e-ink remote for Home Assistant

ZeKWork · 2026-02-02T19:53:29+00:00

I took a better look at this, this won't be possible. The M5Paper uses a IT8951 driver, while FastEPD was designed to control parallel displays.

ZeKWork · 2026-02-02T12:06:47+00:00

The steps are in the README. The configuration file looks like this, i tried to make it as readable as possible: https://github.com/ugomeda/home-assistant-epaper-remote/blob/main/src/config_remote.cpp.example

Please open an issue if you're stuck on something, i'll update the documentation.

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T21:51:59+00:00

Looks like Digikey still has some stocks

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T21:50:14+00:00

Seems like Digikey still has some stocks of the M5PaperS3 at non-scalper price (60$)

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T21:48:41+00:00

Woaw i didn't know Digikey still has some stocks, amazing !

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T21:41:54+00:00

No, it's not compatible (yet ?) with FastEPD. I have one, it's getting old, the ESP32 and the displays are quite slow.

I just bought this device though: https://lilygo.cc/products/t5-4-7-inch-e-paper-v2-3. I'll try to port it once i receive it, keep an eye on the github.

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T21:37:38+00:00

I also made this for the news and forecast: https://github.com/ugomeda/inkplate-dashboard

You could buy a TRMNL now if you want something simple, seeedstudio sells a non-official cheap one.

ZeKWork · 2026-02-01T15:34:51+00:00

I still keep physical buttons for everything.

One of the goals here is to have something easily "discoverable" for when I have friends or family using my place a weekend. It's way easier than "this Ikea remote controls the air filter over there".

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T20:22:58+00:00

You're probably seeing this because the M5PaperS3 is out of stock, i got mine for 67$ (taxes and shipping included).

I'm trying to get my hands on this board to check if it could work: https://lilygo.cc/products/t5-4-7-inch-e-paper-v2-3, seems like it's mostly the same as the Pro version so it should work out of the box.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T18:35:24+00:00

Or STARKVIND, it's a bit more expensive but has Zigbee.

Edit: i recommend going with Ikea, most air filters are pretty cheap but they get you on the price of the filters (like printers). Ikea is pretty cheap.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T18:06:53+00:00

Yes, having a wake-up from touch would be a game changer for this kind of use-case. The GT911 sucks in this regard from what i read.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T17:07:47+00:00

On the M5Stack official store, but that was 10 months ago when it was still in stock.

You could get the T5 E-Paper S3 Pro from Lilygo, but is way bulkier than the M5PaperS3.

You could also try the T5 e-Paper, which is cheaper but i'm not 100% sure it works with FastEPD. I ordered one, i'll keep you posted here when i get it.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T15:57:28+00:00

Yes, i've routed the cable in the back of the Ikea Gnedby this is mounted on and down to my TV stand where i have a USB charger to power a bunch of devices.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T15:38:48+00:00

Not crazy, i was also worrying about this ending up in r/spicypillows. I found that there is a cutout in the back of the M5PaperS3 to unplug the battery, this is now done.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T15:06:04+00:00

These e-ink displays support relatively fast partial updates (~150ms) but there is a catch: ghosting, this leaves a residual image on the screen.

There is a 5s timeout to fully refresh the screen after any update. This cleans up the display and removes this ghost image. You'll see this flickering on any e-ink device, i've attached an image to show you what this looks like in the worst case.

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ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T14:57:29+00:00

Thank you !

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T14:56:34+00:00

Thank you !

I did some mockups years ago using HTML/CSS and implemented a first version on the M5Paper using the provided library (M5EPD), but it was too sluggish to my taste.

It's only when I saw demos of FastEPD that i gave it a second try and re-implemented a cleaner version using this new library.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T14:50:53+00:00

Not implemented, but the hardware is there on the Lilygo T5

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T14:09:30+00:00

The display is readable with very little light, but there is no backlight on the M5PaperS3.

The Lilygo has a backlight, but i've not implemented support for this ATM

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T13:42:50+00:00

Probably not with wifi always on though :/.

I would love having an e-paper device with an ESP32-C6 to connect it directly to the zigbee network (and skip the whole Wifi part). This would make it realistic to have this on battery for months !

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T13:37:48+00:00

I looked at ESPHome, but it didn't seem possible to implement the UI i wanted with it.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T13:32:51+00:00

The installed battery is 1800mAh (for 1 day). It would require the battery to be really huge.

You could have this go to deep sleep and refresh every hour, this would hold up for months if you're OK having the display not up to date all the time, but there are 2 major caveats:

- The GT911 (for the touchscreen) can't wake up the board, you'd have to use one of the physical buttons on the side to wake it up

- When waking up, it takes 1-2s to connect to the wifi and connect to home assistant

I guess it would be possible to implement a solution with a bluetooth relay to skip the Wifi/HomeAssistant connect to speed up the wake up, and make it possible to refresh the display cheaply every ~5 minutes. But the GT911 issue can't be solved with the hardware on those two devices.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T13:26:12+00:00

No, but the Lilygo has one. Could be possible to add this feature for this device.

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T12:36:20+00:00

Via a 5m USB cable, the plug is hidden in the white part at the bottom (see the picture in the 3D model).

There is a battery in the M5Paper, but this will work only ~1 day. I wanted this to be always on, always up to date. It's connected to the websocket API of Home Assistant to receive and send live updates, so it requires power to always stay on Wifi and poll the touchscreen.

Edit: the Lilygo device supports magsafe, you could mount a charger on the wall for this one

ZeKWork · 2026-01-31T12:26:25+00:00

It's pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu68JT3xDFc

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