SENSORS/ACTUATORS

INTERNET OF THING (IoT)

ESP32 - Button

The button is a basic component and widely used in many ESP32 projects. It is not simple as it looks like (because of mechanical, physical characteristics). Beginners may have a lot of troubles with it. This tutorial makes it easy for the beginners. Let's start!

※ NOTE THAT:

Before presenting about the button, We would like to notice that there are two common mistakes that newbies usually meet:

The floating input problem:

Symptom: When connecting a button to ESP32 input pin, the state of the input pin is random and not matched with the button's pressing state.
Cause: The button pin is NOT used a pull-down resistor or a pull-up resistor.
Solution: ⇒ Use a pull-down resistor or a pull-up resistor on the input pin. The detail will be described later in this tutorial.

The chattering phenomenon

Symptom: The code on ESP32 reads the state of the button and identifies the pressing event by detecting the state change (HIGH to LOW, or LOW to HIGH). When the button is actually pressed only one time, ESP32 code detects multiple presses rather than once.
Cause: Due to mechanical and physical characteristics, when you do a single press on a button, the state of the input pin is quickly toggled between LOW and HIGH several times rather than once
Solution: ⇒ Debounce. The detail will be described in ESP32 - Button - Debounce tutorial.

The chattering phenomenon causes the malfunction in only some kinds of application that needs to detect exactly number of the pressing. In some kind of application, it is harmless.

This tutorial shows how to program the ESP32 using the Arduino language (C/C++) via the Arduino IDE. If you’d like to learn how to program the ESP32 with MicroPython, visit this ESP32 MicroPython - Button tutorial.

Hardware Used In This Tutorial

1	×	ESP-WROOM-32 Dev Module
1	×	USB Cable Type-C
1	×	Breadboard-mount Button with Cap
1	×	Breadboard-mount Button Kit
1	×	Panel-mount Push Button
1	×	Breadboard
1	×	Jumper Wires
1	×	(Optional) DC Power Jack
1	×	(Recommended) Screw Terminal Expansion Board for ESP32
1	×	(Recommended) Power Splitter For ESP32

Or you can buy the following sensor kits:

1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some of the links in this section are Amazon affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase through them. Additionally, some links direct you to products from our own brand, DIYables .

Introduction to Button

The push button, also referred to as a pushbutton, tactile button, or momentary switch, is a type of switch that closes when pressed and held, and opens when released. Various types of push buttons exist, broadly categorized into two groups:

PCB-mount push buttons (suitable for breadboard mounting)
Panel-mount push buttons

Button Pinout

A PCB-mount button usually has four pins that are internally connected in pairs.

We only need to use two of the four pins, which are NOT in the same connected pair. Accordingly, There are four ways to do wiring with the button (see bimage below)

Actually, because of symmetry, these four ways becomes two ways. The rest of this tutorial will use two pins: Pin A and Pin B that are not connected together.

Why does the button has four pins while we only need two pins?

⇒ The button receives the force from users. To make it stand stably and firmly in PCB (board), It has four pins to resist the pressing force.

A panel-mount button usually has two pins.

image source: diyables.io

How Button Works

When the button is pressed, the pin A is connected to the pin B
When the button is NOT pressed, the pin A is NOT connected to the pin B

ESP32 - Button

One button's pin is connected to a digital input pin of ESP32. The other pin is connected to VCC or GND. In ESP32 code, by reading the state of the input pin, we can infer the button is pressed or NOT.

Input State and Pressing State

The relation between the state of the input pin and the button's pressing state depends on how we connect the button with ESP32 and the setting of the ESP32's pin. There are two ways to use a button with ESP32:

One button's pin is connected to a digital input pin of ESP32, the other pin is connected to VCC:

A pull-down resistor MUST be used
If the button is pressed, the state of ESP32's pin is HIGH. Otherwise, the state of ESP32's pin is LOW

One button's pin is connected to a digital input pin of ESP32, the other pin is connected to GND:

A pull-up resistor MUST be used
If the button is pressed, the state of ESP32's pin is LOW. Otherwise, the state of ESP32's pin is HIGH

※ NOTE THAT:

If neither a pull-down resistor nor a pull-up resistor is used, the state of the input pin is random between HIGH or LOW (unstable, unfixed) when the button is NOT pressed. This is called The “floating input problem”. This results in the malfunction.

To make it simple for newbies, this tutorial highly recommens newbies using an internal pull-up resistor for ESP32 pin. No external resistor is required. This saves the hardware, simplifies the wiring diagram.

Wiring Diagram between Button and ESP32

Wiring Diagram between ESP32 and PCB-mount button

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Wiring Diagram between ESP32 and panel-mount button

ESP32 two-pin push button Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

If you're unfamiliar with how to supply power to the ESP32 and other components, you can find guidance in the following tutorial: The best way to Power ESP32 and sensors/displays.

How To Program Button

Initializes the ESP32 pin as an internal pull-up input by using pinMode() function. For example, pin GPIO21:

pinMode(21, INPUT_PULLUP); // config GPIO21 as input pin and enable the internal pull-up resistor

Reads the state of the input pin by using digitalRead() function.

int buttonState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN);

※ NOTE THAT:

There are two wide-used use cases:

The first use case: If the input state is HIGH, do something. If the input state is LOW, do another thing.
The second use case: If the input state is changed from LOW to HIGH, do something. If the input state is changed from HIGH to LOW, do another thing.

Depending on the application, one of them is used. For example, in case of using a button to control an LED:

If we want to turn the LED ON when the button is pressed and turn it OFF when the button is NOT pressed, we SHOULD use the first case.
If we want to toggle the LED between ON and OFF each time the button is pressed, we SHOULD use the second case.

The below example code show how to detect the state change from LOW to HIGH

#define BUTTON_PIN 21 // GPIO21 pin connected to button // Variables will change: int lastState = HIGH; // the previous state from the input pin int currentState; // the current reading from the input pin void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the pushbutton pin as an pull-up input pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); } void loop() { // read the state of the switch/button: currentState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); if(lastState == LOW && currentState == HIGH) Serial.println("The state changed from LOW to HIGH"); // save the last state lastState = currentState; }

ESP32 Code

Quick Instructions

If this is the first time you use ESP32, see how to setup environment for ESP32 on Arduino IDE.
Do the wiring as above image.
Connect the ESP32 board to your PC via a micro USB cable
Open Arduino IDE on your PC.
Select the right ESP32 board (e.g. ESP32 Dev Module) and COM port.
Copy the below code and paste it to Arduino IDE.

#define BUTTON_PIN 21 // GIOP21 pin connected to button void setup() { // initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second: Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the pushbutton pin as an pull-up input // the pull-up input pin will be HIGH when the switch is open and LOW when the switch is closed. pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); } void loop() { // read the state of the switch/button: int buttonState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); // print out the button's state Serial.println(buttonState); }

Compile and upload code to ESP32 board by clicking Upload button on Arduino IDE

Open Serial Monitor on Arduino IDE

How to open serial monitor on Arduino IDE

Press and release the button several time
See the result on Serial Monitor. It looks like the below::

COM6

Send

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

Autoscroll Show timestamp

Clear output

9600 baud

Newline

1 is HIGH, 0 is LOW.

Line-by-line Code Explanation

The above ESP32 code contains line-by-line explanation. Please read the comments in the code!

Modifying ESP32 Code

Let's modify the code to detect the press and release events

Quick Instructions

If this is the first time you use ESP32, see how to setup environment for ESP32 on Arduino IDE.
Modify the code as below

/* * This ESP32 code is created by esp32io.com * * This ESP32 code is released in the public domain * * For more detail (instruction and wiring diagram), visit https://esp32io.com/tutorials/esp32-button */ #define BUTTON_PIN 21 // GIOP21 pin connected to button // Variables will change: int lastState = LOW; // the previous state from the input pin int currentState; // the current reading from the input pin void setup() { // initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second: Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the pushbutton pin as an pull-up input // the pull-up input pin will be HIGH when the switch is open and LOW when the switch is closed. pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); } void loop() { // read the state of the switch/button: currentState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); if (lastState == HIGH && currentState == LOW) Serial.println("The button is pressed"); else if (lastState == LOW && currentState == HIGH) Serial.println("The button is released"); // save the the last state lastState = currentState; }

Compile and upload code to ESP32 board by clicking Upload button on Arduino IDE

Open Serial Monitor on Arduino IDE

Press the button and then release
See the result on Serial Monitor. It looks like the below:

COM6

Send

The button is pressed The button is released

Autoscroll Show timestamp

Clear output

9600 baud

Newline

※ NOTE THAT:

The Serial Monitor may print several pressed and released events even though you did only one press and release. This is a normal behavior of the button. This behavior is called the “chattering phenomenon”. In some application, we need a method to eliminate it. You can learn more in ESP32 - Button Debounce tutorial.
To make it simple for beginners, especially when using multiple buttons, we created a library, called ezButton. You can learn about ezButton library here.

Video Tutorial

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Additional Knowledge

When should and should NOT use a pull-down/pull-up resistor?

SHOULD: If the sensor has two states: closed and open, it need a pull-up or pull-down resistor to make these states become two states: LOW and HIGH. For example, push-button, switch, magnetic contact switch (door sensor)...
SHOULD NOT: If the sensor outputs two voltage levels (LOW and HIGH), it does NOT need a pull-up or pull-down resistor. For example, motion sensor, touch sensor ...

Language References

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