# Adafruit Matrix Portal S3

> ESP32-S3 board designed to drive HUB75 LED matrix panels directly, with built-in WiFi, BLE 5.0, native USB, STEMMA QT connector, and two user buttons — ideal for dynamic digital signage and LED art displays.

## Quick Facts

- **Brand:** Adafruit
- **Board Type:** dev-board
- **Price:** ~$19.95
- **CPU:** Xtensa LX7 single-core @ 240MHz (ESP32-S3)
- **CPU Architecture:** Xtensa LX7
- **CPU Cores:** 1
- **RAM:** 512KB SRAM
- **PSRAM:** 2MB
- **Flash:** 8MB
- **USB:** USB-C (native USB OTG)
- **Power:** 5V
- **Operating Voltage:** 3.3V
- **Antenna:** Built-in PCB antenna

## Connectivity

- **Wifi:** 802.11 b/g/n
- **Bluetooth:** BLE 5.0

## Compatible Firmware

circuitpython, arduino, esp-idf

## Use Cases

- digital-signage
- led-matrix-display
- smart-home
- iot

## Components

- **undefined** (mcu): ESP32-S3 module with single-core Xtensa LX7 @ 240MHz, 8MB flash, 2MB PSRAM, native USB OTG, WiFi and BLE 5.0 — [Datasheet](https://openhardware.directory/r?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espressif.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdocumentation%2Fesp32-s3_datasheet_en.pdf&ref=openhardware.directory&product=adafruit-matrix-portal-s3&source=md-export)

## Protocols

- **I2C**: SDA: GPIO3, SCL: GPIO4
- **UART**: TX: GPIO43, RX: GPIO44
- **HUB75**
- **PWM**

## GPIO Map

| Pin | Name | Type | Functions |
|-----|------|------|-----------|
| GPIO3 | SDA — STEMMA QT I2C Data | I2C | digital-input, digital-output, pwm |
| GPIO4 | SCL — STEMMA QT I2C Clock | I2C | digital-input, digital-output, pwm |
| GPIO43 | TX — UART Transmit | UART | digital-input, digital-output, pwm |
| GPIO44 | RX — UART Receive | UART | digital-input, digital-output, pwm |
| GPIO1 | Button Up | — | digital-input |
| GPIO2 | Button Down | — | digital-input |
| GPIO6 | HUB75 R1 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO7 | HUB75 G1 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO8 | HUB75 B1 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO9 | HUB75 R2 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO10 | HUB75 G2 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO11 | HUB75 B2 | — | digital-output |
| GPIO14 | HUB75 CLK | — | digital-output |
| GPIO15 | HUB75 LAT | — | digital-output |
| GPIO16 | HUB75 OE | — | digital-output |
| GPIO17 | HUB75 A | — | digital-output |
| GPIO18 | HUB75 B | — | digital-output |
| GPIO42 | HUB75 C | — | digital-output |
| GPIO40 | HUB75 D | — | digital-output |
| GPIO41 | HUB75 E | — | digital-output |

## Description

The Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 is a purpose-built controller for HUB75 RGB LED matrix panels, combining an ESP32-S3 microcontroller with direct hardware connections for driving 64×32 or similar HUB75 panels without any additional wiring. The board handles all the row/column signal routing internally, leaving you free to focus on what to display.

Powered by the ESP32-S3 running at 240MHz with 8MB flash and 2MB PSRAM, the Matrix Portal S3 brings WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and BLE 5.0 connectivity so your display can pull live data from the internet — weather, scores, stock prices, transit arrivals, or any web API. Native USB-C enables CircuitPython drag-and-drop programming and CDC serial without a separate UART bridge chip.

On the front panel you get two user buttons (Up and Down) for local interaction, a STEMMA QT / Qwiic I2C port for attaching sensors or other peripherals without soldering, and a UART header for debugging. CircuitPython with the built-in protomatter library makes it straightforward to get colorful animations running in minutes, while Arduino and ESP-IDF are also supported for lower-level control.

## Where to Buy

- [Buy for $19.95](https://openhardware.directory/r?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adafruit.com%2Fproduct%2F5778&ref=openhardware.directory&product=adafruit-matrix-portal-s3&source=md-export)

## Resources

- [product](https://openhardware.directory/r?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adafruit.com%2Fproduct%2F5778&ref=openhardware.directory&product=adafruit-matrix-portal-s3&source=md-export)
- [wiki](https://openhardware.directory/r?to=https%3A%2F%2Flearn.adafruit.com%2Fadafruit-matrix-portal-s3&ref=openhardware.directory&product=adafruit-matrix-portal-s3&source=md-export)
- [github](https://openhardware.directory/r?to=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fadafruit%2FAdafruit-MatrixPortal-S3-PCB&ref=openhardware.directory&product=adafruit-matrix-portal-s3&source=md-export)

## Images

![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/8b975620336b.jpg)
![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/0f6630c1e33b.jpg)
![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/84479144bce0.jpg)
![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/b2d4fcec833d.jpg)
![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/47343d793968.jpg)
![Adafruit Matrix Portal S3](https://nbg1.your-objectstorage.com/openhardware-directory/entities/adafruit-matrix-portal-s3/86cafd729f52.jpg)

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