SENSORS/ACTUATORS

INTERNET OF THING (IoT)

ESP32 S3 UNO - Piezo Buzzer

This ESP32 S3 Uno piezo buzzer tutorial shows you how to wire a buzzer to the ESP32 S3 Uno form board and make it play sounds with Arduino code. You will learn the difference between an active buzzer and a passive buzzer, and you will use the tone() function to play a short melody and then "Jingle Bells".

In this tutorial, you will:

Learn the difference between an active and a passive buzzer
Understand how a piezo buzzer makes sound
Wire a piezo buzzer or buzzer module to the ESP32 S3 Uno
Play tones and melodies with tone() and noTone()
Change the code to play your own song

Hardware Preparation

1	×	ESP32 S3 Uno-form Board
1	×	USB Cable Type-A to Type-C (for USB-A PC)
1	×	USB Cable Type-C to Type-C (for USB-C PC)
1	×	3-24V Active Piezo Buzzer
1	×	Active Piezo Buzzer Module
1	×	Passive Piezo Buzzer Module
1	×	Breadboard
1	×	Jumper Wires

Or you can buy the following kits:

DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this section are Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Additionally, some of these links are for products from our own brand, DIYables .

Overview of Buzzer

A buzzer is the easiest way to give your project a voice. It can beep when a button is pressed, sound an alarm, or play a simple tune. Buzzers come in a few types, and picking the right one decides what sounds you can make.

You can sort buzzers in three ways. By control method, there are active and passive buzzers. By how they make sound, there are piezo buzzers and standard (electromagnetic) buzzers. By supply voltage, there are low-voltage buzzers (3–5V) and high-voltage buzzers (12V). The sections below explain each group.

Active Buzzer vs Passive Buzzer

This is the most important difference for your code. It decides if you can play only a beep, or a full melody.

Active buzzer

An active buzzer has a small oscillator inside. Give it power and it beeps right away, and it keeps beeping as long as the power stays on. It is very easy to use, so you often find it in simple alarm systems.

Passive buzzer

A passive buzzer has no oscillator inside. Power alone does not make a sound. You must send it a changing signal, and the frequency of that signal sets the pitch. This needs a little more work in code, but it lets you play many different tones, so it is the right choice for music and sound effects.

Piezo Buzzer vs Regular Buzzer

The way a buzzer makes sound changes how it sounds and how flexible it is.

Piezo buzzer

A piezo buzzer uses a piezoelectric crystal that bends when voltage is applied. It gives a clear, high-pitched sound and can produce many tones and frequencies. It is also power-efficient, so it is common in alarms and musical gadgets.

Regular buzzer

A regular buzzer uses an electromagnetic coil. It makes a simple, buzzy sound with little change in tone. You see it in basic devices like doorbells and simple alarms.

One buzzer, two uses

You can buy a 3V-24V active buzzer that works at both low and high voltage. Connected directly to an ESP32 S3 Uno pin, it gives a normal beep that is good for keypad sounds. Connected to a high voltage through a relay, it gets loud enough for an alarm.

This tutorial covers 3–5V buzzers, both active and passive. For a 12V buzzer, read the ESP32 S3 Uno - 12V buzzer tutorial.

Pinout

A buzzer is easy to wire because it has only two pins. You just need to know which one is which.

Negative (-) pin

Connect this pin to GND (0V).

Positive (+) pin

This pin gets the control signal from the ESP32 S3 Uno, either directly or through a relay.

How an Active Buzzer Works

Knowing how the buzzer reacts to a signal helps you understand the code later.

When you connect VCC to the positive pin, the active piezo buzzer makes a steady, continuous sound.

To make different tones, send a square wave to the positive pin. The frequency of the square wave sets the tone. Change the frequency over time and you get a melody.

How a Passive Buzzer Works

A passive buzzer stays silent if you only connect VCC to the positive pin. This is the main difference from the active buzzer.

Like the active buzzer, it plays a sound when you send a square wave (with a 50% duty cycle) to the positive pin. Each frequency gives a different tone, so changing the frequency step by step plays a melody.

ESP32 S3 Uno Pinout

The image below shows the pinout diagram of the ESP32 S3 Uno form board. Use it to find the Uno header pins (D6, GND…) and their GPIO numbers when you wire the buzzer.

Wiring Diagram

You can use either a bare piezo buzzer or a buzzer module. In both cases, the signal goes to pin D6 (GPIO3) of the ESP32 S3 Uno.

Piezo buzzer

The wiring diagram between ESP32 S3 Uno Buzzer

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Buzzer Pin	ESP32 S3 Uno Pin
Positive (+)	D6 (GPIO3)
Negative (-)	GND

Piezo buzzer module

The wiring diagram between ESP32 S3 Uno Buzzer Module

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Module Pin	ESP32 S3 Uno Pin
VCC	3.3V or 5V
I/O	D6 (GPIO3)
GND	GND

On the ESP32 S3 Uno, pin D6 is GPIO3, which is a boot strapping pin. The board reads it at startup to pick its boot mode. A buzzer on this pin is usually fine, but if your board does not boot or upload correctly, unplug the buzzer wire from D6, upload the code, and then plug it back in.

How To Program For Buzzer

You do not need to build a square wave by hand. The ESP32 S3 Uno core gives you two simple functions that do the work for you: tone() starts a sound at a given frequency, and noTone() stops it.

ESP32 S3 Uno Code

This sketch plays a short melody once when the board starts. Each note in the melody[] array is played with tone() for the time set in noteDurations[], and a small pause keeps the notes apart.

Detailed Instructions

Follow these steps to hear your first melody:

New to the ESP32 S3 Uno? Follow ESP32 S3 Uno - Getting Started first.
Wire it up as shown in the diagram.
Connect the board to your computer with a USB Type-C cable.
Open Arduino IDE, choose the ESP32S3 Dev Module board and the correct COM port.
Copy the code above and paste it into the Arduino IDE.
Add a new tab for the note list. Click the button below the Serial Monitor icon and choose New Tab, or press Ctrl+Shift+N.

Name the tab pitches.h and click OK.

Paste the note list below into the pitches.h tab.

/************************************************* * Public Constants *************************************************/ #define NOTE_B0 31 #define NOTE_C1 33 #define NOTE_CS1 35 #define NOTE_D1 37 #define NOTE_DS1 39 #define NOTE_E1 41 #define NOTE_F1 44 #define NOTE_FS1 46 #define NOTE_G1 49 #define NOTE_GS1 52 #define NOTE_A1 55 #define NOTE_AS1 58 #define NOTE_B1 62 #define NOTE_C2 65 #define NOTE_CS2 69 #define NOTE_D2 73 #define NOTE_DS2 78 #define NOTE_E2 82 #define NOTE_F2 87 #define NOTE_FS2 93 #define NOTE_G2 98 #define NOTE_GS2 104 #define NOTE_A2 110 #define NOTE_AS2 117 #define NOTE_B2 123 #define NOTE_C3 131 #define NOTE_CS3 139 #define NOTE_D3 147 #define NOTE_DS3 156 #define NOTE_E3 165 #define NOTE_F3 175 #define NOTE_FS3 185 #define NOTE_G3 196 #define NOTE_GS3 208 #define NOTE_A3 220 #define NOTE_AS3 233 #define NOTE_B3 247 #define NOTE_C4 262 #define NOTE_CS4 277 #define NOTE_D4 294 #define NOTE_DS4 311 #define NOTE_E4 330 #define NOTE_F4 349 #define NOTE_FS4 370 #define NOTE_G4 392 #define NOTE_GS4 415 #define NOTE_A4 440 #define NOTE_AS4 466 #define NOTE_B4 494 #define NOTE_C5 523 #define NOTE_CS5 554 #define NOTE_D5 587 #define NOTE_DS5 622 #define NOTE_E5 659 #define NOTE_F5 698 #define NOTE_FS5 740 #define NOTE_G5 784 #define NOTE_GS5 831 #define NOTE_A5 880 #define NOTE_AS5 932 #define NOTE_B5 988 #define NOTE_C6 1047 #define NOTE_CS6 1109 #define NOTE_D6 1175 #define NOTE_DS6 1245 #define NOTE_E6 1319 #define NOTE_F6 1397 #define NOTE_FS6 1480 #define NOTE_G6 1568 #define NOTE_GS6 1661 #define NOTE_A6 1760 #define NOTE_AS6 1865 #define NOTE_B6 1976 #define NOTE_C7 2093 #define NOTE_CS7 2217 #define NOTE_D7 2349 #define NOTE_DS7 2489 #define NOTE_E7 2637 #define NOTE_F7 2794 #define NOTE_FS7 2960 #define NOTE_G7 3136 #define NOTE_GS7 3322 #define NOTE_A7 3520 #define NOTE_AS7 3729 #define NOTE_B7 3951 #define NOTE_C8 4186 #define NOTE_CS8 4435 #define NOTE_D8 4699 #define NOTE_DS8 4978

Upload the code by clicking the Upload button in the Arduino IDE.
Listen to the melody from the buzzer.
Tip: The melody plays only once. Press the RESET button on the board to hear it again.

Modifying ESP32 S3 Uno Code

Playing a new song is easy. You only change two arrays: int melody[] holds the notes, and int noteDurations[] holds how long each note lasts. The sketch below plays "Jingle Bells" this way.

※ NOTE THAT:

This code uses the delay() function, so the ESP32 S3 Uno can do nothing else while the melody plays. If your project must keep working during the song, use the ezBuzzer library. It plays beeps and melodies in the background without blocking your other code.

Video Tutorial

Watch the video below to see this ESP32 S3 Uno project step by step.

The demo in the video is a memory game. Four LEDs light up in a random order, each with its own tone from the buzzer, and you repeat the order with four buttons. Each round adds one more step. A wrong press plays a low "game over" sound. The LEDs are active-LOW, so each LED turns on when its pin goes LOW. The buttons use the internal pull-up resistors.

Part	ESP32 S3 Uno Pin
Buzzer	D10 (GPIO10)
LED 1 to LED 4	D2 (GPIO18), D3 (GPIO17), D4 (GPIO19), D5 (GPIO20)
Button 1 to Button 4	D6 (GPIO3), D7 (GPIO14), D8 (GPIO21), D9 (GPIO46)

/* * This ESP32 S3 Uno code was developed by newbiely.com * * This ESP32 S3 Uno code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/esp32-s3-uno/esp32-s3-uno-piezo-buzzer */ #define BUZZER_PIN 10 // D10 = GPIO10 const int ledPins[4] = {18, 17, 19, 20}; // D2, D3, D4, D5 const int buttonPins[4] = {3, 14, 21, 46}; // D6, D7, D8, D9 const int tones[4] = { 262, 330, 392, 523 }; const int MAX_LEVEL = 50; int sequence[MAX_LEVEL]; int level = 1; void setup() { for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) { pinMode(ledPins[i], OUTPUT); digitalWrite(ledPins[i], HIGH); pinMode(buttonPins[i], INPUT_PULLUP); } pinMode(BUZZER_PIN, OUTPUT); randomSeed(analogRead(2)); // A0 = GPIO2, left unconnected for random noise startSound(); delay(500); sequence[0] = random(0, 4); playSequence(); } void loop() { for (int i = 0; i < level; i++) { int button = waitForButton(); playTone(button); if (button != sequence[i]) { gameOver(); return; } } level++; if (level > MAX_LEVEL) { winGame(); return; } delay(500); sequence[level - 1] = random(0, 4); playSequence(); } void playSequence() { for (int i = 0; i < level; i++) { playTone(sequence[i]); delay(150); } } void playTone(int index) { digitalWrite(ledPins[index], LOW); tone(BUZZER_PIN, tones[index]); delay(300); noTone(BUZZER_PIN); digitalWrite(ledPins[index], HIGH); delay(100); } int waitForButton() { while (true) { for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) { if (digitalRead(buttonPins[i]) == LOW) { delay(30); while (digitalRead(buttonPins[i]) == LOW) { } delay(30); return i; } } } } void startSound() { tone(BUZZER_PIN, 523); delay(150); tone(BUZZER_PIN, 659); delay(150); tone(BUZZER_PIN, 784); delay(200); noTone(BUZZER_PIN); } void gameOver() { for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) { tone(BUZZER_PIN, 150); for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) { digitalWrite(ledPins[j], LOW); } delay(200); noTone(BUZZER_PIN); for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) { digitalWrite(ledPins[j], HIGH); } delay(150); } level = 1; delay(1000); sequence[0] = random(0, 4); playSequence(); } void winGame() { for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) { digitalWrite(ledPins[i], LOW); } tone(BUZZER_PIN, 523); delay(150); tone(BUZZER_PIN, 659); delay(150); tone(BUZZER_PIN, 784); delay(150); tone(BUZZER_PIN, 1047); delay(400); noTone(BUZZER_PIN); for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) { digitalWrite(ledPins[i], HIGH); } level = 1; delay(1000); sequence[0] = random(0, 4); playSequence(); }

In this demo, two buttons sit on boot strapping pins: D6 (GPIO3) and D9 (GPIO46). Do not hold those buttons while the board powers up or resets, or the board may not boot or upload code.

Challenge Yourself

Ready for more? Try these ideas to practice what you learned.

Play your favorite song with the piezo buzzer. Look up its notes and fill in the two arrays.
Build an alarm that sounds when someone comes near your things. Hint: See ESP32 S3 Uno - Motion Sensor.

FAQ

Can I connect a piezo buzzer directly to an ESP32 S3 Uno pin?

Yes. A small 3–5V piezo buzzer draws very little current, so you can drive it straight from a GPIO pin. The ESP32 S3 Uno pins output 3.3V, so the sound may be a bit quieter than on a 5V board. For a loud 12V buzzer, use a relay or a transistor.

Does tone() work on the ESP32 S3 Uno?

Yes. The esp32 core by Espressif Systems supports tone() and noTone(), so the same melody code from the UNO R4 runs on the ESP32 S3 Uno. Only the pin number changes: D6 on the Uno header is GPIO3, so the code uses 3.

Why does my active buzzer play the same sound for every note?

An active buzzer has its own oscillator and always makes one fixed tone. The frequency you send with tone() cannot change its pitch much. To play real melodies, use a passive buzzer or a passive buzzer module.

Can I power a 5V buzzer module from the ESP32 S3 Uno?

Yes. You can connect the module's VCC to the 5V pin. The I/O pin of the module is an input, so the 3.3V signal from the ESP32 S3 Uno only goes out of the board and does not hurt it. Never send a 5V signal back into an ESP32 S3 Uno pin, because the pins are not 5V tolerant.

Why is the buzzer on D6, a boot strapping pin?

The wiring diagram keeps the same header position as the UNO R4 version, which uses D6. On the ESP32 S3 Uno, D6 is GPIO3, a boot strapping pin. It works fine for a buzzer in most cases. If you have boot or upload problems, move the buzzer to another pin such as D7 (GPIO14) and change BUZZER_PIN to 14.

What if my project needs more pins than the Uno headers give?

The ESP32 S3 Uno has two extra rows of holes with more GPIOs: GPIO15 and GPIO16 (I/O, PWM, analog), GPIO45 and GPIO35–GPIO42 (I/O, PWM), and GPIO47/GPIO48 (output only, PWM). Solder pin headers to use them and write the GPIO number in code. For an extra buzzer, any of GPIO35–GPIO42 is a good choice; for buttons, do not use GPIO47/GPIO48 because they are output only. Be careful with two things. First, GPIO47 and GPIO48 may run at 1.8V instead of 3.3V on some modules (especially ones with "V" in the name, like R8V or R16V), so 3.3V devices can be damaged or act strangely. Second, GPIO0, GPIO3 (D6), GPIO45 and GPIO46 (D9) are boot strapping pins, and a wrong connection can stop the board from booting or uploading code. Use the other extra pins first.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Possible Cause	Solution
No COM port in Arduino IDE	USB driver missing or board not in upload mode	Install the CP210x or CH340 driver, use a data USB cable, or hold BOOT while pressing RESET
Upload fails or board does not start	Buzzer on D6 (GPIO3) affects the boot strapping pin	Unplug the buzzer wire from D6, upload, then plug it back in
No sound at all	Wrong wiring or buzzer polarity reversed	Check that + goes to D6 (GPIO3) and - goes to GND, and that the module has power
Melody sounds like one flat tone	Active buzzer used instead of passive	Use a passive buzzer or passive buzzer module for melodies
Compile error about NOTE_C4	pitches.h tab is missing or named wrong	Add a new tab named exactly pitches.h and paste the note list
Sound is very quiet	3.3V signal drives the buzzer directly	Use a buzzer module, or drive the buzzer with a transistor from a higher supply
Melody plays only once	The code is in setup()	Press RESET to replay, or move the loop into loop()

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