Waveshare 2.13-Inch E-Paper Display HAT (250x122)

Overview

The Waveshare 2.13-inch E-Paper Display HAT is an ultra-low-power electronic ink (E-Ink) display module featuring a resolution of $250 \times 122$ pixels. Built around an onboard controller (SSD1680 in V4 revisions), it connects to microcontrollers and single-board computers via a 3-wire or 4-wire SPI bus.

Electronic paper displays reflect ambient light just like physical paper, eliminating backlight glare while retaining full readability under direct sunlight. Crucially, electrophoretic E-Ink displays consume zero power to maintain static images—power is drawn only during screen updates. Supporting fast partial refresh (0.3 seconds) without screen flickering, it is widely deployed in Raspberry Pi desktop dashboards, crypto tickers, weather stations, and battery-powered Home Assistant sensors.

Quick reference


Operating voltage (`VCC`)	3.3 V to 5.0 V DC (onboard level translator)
Display area	2.13-inch diagonal ( $48.55\text{ mm} \times 23.71\text{ mm}$ )
Resolution	$250 \times 122$ pixels (130 DPI)
Display color	Black and White (monochrome)
Interface	3-Wire / 4-Wire SPI
Full refresh duration	~2.0 seconds
Partial refresh duration	~0.3 seconds
Standby power draw	$<0.017\text{ mW}$ (near-zero current when idle)
Form factor	Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO HAT footprint + 8-pin JST connector

Pinout (8-Pin JST Connector & Raspberry Pi 40-Pin Header)

Pin	Cable Color	Name	Type	Pi GPIO Header Pin	Description
1	Red	`VCC`	Power	Pin 2 (5V) / Pin 1 (3.3V)	Power supply (+3.3 V to +5.0 V DC)
2	Black	`GND`	Power	Pin 6 (GND)	Ground reference (0 V)
3	Blue	`DIN` / `MOSI`	Digital Input	Pin 19 (GPIO 10 - SPI0_MOSI)	SPI Master Output Data
4	Yellow	`CLK` / `SCK`	Digital Input	Pin 23 (GPIO 11 - SPI0_SCLK)	SPI Serial Clock
5	Orange	`CS`	Digital Input	Pin 24 (GPIO 8 - SPI0_CE0)	Active-Low SPI Chip Select
6	Green	`DC`	Digital Input	Pin 22 (GPIO 25)	Data / Command Select (Low = Cmd, High = Data)
7	White	`RST`	Digital Input	Pin 11 (GPIO 17)	Active-Low Reset pin
8	Purple	`BUSY`	Digital Output	Pin 18 (GPIO 24)	Active-High Busy signal (High = Screen Updating)

Specifications

Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Supply Voltage	$V_{CC}$	3.3	3.3 / 5.0	5.5	V	DC
Active Refresh Power	$P_{refresh}$	—	26.4	40.0	mW	During screen update
Standby Sleep Power	$P_{sleep}$	—	0.017	0.03	mW	Deep sleep mode
Full Refresh Time	$t_{full}$	—	2.0	3.0	s	Room temperature ( $25^\circ\text{C}$ )
Partial Refresh Time	$t_{part}$	—	0.3	0.5	s	Room temperature ( $25^\circ\text{C}$ )
Viewing Angle	$\theta$	$>170^\circ$	—	—	deg	Full reflection angle
Operating Temperature	$T_{opr}$	0	25	50	°C	B/W monochrome version

Refresh Modes & Screen Care

Full Refresh: Inverts the entire display (black-to-white flash) to clear ghosting. Must be performed at least once every 24 hours to prevent permanent E-Ink burn-in.
Partial Refresh: Updates only changing pixel regions (e.g. clock digits) in ~0.3 seconds without full-screen flashing.
Deep Sleep Command (0x10): After updating the display, issue the deep sleep command to power down internal charge pumps and prevent DC voltage damage to the electrophoretic panel.

Wiring (Arduino / ESP32 SPI Connection)

E-Paper Pin	ESP32 GPIO	Arduino Uno	Notes
`VCC`	3.3V	5V / 3.3V	Power rail
`GND`	GND	GND	System ground
`DIN` (MOSI)	GPIO 23	Digital D11	SPI Data
`CLK` (SCK)	GPIO 18	Digital D13	SPI Clock
`CS`	GPIO 5	Digital D10	SPI Chip Select
`DC`	GPIO 17	Digital D9	Data/Command pin
`RST`	GPIO 16	Digital D8	Hardware Reset
`BUSY`	GPIO 4	Digital D7	Busy Status Output

Example (Python Raspberry Pi `waveshare_epd`)

python

import sys
import os
import time
from waveshare_epd import epd2in13_V4
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont

epd = epd2in13_V4.EPD()

print("Initializing 2.13inch e-Paper...")
epd.init()
epd.Clear()

# Create blank image canvas for drawing (250x122)
image = Image.new('1', (epd.height, epd.width), 255)  # 255: clear/white background
draw = ImageDraw.Draw(image)

font = ImageFont.load_default()
draw.text((10, 20), 'VoltDocs E-Ink Dashboard', font=font, fill=0)
draw.text((10, 50), 'Temp: 22.4 C | RH: 45%', font=font, fill=0)
draw.line([(10, 40), (200, 40)], fill=0, width=2)

# Display rendered image on screen
epd.display(epd.getbuffer(image))
time.sleep(2)

print("Entering Deep Sleep mode to save power...")
epd.sleep()

Common mistakes

Leaving the display powered continuously without issuing sleep(): Keeping voltage applied to the E-Ink panel without putting the controller to sleep causes permanent ghosting and panel degradation over time.
Ignoring the BUSY line: Sending SPI commands while the BUSY pin is High corrupts display memory. Always wait for BUSY to go Low before issuing new refresh commands.

Notes

2.13" E-Paper Variants: Waveshare manufactures several 2.13" revisions: V2 (SSD1675), V3, V4 (SSD1680), and Tricolor (B/W/Red or B/W/Yellow). Ensure software drivers match your specific version.

Interface	SPI
Package	Display Module PCB with 40-pin Pi Header