SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (USB-C)

The SparkFun ESP32 WROOM Thing Plus with USB-C is a great place to get started with Espressif IoT ideations while still enjoying all the amenities of the original ESP32 WROOM Thing Plus. Espressif's ESP32 WROOM is a powerful WiFi and Bluetooth® MCU module that targets a wide variety of applications. At the core of this module is the ESP32-D0WDQ6 chip which is designed to be both scalable and adaptive. To make the Thing Plus as easy to use as possible, we've made the board Feather-compatible and it utilizes our handy Qwiic Connect System which means no soldering or shields are required to connect it to the rest of your system!

The SparkFun ESP32 WROOM Thing Plus with USB-C provides a few enhancements to the previous ESP32 Thing Plus. In addition to the standard Thing Plus form factor, we have included a µSD card slot, upgraded to a USB-C connector, integrated a RGB status LED and battery fuel gauge, and provided two voltage regulators; a separate 700mA current source for the board and Qwiic connector. It's also important to point out that a CH340C serial-to-UART bridge is used on this board; unlike previous variants.

The ESP32 Thing plus integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I2S and I2C, etc. The module also features 16MB of flash memory, 520kB of internal SRAM, an integrated 802.11 b/g/n WiFi transceiver with dual-mode Bluetooth® capabilities, and a JST connector to plug in a LiPo battery.


The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.


SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM Features

  • ESP32-WROOM Module
    • 21 Multifunctional GPIO
      • Up to thirteen 12-bit ADC Channels
      • Up to two DAC channels
      • Up to sixteen PWM outputs
      • Up to eight capacitive touch pins
      • Up to three SPI Busses (only one is configured by default in the Arduino IDE)
      • An available I2S Audio Output
      • Up to two I2C Busses (only one is configured by default in the Arduino IDE)
      • Up to three UARTs (only two are configured by default in the Arduino IDE, one UART is used for bootloading/debug)
  • Thing Plus (or Feather) Form-Factor:
    • Dimensions: 2.55" x 0.9"
    • Four Mounting Holes:
      • 4-40 screw compatible
    • 28 PTH Pins
    • USB-C Connector
    • 2-pin JST Connector for a LiPo Battery (not included)
    • 4-pin JST Qwiic Connector
    • SD Card Slot
    • MAX17048 Fuel Gauge
  • LEDs:
    • PWR - Red power LED
    • CHG - Yellow battery charging indicator
    • STAT - Blue status LED
    • WS2812 RGB LED
  • Buttons:
    • BOOT
    • RST

ESP32-WROOM General Features:

  • Operating Voltage: 2.3 to 3.6 V
    • 2.5 µA deep sleep current
    • 80 mA average operating current
  • Operating Temperature: -40 to 85 °C
  • Xtensa® Single-Core 32-bit LX6 Microprocessor (up to 240MHz)
    • 448KB of ROM and 520KB SRAM
    • 16MB of Embedded SPI flash storage
  • Integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi 2.4GHz transceiver
  • Integrated dual-mode Bluetooth® (classic and BLE®)
  • Hardware accelerated encryption (AES, SHA2, ECC, RSA-4096)

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (USB-C) Product Help and Resources

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January 23, 2023

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Wireless Timing Project

September 29, 2022

Time for racing, let's make a wireless timing device using ESP32 wireless communication.

GNSS Correction Data Receiver (NEO-D9S) Hookup Guide

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Add GNSS correction data to your high precision GNSS (HPG) receiver with the u-blox NEO-D9S! This tutorial will get you started with the ZED-F9P, NEO-D9S, and the ESP32 IoT RedBoard.

LiPo Fuel Gauge (MAX1704X) Hookup Guide

February 23, 2023

Monitor your LiPo battery with the LiPo fuel gauge! In this tutorial, we will be using the MAX17043 and MAX17048 to monitor a single cell, LiPo battery over the Arduino Serial Monitor. We will also connect a display to view the output without the need to connect the microcontroller to a computer.

ESP32 Thing Plus (USB-C) Hookup Guide

August 18, 2022

Meet the updated ESP32 Thing Plus (USB-C) development board. We have included some extra bells and whistles that users will appreciate, so check out out hookup guide for all the details!

Core Skill: Programming

If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.

3 Programming

Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
See all skill levels


Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping

If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.

2 Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels


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Customer Reviews

5 out of 5

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Very excited about this Thing!

I've been working on a project for some time now using either ATTiny 85s or Arduino Uno's and Bluetooth modules to create a start timing horn system for sailboat racing. The combination of the Thing Plus ESP32 WROOM (USBC) and a Qwiic relay will get me to the final design size and functionality I've been looking for.

The onboard RGB LED and the built-in blue LED have helped me develop the code using the App built using MIT App Inventor as my interface via Bluetooth. Now that the Qwiic relay is back in stock, I should be able to pull it all together.

Thanks for offering this versatile and compact combination.

Have the relay up and working now but getting some unusual errors when trying to use a Bluetooth app from my phone. Have it resolved now with some help from the Forum.

Unfortunately while I was trying to figure out how, while running on battery power, to send a high signal output via pin 12 to a MOSFET module, so that I could turn on a 12V supply to a 5V regulator module connected to the VU pin with the intention of only running from the 12V supply for a few minutes to keep the regulator from getting too hot, I crossed something up and the dreaded blue smoke came from the board. I think I burnt the onboard regulator or something.

I've got a new one on order :-) It'll be better managed this time around, I promise.

A lot of functionality packed into this SOC/SBC

Purchased the ESP32 WROOM-C along with a sunny buddy and BME280 to track solar energy conditions in advance of installing solar panels...and also for fun.

Really amazed at the Arduino/ESP32 eco-system and choices available on the Qwicc bus. I've already purchased another one to play with since I put the original to work full-time gathering data. It's outside in a NEMA rated enclosure along with an LiPo battery delivering weather and solar data 24/7. The sleep modes and wifi work great allowing me to use a much smaller battery than I thought.

Had a little hiccup with settings in the Arduino IDE when I chose the wrong version (ESP32 Micro-B) in the board settings. Be aware that the Micro B settings will work on this board for some code but not others.

Looking to find another project for this board. It's a lot of fun.

A great product for ESPHome

I bought this product to build a gas sensor with ESPHome and it’s excellent. Nice USB-C connection and easy to solder pins for a board.