Raspberry Pi Pico W: specs and pinout
Raspberry Pi Pico W board with an RP2040 microcontroller, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 5.2 and 264 kB SRAM.
Specs
| Spec | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Microcontroller | RP2040, dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ at up to 133 MHz | source Features list |
| SRAM | 264 kB multi-bank high performance SRAM | source Features list |
| Flash | 2 MB of flash memory | source Features list |
| Wireless | Single-band 2.4 GHz wireless interface: 802.11n and Bluetooth 5.2, with Bluetooth LE central and peripheral roles | source Features list |
| Wireless chip | Infineon CYW43439, with an onboard antenna | source Board description, wireless interface |
| GPIO | 26 multi-function 3.3 V GPIO (23 digital-only, 3 ADC capable) | source Features list |
| Board size | 51 mm x 21 mm x 1 mm PCB | source Mechanical specification |
| Operating temperature | -20 °C to 70 °C (maximum includes self-heating) | source 2.3 Recommended operating conditions |
| VSYS input | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | source 2.3 Recommended operating conditions |
| VBUS input | 5 V ±10% | source 2.3 Recommended operating conditions |
Power
| Value | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply | VBUS 5 V ±10% from the micro-USB port, or VSYS 1.8 V to 5.5 V | source 2.3 Recommended operating conditions |
Pinout
| Pin | Function | Voltage | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP0 (pin 1) | UART0 TX; I2C0 SDA; SPI0 RX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP1 (pin 2) | UART0 RX; I2C0 SCL; SPI0 CSn | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 3) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP2 (pin 4) | I2C1 SDA; SPI0 SCK | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP3 (pin 5) | I2C1 SCL; SPI0 TX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP4 (pin 6) | UART1 TX; I2C0 SDA; SPI0 RX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP5 (pin 7) | UART1 RX; I2C0 SCL; SPI0 CSn | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 8) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP6 (pin 9) | I2C1 SDA; SPI0 SCK | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP7 (pin 10) | I2C1 SCL; SPI0 TX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP8 (pin 11) | UART1 TX; I2C0 SDA; SPI1 RX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP9 (pin 12) | UART1 RX; I2C0 SCL; SPI1 CSn | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 13) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP10 (pin 14) | I2C1 SDA; SPI1 SCK | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP11 (pin 15) | I2C1 SCL; SPI1 TX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP12 (pin 16) | UART0 TX; I2C0 SDA; SPI1 RX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP13 (pin 17) | UART0 RX; I2C0 SCL; SPI1 CSn | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 18) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP14 (pin 19) | I2C1 SDA; SPI1 SCK | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP15 (pin 20) | I2C1 SCL; SPI1 TX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP16 (pin 21) | SPI0 RX; I2C0 SDA; UART0 TX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP17 (pin 22) | SPI0 CSn; I2C0 SCL; UART0 RX | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 23) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP18 (pin 24) | SPI0 SCK; I2C1 SDA | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP19 (pin 25) | SPI0 TX; I2C1 SCL | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP20 (pin 26) | I2C0 SDA | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP21 (pin 27) | I2C0 SCL | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GND (pin 28) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP22 (pin 29) | GPIO, PIO and PWM | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| RUN (pin 30) | System control: RP2040 enable pin; short low to reset | Internal pull-up to 3.3 V, about 50 k | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | |
| GP26 (pin 31) | ADC0; I2C1 SDA | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. ADC-capable pin has an internal reverse diode to IOVDD: input must not exceed 3.3 V + about 0.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| GP27 (pin 32) | ADC1; I2C1 SCL | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. ADC-capable pin has an internal reverse diode to IOVDD: input must not exceed 3.3 V + about 0.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| AGND (pin 33) | Analog ground (reference for GPIO26-29) | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| GP28 (pin 34) | ADC2 | 3.3 V logic (not 5 V tolerant) | Pinout figure (Figure 2) shows alternate functions; GPIO is fixed at 3.3 V. ADC-capable pin has an internal reverse diode to IOVDD: input must not exceed 3.3 V + about 0.3 V. | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| ADC_VREF (pin 35) | ADC power supply and reference voltage | 3.3 V (filtered) | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | |
| 3V3(OUT) (pin 36) | 3.3 V supply output | 3.3 V | Can power external circuitry; keep load under 300 mA | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| 3V3_EN (pin 37) | System control: SMPS enable; short low to disable the 3.3 V | Pulled high to VSYS via 100 k | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | |
| GND (pin 38) | Ground | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text | ||
| VSYS (pin 39) | Main system input voltage | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | Allowed range 1.8-5.5 V; feeds the on-board SMPS that makes the 3.3 V | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
| VBUS (pin 40) | Micro-USB input voltage | 5 V nominal (0 V if USB not connected) | Connected to micro-USB pin 1 | source Figure 2 (pinout) and section 2.1 pinout text |
Common mistakes
- Driving VSYS outside 1.8 V to 5.5 V (source)
- Placing metal near the antenna or enclosing the Pico W in metal: the datasheet says this detunes the antenna and reduces its effectiveness (source)
- Using WL_GPIO0 (the LED) or WL_GPIO1 for your own signals: WL_GPIO0 is not recommended, and WL_GPIO1 is the SMPS PS pin (do not use) (source)
What we could not confirm
- Typical current: no single figure. The use-case current tables are not summarised here.
- Listing said VSYS 1.8 V to 5.5 V, which matches the datasheet. The docs page had 2 V to 5 V, which is not used.
- Pin rows are read from Figure 2 of the official Pico W datasheet (a diagram; no text table). The header layout is identical to Pico. The 3 debug pads (SWCLK, GND, SWDIO) are not header pins and are not listed.
- On Pico W, GPIO23, GPIO24, GPIO25 and GPIO29 serve the wireless chip (CYW43439) and are not on the header; the user LED is on WL_GPIO0, not a header pin.
Sources
- Raspberry Pi Pico W Datasheet (official): link.
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