#530 SSD1306 OLED Bareback I²C

Test driving a monochrome 128x32 OLED Display with an Arduino and the raw command set over I²C.

Here’s a quick demo..

Notes

In LEAP#087 I investigated using the raw command set to drive an OLED display over SPI. This is the same idea, but using a display with an I²C interface.

For this test, I’m using a “1pcs 0.91 inch OLED module 0.91” white OLED 128X32 OLED LCD LED Display Module 0.91” IIC Communicate” (aliexpress seller listing) purchased for US$2.75 (Apr-2017), currently listed for SG$1.79 (Jan-2026).

OLED Module Specs

• OLED display, self-illuminating (no backlight), also lower consumption.
• Driver IC: SSD1306
• Size: 0.91 inch
• OLED Resolution: 128 x 32
• I²C interface

Example Sketch

SSD1306BareBackI2C.ino demonstrates the basics of bringing up the OLED display and running some graphics and text routines. A 5*8 font is defined in font.h.

The only dependency is the Arduino Wire library. Communication with the device is not optimised (all data is sent a byte per message) but it is enough to demonstrate that running the OLED with raw commands is not too difficult.

Construction

Credits and References

• “1pcs 0.91 inch OLED module 0.91” white OLED 128X32 OLED LCD LED Display Module 0.91” IIC Communicate” (aliexpress seller listing)
  • Purchased for US$2.75 (Apr-2017).
  • Currently listed for SG$1.79 + shipping (Jan-2026).
• “1-10pcs 0.91 Inch 128x32 IIC I2C White / Blue OLED LCD Display DIY Module SSD1306 Driver IC DC 3.3V 5V for arduino” (aliexpress seller listing)
  • Later purchase for SG$2.27 free shipping eligible (Dec-2025)
• SSD1306 datasheet
• Arduino Wire library