FrameOSWaveshare 9.7" (E) e-Paper
1120×784 Spectra 6 full-color e-ink display for FrameOS - specs, setup and driver details.
Official Waveshare store
Official store page for this device.
Manufacturer docs & datasheets
- Vendor
- Waveshare
- Model
- 9.7" (E) e-Paper
- Technology
- E-ink
- Colors
- 6 colors (Spectra 6)
- Resolution
- 1120×784 px
- Size
- 9.7″ diagonal
- Interface
- SPI
- Platforms
- Raspberry Pi · ESP32-S3
- Status
- 🟡 Should work
- FrameOS driver
waveshare.EPD_9in7e
Part of the FrameOS device database. Spotted an error, or tested this panel? Edit this page on GitHub - it's a markdown file.
The Waveshare 9.7" (E) e-Paper is a 9.7″ e-ink panel with a resolution of 1120×784 pixels showing six Spectra 6 ink colors. Spectra 6 is the current generation of color e-ink: six vivid ink colors with much better saturation than the older 7-color ACeP panels. A full refresh takes about 30 seconds, and the panel has no partial refresh. Like all e-paper, it keeps the last image with zero power - the frame only wakes up to render.
See the Spectra 6 build video for a side-by-side look at color e-ink generations.
How it works
FrameOS ships a native driver
(waveshare.EPD_9in7e) compiled straight into the binary that runs on your Raspberry Pi - no Python, no
vendor libraries. Each render pass draws your scene into a full-color image,
dithers it to the panel's palette, and pushes the result to the display over SPI.
Setup
- Connect the panel to the Raspberry Pi - plug the HAT onto the GPIO header, or hook up the separate driver board with the bundled ribbon cable.
- Add a frame in the FrameOS backend and select the Waveshare 9.7" (E) 1120x784 Spectra 6 Color driver.
- Save & deploy. The panel blinks through a refresh cycle and shows your scene.
Make sure the letter suffix on your panel's ribbon cable matches the driver - Waveshare reuses product names across revisions. More tips in the Waveshare buying guide.
Status
🟡 Not tested on real hardware yet. Support is new: the driver is Waveshare's own sample driver for this panel, built into FrameOS like the other Spectra 6 panels, but nobody has run it on the display yet. If you have one, tell us on GitHub or Discord and we'll mark it confirmed.