Hardware Compatibility

Supported microcontrollers and hardware platforms

DeviceSDK runs on low-cost WiFi-capable microcontrollers. Pick the board closest to your project and open its page for pinout, feature support, and flashing notes.

Supported boards

  • Raspberry Pi Pico W — RP2040 dual Cortex-M0+, 2.4GHz WiFi. Full support.
  • Raspberry Pi Pico 2W — RP2350 dual Cortex-M33, 2.4GHz WiFi. Full support, Pico W pin-compatible.
  • ESP32 — classic dual Xtensa LX6, 2.4GHz WiFi. Full support.
  • ESP32-C3 — single-core RISC-V, 2.4GHz WiFi. Full support.
  • ESP32-C61 — single-core RISC-V, 2.4GHz WiFi 6. Full support.

Feature support matrix

Feature Pico W Pico 2W ESP32 ESP32-C3 ESP32-C61
GPIO digital I/O ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
GPIO input monitoring ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
PWM output ✅ 16-bit ✅ 16-bit ✅ 13-bit LEDC ✅ 13-bit LEDC ✅ 13-bit LEDC
ADC analog read ✅ GP26–29 ✅ GP26–29 ✅ ADC1 only ✅ ADC1 only ✅ ADC1 only
I2C master (2 buses) ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 1 bus
I2C batch write ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
OLED display (SSD1306/SH1106) ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
SPI master ✅ SPI0/SPI1 ✅ SPI0/SPI1 ✅ SPI3 ✅ SPI2 ✅ SPI2
UART serial ✅ 2 ports ✅ 2 ports ✅ 3 ports ✅ 2 ports ✅ 2 ports
On-die temperature sensor ✅ ADC ch4 ✅ ADC ch4 ✅ ✅ ✅
Watchdog timer ✅ non-disablable ✅ non-disablable ✅ ✅ ✅
Addressable LEDs (WS2812) ✅ PIO ✅ PIO ❌ ✅ RMT ✅ SPI backend
Device reboot ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Onboard LED GP25 mono GP25 mono GPIO 2 mono GPIO 8 WS2812 GPIO 5 WS2812

“Simulated” features in the local simulator return mock responses without real hardware.

Requirements

  • A supported board (any of the five above).
  • Stable 2.4GHz WiFi network that allows outbound WebSocket connections.
  • USB cable with data lines (not power-only).
  • For ESP32 family: Python 3 with esptool (pip install esptool).

Recommended for serious projects: 256KB+ RAM, 2MB+ flash, 2.4GHz WiFi.

  • Breadboard and jumper wires for prototyping.
  • Sensors (temperature, humidity, motion).
  • LEDs, buttons, and current-limiting / pull-up resistors.

Flashing frequency

Flashing is a one-time operation per device. After the initial flash, updates are delivered over-the-air (OTA). Only major firmware upgrades may need a re-flash, and those are optional unless you want the new capabilities.

See the flash command reference for end-to-end flashing instructions.

Troubleshooting

Device won’t flash

Pico: Check the USB cable supports data (not power-only), hold BOOTSEL while plugging in, try a different USB port.

ESP32 family: Install esptool (pip install esptool); on Linux add your user to the dialout group (sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER, then log out/in). If you see “No serial data received”, your board may not auto-reset — use manual boot mode and --before no_reset (see flash docs). Try the USB-JTAG port (/dev/ttyACM0) instead of the UART port (/dev/ttyUSB0), or lower the baud rate with --baud 115200.

Device won’t connect

  • Verify WiFi credentials.
  • Check the network allows outbound WebSocket traffic.
  • Confirm the firmware finished flashing before the device was unplugged.

GPIO not working

  • Confirm the pin number is correct for your specific board — onboard LED pins differ across boards.
  • Verify the pin is not reserved (e.g., WiFi module pins on Pico W).
  • Rule out hardware shorts.

Community-tested hardware

Users have reported success with RP2040-based clones and Pico-compatible dev boards. These are not officially supported but often work. ESP32-S3 and other ESP32 variants are on the radar but not yet in the firmware.

Where to buy

Typical prices: Pico W around $6–10 USD, ESP32-family dev boards $5–15 USD, full starter kits with sensors $20–40 USD.

Next steps

Quickstart

Get from zero to deployment in under 15 minutes

Your First Device

Build your first device entrypoint

CLI Reference

Complete command-line interface documentation

Platform Architecture

End-to-end system overview

Hardware

Supported devices and microcontrollers

FAQ

Frequently asked questions