CHEAP YELLOW DISPLAY · HOMEBRIDGE

Flash SmartDisplay

Turn an ESP32-2432S028 “Cheap Yellow Display” into a Homebridge wall panel, flashed from your browser. No compiling, no ESPHome install.

This browser can’t flash over USB. Web-based flashing needs Chrome, Edge, or Opera on a desktop computer (it uses Web Serial, which isn’t available in Safari, Firefox, or on phones). Open this page on a computer in one of those browsers, then plug in your display.

Before you start

Three quick things:

  1. A Cheap Yellow Display (ESP32-2432S028) and a USB cable that carries data.
  2. A desktop with Chrome or Edge (the flashing step doesn’t work on phones).
  3. Homebridge running on your network with Accessory Control (“insecure mode”) enabled. You’ll point the panel at it after flashing.

Install the firmware

Most Cheap Yellow Displays use the ST7789 controller, so start here.

  1. Plug the display into your computer with a USB data cable.
  2. Click Install and pick the serial port (often labelled CP210x, CH340, or USB Serial).
  3. When flashing finishes, the browser asks for your Wi-Fi name and password; enter them and the panel joins your network.
  4. Click Visit Device to open http://<panel-ip>/setup and add your Homebridge details + tiles.
Flashing isn’t allowed here. Make sure the page is on https://. Takes about a minute.

Wrong colors or a garbled screen?

On first boot the panel shows a red / green / blue test screen with the build name. If those bars look torn, shifted, or the colors are wrong, your board uses a different controller. Try the ILI9341 build first; if that's still wrong, try the ILI9342 build. Re-flashing is safe and takes about a minute.

ILI9342 is a landscape-native panel; its touch calibration is unverified and may need tuning.

After it’s on Wi-Fi

Open http://<panel-ip>/setup from any phone or computer on the same network and:

  1. Enter your Homebridge URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.50:8581), username, password, and a room name. Tap Save.
  2. Tap Load devices from Homebridge and pick a device for each tile.
  3. Set each tile’s title and type, tick Show this tile, and Save. Changes apply live, no reflash.
Accessory Control lets the panel read and control anything Homebridge bridges, but it also means anyone on your network can. Keep the panel and Homebridge on a trusted LAN and don’t expose the Homebridge UI to the internet.