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Table of Contents
Using Pico with SSD1306 based LCD and SPI
***** THIS PAGE IS WORK IN PROGRESS *****
Aug 2026
Introduction
So, I found another 0.96“ LCD to play with, just lying around at home. I figured it would be a bit rude to not give it a go. It is however, slightly different to the one we previously setup.
About the LCD:
- It is still an ssd1306 based display, got this from the label on the packaging.
- It does support I2C, 3 wire SPI and 4 wire SPI. The default resistor settings put it at 4 wire SPI.
- SPI will use 7 wires instead of the 4 wires for I2C.
- SPI has faster refresh than I2C.
- Same 128×64 resolution.
- This version of the LCD does not have the Yellow Blue split.
Because we are using SPI, the Pico will need a new driver as the original driver is for I2C. Before we get in to the Python code, let's have a look at the wiring.
The Wiring
Please see below for the SPI wiring to the Pico Pins.
Below is a more diagrammatic view.
Once you have cabled up your LCD, we can move on to the software.
Python Code
Before we look at the code, I want to share that there are a few differences between SPI and I2C, have a look at this table below.
