CrowPanel Advance 7" HMI ESP32-S3 IPS Touch Screen Display

Unboxing 🎁

I've tested dozens of ESP32 displays, but none have made me stop and say 'wait, this changes everything' - until the CrowPanel Advance display landed on my desk. This isn't just a bigger screen; it's what happens when someone actually listens to what makers have been asking for.

Some displays just show stuff. This one listens, talks, and speaks six different wireless languages. Let me show you why this is one of the coolest ESP32 display you'll need to explore

When I first unboxed the CrowPanel Advance 7" from Elecrow, I'll admit - I was a bit intimidated. This isn't your typical ESP32 display. It's got AI features, swappable wireless modules, and enough peripherals to make you wonder where to even start. But after spending a weekend with it, I've fallen in love with what this thing can do.

I'm very grateful to Elecrow for their generosity of providing me this awesome hardware and supporting my Project Idea❤️

Now, Let me walk you through what makes this display special and how you can get up and running without pulling your hair out.

***I am reviewing this display, which is their Hardware variant V1.3

Why This Display Caught My Attention

I've worked with plenty of ESP32 displays before, but this "Advance" series is different. This is very feature rich display. Here's what got me excited:

Core Hardware Specifications 🛠️

Display:

• 7-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen

• 800×480 resolution

• 178° wide viewing angle ☝️
• GT911 Capacitive touch controller 👇

Processor:

• ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 module

• Dual-core Xtensa 32-bit LX7 CPU (up to 240MHz)
• 512KB SRAM
• 8MB PSRAM
• 16MB Flash
• Integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0/BLE

Key Features That Stand Out

1. AI-Ready Design : The display includes a high-performance digital microphone and speaker port with an integrated amplifier.

This enables voice recognition, speech synthesis, and conversational AI applications - perfect for building voice-controlled interfaces or smart assistants.

2. Modular Wireless Communication : One of the most innovative features is the replaceable wireless module design. A dedicated slot allows you to swap between different communication protocols:

• SX1262 Module: LoRa communication for long-range IoT
• ESP32-H2 Module: Zigbee, Matter, and Thread support
• ESP32-C6 Module: Wi-Fi 6 connectivity
• nRF2401 Module: 2.4GHz wireless communication

I received ESP32-H2 module with this display

This modularity means one display can serve multiple project needs without hardware redesign.

The wireless modules connect directly to the ESP32-S3 via dedicated GPIO pins (like IO19, IO20 for UART communication). The function selection DIP switches (S0, S1) are what route the shared GPIO pins between the wireless module, microphone, speaker, and SD card - that's pure hardware switching

• I/O expander and peripheral manager : There is a 👇 STC8H1K28 is a cost-effective, high-speed 8-bit microcontroller from STCmicro, featuring an enhanced, fast 8051 core.

• This MCU acts as an I/O expander and peripheral manager, handling tasks the ESP32-S3 would struggle with due to limited GPIO pins. It controls the display backlight (including PWM brightness from 0-244 levels), manages the buzzer on/off, coordinates the touch controller reset sequence, and routes power to the audio amplifier.

• Think of it as a smart traffic cop - freeing up the ESP32-S3 to focus on running your application while it handles the housekeeping tasks in the background via I2C commands (address 0x30).

3. Rich Peripheral Support

• Real-Time Clock (RTC) with backup battery(CR1220 3V). PCF8563 Real-Time Clock (RTC), a low-power integrated circuit for timekeeping (seconds, minutes, hours, date) with I2C communication. 👇

• TF/Micro SD card slot 👇

• Battery charging circuit (for portable applications). Battery connector (PH2.0-2P) 👇

• USB-C port for programming and power. It has CH340K, a compact, cost-effective USB to Serial/TTL UART Converter IC 👇

• Two UART ports with 3.3V output 👇

• I2C interface ☝️
• One Input UART0 port 👇

• Speaker output with amplifier 👇

• Buzzer 👇

• ***Function selection switches - There are 2 switches with which you can select different peripheral functions. These DIP switches on the back side of display, allow you to select which peripherals are active, since some share GPIO pins:

• Reset and Boot buttons : There are two onboard buttons.

• The RESET button performs a hardware restart of the ESP32-S3, useful when your code crashes or you want to reboot without unplugging power. The BOOT button (GPIO0) forces the ESP32-S3 into download/programming mode - hold it down while pressing RESET (or during power-up) to manually enter bootloader mode when automatic uploads fail. You'll use this combo mostly when troubleshooting upload issues: hold BOOT, tap RESET, release BOOT, then click upload in Arduino IDE - it's the classic ESP32 "get me out of trouble" move that every maker learns eventually!

4. Professional Development Support : This CrowPanel Advance 7" Display HMI supports multiple development environments:

• Arduino IDE
• ESP-IDF (Espressif's official framework)
• PlatformIO
• ESPHome (for Home Assistant integration)

• LVGL graphics library
• SquareLine Studio (visual UI designer)
• Meshtastic firmware (for mesh networking)

Getting Started: Hardware Setup ⚙️

What You'll Need

Required:

• CrowPanel Advance 7.0" HMI Display (V1.2 or V1.3 recommended)
• USB-C cable
• Computer with Arduino IDE / ESP-IDF / VSCode with PlatformIO installed

Optional Add-ons:

• Wireless communication module (LoRa, Zigbee, etc.)
• Speaker (for audio projects)
• MicroSD card (for data logging or media)
• LiPo battery (for portable applications)
• Crowtail sensors (compatible via I2C/UART)

Version Check #️⃣

Before starting, identify your display version. The version number is printed on the back of the PCB. This is important because there are minor differences between versions:

• V1.0: Original release
• V1.2: Updated backlight control, improved function switching
• V1.3: New microphone (LMD3526B261), refined backlight control

This guide primarily covers V1.3, but we'll note differences where applicable.

Elecrow Documentation Wiki 📖

So you can go to following wiki page documentation of this display to know more, and explore the display features

There you will find detailed guides with screenshots about different programming platforms and how you can setup them.

You just have to select your display hardware version - V1.0/V1.2/V1.3 etc.

My choice of development Platform : ESP-IDF 🏗️

There are different programming platforms are available as shown above to get started with this HMI display. But for more low level control I decided to test the ESP-IDF in this blog.

ESP-IDF (Espressif IoT Development Framework) is the official open-source software development framework for Espressif's ESP32 series of SoCs. It provides a comprehensive C/C++ SDK based on FreeRTOS, including drivers, networking stacks, and production-ready tools for building robust, professional IoT applications

So there is series of detailed guides given by Elecrow in their Wiki platform. You can choose your programming platform and follow the steps to setup an development environment.

For ESP-IDF

- I have Lubuntu 24.04 LTS on my PC

- I used Visual Studio Code with ESP-IDF extension

- You can download and setup VSCode on Linux environment referring this Link

- To install the ESP-IDF and its extension on VSCode, refer following guides

- GitHub Guide | Espressif's official documentation

- Please note, for Linux users there are some Prerequisites

- I have used ESP-IDF version 5.5.1

- There is pre-built ESP-IDF LVGL example shared by Elecrow for display function, we just need to replace the UI files.

- You can design your User Interface (UI) using SquareLine Studio

SquareLine Studio 🖥️

• SquareLine Studio is a visual drag-and-drop design tool used to create professional graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for embedded and desktop applications

• It generates platform-independent C/C++ or MicroPython code based on the open-source LVGL graphics library, allowing developers to quickly deploy UI's on various microcontrollers and displays.

• You can download SquareLine Studio - Here
• Install it on your system and register for license using your email ID.
• Refer this YouTube Playlist by SquareLine Studio for more details on UI design.
• To design and Integrate UI for Elecrow Displays you can refer their videos

• Elecrow have full detailed series of Tutorials on this topic - Playlist
• Once you create your UI using SqaureLine Studio, you need to export its UI files. It generates platform-independent C/C++ or MicroPython code based on the open-source LVGL graphics library, allowing developers to quickly deploy UI's on various microcontrollers and displays. We will need those files in our main code (Arduino/ESP-IDF)

You need UI files generated by SqaureLine Studio irrespective of Development environment used by you (like for example Arduino, ESP-IDF, PlatformIO etc.

***You can also opt for BareMetal approach of coding using LVGL graphics library if you do not want to use UI design softwares line SqaureLine Studio

• You have to set the Project Settings in SqaureLine Studio as instructed in above Tutorial
• You have to create separate folder named "UI" in your system (prefer squareLine project's folder) like following
• And add that Export files path - to that folder, like shown below

• Then export the UI file to your computer

• You will get UI files folder in your system like following

• **Please follow the above Tutorial carefully.
• Once you get UI files you can use them in any c/c++ development environment like Arduino/ESP-IDF/PlatformIO.
• You will get 'How to use information' on this Official Wiki

Testing 🔍

Now lets see some demos of this display. I have tested its working with SquareLine Studio LVGL UI, then peripherals like, RTC, SD Card, Buzzer, UART etc. All related codes of following tests are shared on GitHub Repo of this Blog.

1. Simple UI Display and Touch Demo

2. Counter App

3. RTC Display

4. RTC UART/Serial output

5. SD Card Image Loading

6. Multiple UI Screens (Swiping)

Review Videos 🎞️

I have reviewed this Elecrow Advance Display in two videos, in first video I have explored different Hardware features and Peripherals, also the demo UI.

And in second video I have covered some documentation Official Wiki given by Elecrow for this display.

Future Scope 🔮

• I have built one Project using this amazing HMI display. SmartHome Control Tablet, you can check out its complete blog article here on Hackster, and its resources on GitHub
• It is a portfolio-grade embedded systems project built around a portable smart home control tablet using the CrowPanel Advance 7-inch HMI Display

• Instead of relying on smartphones or wall-mounted panels, this project demonstrates how a dedicated handheld HMI can act as a reliable, always-on smart home interface.
• You can check out its full demo video on YouTube

• The SmartHome tablet features simple but intuitive user interface, providing real-time visualization of environmental data (temperature, humidity, light) and interactive controls for home appliances. Communication with the smart home backend is handled over MQTT, allowing seamless integration with systems like Home Assistant while keeping the device responsive and independent.

Documentation 📘

I will share all the documents, codes, schematics, etc. on GitHub.

Suggestions about this Tutorial/Project design, Circuits, code modifications, Optimization, Errors/Bugs findings and queries are most welcomed. Feel free to raise you queries, suggest your opinions and point out any errors or bugs.

Credits 💞

Thank you Hackster, Elecrow, Annie Xie and all other peoples, websites and entities who helped me (directly/indirectly) for creating this article.