TRMNL X is our larger ePaper display, with a 10.3 inch screen that shows 16 shades of gray, a touch bar below the screen, and the freedom to hang it in portrait or landscape. This page covers what makes the X different and points you to the right article for each topic.

Everything you already know from the TRMNL OG still applies, because you add plugins, build playlists and change settings in the same web app as before. The differences live in the hardware, the screen and a handful of device settings.

For the nerds, the full list lives on the TRMNL X spec sheet.

Start by attaching the round charging dock to the back of the X, which is magnetic and snaps into place on its own. Plug a USB-C cable into the dock and the other end into power, and the device should boot within a few seconds. If nothing happens, rotate the dock 45 degrees and give it a few more seconds.

From there, connect to the "TRMNL" Wi-Fi network from your phone, enter your home network, and register the 6 digit Friendly ID on your account. How to set up a new device walks through each screen and has a section dedicated to the X.

Instead of a button on the back, the X has a touch bar along the bottom edge that is split into three zones: left, middle and right.

When you touch the bar, the screen fades and draws a box where your finger landed, so you know what the X thought you did: a white box means a short press and a black box means a hold. Getting to Know your TRMNL X's Touch Bar has the details, including how to change tap to swipe.

The X shows landscape by default. To turn it on its side, open your device settings, go to Presentation, set Screen Rotation to Portrait and save, and the screen becomes 1404 pixels wide and 1872 pixels tall.

Your playlist won't flip all at once, because each plugin draws a new portrait screen at its next refresh. For private plugins and installed recipes you can speed this up with Force Refresh on the plugin settings page, and Portrait mode covers the rest.

The X has three color palettes to choose from: 16 Grays (4-bit), 4 Grays (2-bit) and Black & White (1-bit), and a new X starts on 16 Grays. More grays make photos and charts look their best, while fewer grays mean smaller images, faster screen changes and longer battery life, so the right pick depends on what you show.

You set the palette for the whole device in device settings, and you can override it for any single playlist item. Understanding Color Palettes explains the trade-offs in more depth.

The X runs on one or two 6000 mAh batteries, and a gauge chip inside reports the charge to a tenth of a percent, so the number you see on your device's battery settings page is the real deal and not a rough guess.

The low battery email is on by default for a new X, and we send it when the charge drops below 15%, at most once a day. If you'd rather not hear from us, you can turn it off or send it to another address on that same page.

How long a charge lasts depends on your refresh rate and palette, and charging times for each battery size are in the Device battery FAQ. If you're storing or shipping the X, turn it off first.

Existing plugins work on the X without any changes, because the X lays each plugin out at 1040 x 780 and then scales it up 1.8 times to fill the screen.

If you build plugins, the TRMNL X guide in our framework docs covers the larger sizes, portrait layouts and 4-bit grays. Community recipes published since January 17, 2026 must support portrait, and the Grayscale article lists the gray classes for each bit depth.

No X yet? With a BYOD license you can pick TRMNL X as the device model and test your plugin at its size before you ever hold one.

Not sure what is wrong? Our troubleshooter walks you through the fix in a couple of minutes.

The X is not broadcasting the TRMNL network?

Some early units shipped with firmware 1.7.5, so update the firmware first. See TRMNL X Not Broadcasting TRMNL Network.

Portrait is set, but a plugin still shows landscape?

Force Refresh the plugin, then save the orientation again. See TRMNL X in Portrait Mode Shows Landscape Screen.

The bottom third of the screen shows noisy squares?

This was a firmware bug that we fixed in v1.8.15, so update your firmware. See TRMNL X image is corrupted over one-third of the screen.

A hold registers as a tap, or a press fires too early?

The touch bar needs recalibrating, and a soft reboot takes care of it. The touch bar article above has more.

Nothing happens when you plug in the dock?

Rotate the dock 45 degrees on the back of the X and wait a few seconds.