ESP-IDF Getting Started
• Setting Up the ESP-IDF Development Environment
• ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Example
  • Quick Run
  • LCD Panel Selection
  • Recommended Validation Order
  • ESP-IDF Example Index
  • Pre‑run Checks

ESP-IDF Getting Started​

New to ESP32 ESP-IDF development and looking to get started quickly? We have prepared a general Getting Started Tutorial for you.

• Section 1: Environment Setup
• Section 2: Running Examples
• Section 3: Creating a Project
• Section 4: Using Components
• Section 5: Debugging
• Section 6: FreeRTOS
• Section 7: Peripherals
• Section 8: Wi-Fi Programming
• Section 9: BLE Programming

Please Note: This tutorial uses the ESP32-S3-Zero as a teaching example, and all hardware code is based on its pinout. Before you start, it is recommended that you check the pinout of your development board to ensure the pin configuration is correct.

Setting Up the ESP-IDF Development Environment​

Install the ESP-IDF Development Environment​

1. Download the installation manager from the ESP-IDF Installation Manager page. This is Espressif's latest cross-platform installer. The following steps demonstrate how to use its offline installation feature.

   Click the Offline Installer tab on the page, then select Windows as the operating system and the ESP-IDF version you need (the version shown in the screenshot is for reference only — choose the version that fits your actual needs).

   
   

   After confirming your selection, click the download button. The browser will automatically download two files: the ESP-IDF Offline Package (.zst) and the ESP-IDF Installer (.exe).

   
   

   Please wait for both files to finish downloading.

2. Once the download is complete, double-click to run the ESP-IDF Installer (eim-gui-windows-x64.exe).

   The installer will automatically detect if the offline package exists in the same directory. Click Install from archive.

   
   

   Next, select the installation path. We recommend using the default path. If you need to customize it, ensure the path does not contain Chinese characters or spaces. Click Start installation to proceed.

   
   

3. When you see the following screen, the ESP-IDF installation is successful.

   
   

4. We recommend installing the drivers as well. Click Finish installation, then select Install driver.

   
   

Install Visual Studio Code and the ESP-IDF Extension​

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code.

2. During installation, it is recommended to check Add "Open with Code" action to Windows Explorer file context menu to facilitate opening project folders quickly.

3. In VS Code, click the Extensions icon  in the Activity Bar on the side (or use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + X) to open the Extensions view.

4. Enter ESP-IDF in the search box, locate the ESP-IDF extension, and click Install.

   
   

5. For ESP-IDF extension versions ≥ 2.0, the extension will automatically detect and recognize the ESP-IDF environment installed in the previous steps, requiring no manual configuration.

ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Example​

The ESP-IDF BSP and example programs for the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB are maintained in the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Example. You can obtain the board‑level code and example programs from this repository.

The relevant directories in the repository are:

• firmware/esp32_p4_wifi6_db/: ESP-IDF BSP, header files, Kconfig, and component manifest.
• examples/esp_idf/: Peripheral examples and Brookesia applications.
• firmware/factory-firmware/: ESP32-P4 firmware for 5, 7, 8, and 10.1inch panels, as well as ESP32-C5 slave firmware.
• ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Schematic.

The target chip for the example projects is esp32p4.

Quick Run​

The following commands use the 00_board_check example. Switch the terminal's current directory to the example directory and run them, replacing COMx with the actual serial port of the ESP32-P4:

cd examples/esp_idf/00_board_check
idf.py set-target esp32p4
idf.py build
idf.py -p COMx flash monitor

Display, camera, and Wi-Fi related examples also require selecting the actually connected LCD panel and entering Wi-Fi credentials via idf.py menuconfig before building. The component manager resolves dependencies during the configuration phase.

LCD Panel Selection​

The BSP selects the LCD panel via the following options:

The BSP Kconfig defaults to the 10.1inch JD9365, and the default configuration of brookesia_test selects the 8inch JD9365. Before building, select the panel that is actually connected. The default configuration does not override an existing sdkconfig; to confirm the options actually in effect, check the project configuration and the generated build/config/sdkconfig.h.

Recommended Validation Order​

It is recommended to run the examples in the following order: first confirm the board‑level peripherals, then verify the display, networking, and other functions:

1. 00_board_check: Board‑level peripheral check.
2. 02_i2c_console_test: I2C bus check.
3. 03_sdmmc_test: SDMMC check.
4. 04_mipi_dsi_test: Display test.
5. 06_wifi_test: Wi-Fi Station test.

ESP-IDF Example Index​

10_wifi_antenna_tesat is the current directory spelling in the repository. For wiring and operation methods, refer to the README and configuration in each example directory.

Pre‑run Checks​

• The board implements wireless functionality via the ESP32-C5 wireless co-processor and ESP-Hosted/SDIO. The ESP32-C5 requires compatible ESP-Hosted slave firmware; flashing an ESP32-P4 example will not update the ESP32-C5.
• The I2C bus uses GPIO7 (SDA) and GPIO8 (SCL), connecting to the ES8311, GT911, LCD backlight controller, and camera SCCB bus.
• The ES8311 I2S signals use GPIO13, GPIO12, GPIO10, GPIO9, and GPIO11, and amplifier enable uses GPIO53.
• The TF uses 4-bit SDMMC, card power enable is GPIO45 (active low), and SDMMC IO power uses LDO channel 4.
• The LCD backlight is controlled via the 0x45 device on the shared I2C bus, brightness register 0x96; GT911 uses polling mode.
• ESP-Hosted/SDIO uses GPIO18, GPIO19, GPIO14, GPIO15, GPIO16, GPIO17, and GPIO54.
• For component versions, configuration requirements, and hardware connection details of specific examples, please refer to the README in the corresponding example directory and the board hardware documentation. Build, flash, and run results must be confirmed separately for the selected example, ESP-IDF version, and actual panel.

The following steps apply to flashing the bin firmware provided for this model when the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB is connected to a 10.1inch panel. Before using the firmware, confirm that it matches the ESP32-P4 chip version, Flash size, board model, and panel model.

• Flash address: 0x00

• Firmware download: ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB-10.1-Inch-A Factory Firmware

For other panel models, select the corresponding BSP panel configuration in the ESP-IDF project and build the firmware yourself. This 10.1inch firmware cannot be used directly.

1. Example​

The BSP, ESP-IDF examples, and Arduino examples for the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB are maintained in the example repository for this model.

• ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Example (GitHub)
• Working with ESP-IDF
• Working with Arduino

2. Hardware Resources​

• ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DB Schematic.

3. Technical Manuals​

• ESP32-P4 Datasheet
• ESP32-P4 Technical Reference Manual

4. Software Tools​

• Flash Download Tool