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WS2813

1-wire RGB · WorldSemi · ws281x

Channels
RGB
Bits / channel
8
Supply ≠
3.5–5.3 V
PWM
2 kHz
Backup data
yes
Packages
4

Datasheets disagree

The sources we hold state different values for the facts below. Rather than pick one quietly, both sides are listed with where each was read. Check the datasheet for the exact part number and revision you are buying. How this is shown.

Reset period

The WS2813 sheet quotes two reset times, and later sheets a third.

What each source says about reset period
SourceSaysPage
ws2813 "250 us or more of reset time" (feature text) 2
ws2813 RES 300 µs or more (timing table) 5
ws2813b-v5-c965558 RES 280 µs or more 3
FastLED led_timing.h (driver-tuned) 300 µs —

What we show. 300 µs (the table) is shown for the original sheet, and 280 µs is recorded as a second datasheet set. 300 µs or more satisfies all of them.

Bit timing

FastLED drives the WS2813 below the datasheet’s stated T1H minimum, and later sheets widen the windows.

What each source says about bit timing
SourceSaysPage
ws2813 T0H 300–450 ns, T1H 750–1000 ns 5
ws2813b-v5-c965558 T0H 220–380 ns, T1H 580 ns–1 µs 3
FastLED led_timing.h (driver-tuned) T0H 320 ns, T1H 640 ns —

What we show. The datasheet sets are listed in the timing table, the older first, with FastLED’s values labelled as driver-tuned. 640 ns works in practice but is not a specification.

Supply voltage

Supply range differs by sheet generation.

What each source says about supply voltage
SourceSaysPage
ws2813 VDD +3.5 to +5.3 V 4
ws2813b-v5-c965558 VCC +3.7 to +5.3 V 2
ws2813b-mini-v6-c55629351 VCC +3.3 to +5.3 V 2

What we show. The original sheet’s range is shown (previously the catalogue showed 4.5 to 5.5 V, which is only the test condition in the electrical table, not a supply rating).

Adds a backup data line: each LED receives data from both its immediate predecessor and the one before that, so a single dead LED does not blank the rest of the run. Worth it for installations you cannot easily reach.

Refresh & flicker

Higher PWM frequency than WS2812B, so less camera flicker.

Timing

Sources disagree. This is normal and worth understanding: FastLED's numbers are tuned to drive real parts reliably, including clones, while the datasheet gives the manufacturer's nominal figures. Both are recorded here rather than picking one and hiding the conflict.

WS2813 bit timingWS2813 bit timing: a zero bit is 375 nanoseconds high then 875 low; a one bit is 875 high then 375 low; tolerance plus or minus 300 nanoseconds; reset 300 microseconds low1 · Bit encoding, to scaleDINhighlowbit 0 period 1250 nsbit 1 period 1250 nsT0H 375 ±300 nsT1H 875 ±300 nsT0L 875 ±300 nsT1L 375 ±300 ns"0" bit"1" bit02505007501000125015001750200022502500time, ns± tolerance on each falling edge2 · One frame: 24 bits, most-significant bit firstDIN170110010007100110101700101100bitG · 8 bitsR · 8 bitsB · 8 bitsWire order GRB · frame = 24 × ~1250 ns ≈ 30 µs · example data, first bits 1 0 1 …3 · RESET / latchlast bits of frame 1first bits of frame 2LEDs latch the data they receivedRESET: DIN low ≥ 300 µs (not to scale)4 · Cascade: each DOUT feeds the next DINMCULED 1DINDOUTLED 2DINDOUTLED NDINDOUTLED 1 keeps the first 24 bits, re-shapes the signal and sends the rest out on DOUT;LED 2 keeps the next 24, and so on. The last LED's DOUT is left unconnected.BIN (backup): tied to the previous pixel's DIN
T0H 375 / T0L 875 · T1H 875 / T1L 375 ns · ±300 ns · period 1250 ns · reset 300 µs source: datasheet
SourceT0HT0LT1HT1LPeriodRateReset±
fastled ↗ 320 ns 960 ns 640 ns 640 ns 1280 ns 781 kHz 300 µs —
datasheet ↗ 375 ns — 875 ns — 1250 ns 800 kHz 300 µs 300 ns
The datasheet gives RANGES, not nominals: T0H 300-450 ns and T1H 750-1000 ns; the values here are their midpoints. T0L and T1L are printed as “300ns~100us” - an open-ended minimum rather than a range, so they are recorded as unknown rather than invented. Note that FastLED drives T1H at 640 ns, which is BELOW the datasheet’s 750 ns minimum; it works in practice on real parts, but it is out of spec on paper.
datasheet ↗ 300 ns 790 ns 790 ns 790 ns 1250 ns 800 kHz 280 µs —
A LATER, DIFFERENT table from the 2016 one above, and the one LCSC’s current WS2813 sheets carry: T0H 220-380 ns, T0L 580 ns-1 us, T1H 580 ns-1 us, T1L 580 ns-1 us, reset above 280 us (the 2016 sheet: T0H 300-450 ns, T1H 750-1000 ns, reset 300 us). Midpoints are recorded; the 1250 ns period is the minimum data cycle printed in the sheet. The WS2813B-2121 and -C-2020 sheets also print typical values of 340/680/820/820 ns. Whether the silicon changed or only the documentation did is unknown. The newer sheets also state a 3.7-5.3 V (V6: 3.3-5.3 V) supply against the original sheet’s 3.5-5.3 V shown here. The preferred set shown on the site remains the first datasheet set.

Clones & compatibility

“Compatible” is never stated bare here — each relationship carries how strong the claim is, and what bites if you assume too much.

  • near clone WS2812B

    Close enough that libraries drive it with WS2812 timings, but it needs a longer reset (300 us) and has a second data input, so it is a 5-pin part on strip. Not pin-compatible.

  • electrically similar of this Amicc SC5050A-B01 (backup input)

    Inferred from the sheet's own features and numbers; Amicc never names WorldSemi or WS2813. It has a backup signal input (BIN, "备份信号输入脚") and a breakpoint-resume feature, the pads sit in the same positions as the catalogue's WS2813 5050 (DIN, GND, BIN down the left column; DO, VDD, NC down the right, NC at the cut corner), and its normal-mode figures (T0H 300 ns, reset 280 us, T1H and T0L in a 580 ns to 1 us window) match WorldSemi's newer WS2813 table. T1L, however, is 300 +/-100 ns where the WorldSemi table has 580 ns to 1 us, and colour order is GRB. Supply is 3.7-5.3 V. Not tested.

  • protocol compatible of this WS2814

    Same timing family and backup line, but four channels rather than three.

  • near clone of this WS2815

    Same backup-data-line concept, but 12 V and a different bit period. Do not assume WS2813 timings will drive it.

  • electrically similar of this WS2816

    Both have a backup (breakpoint-resume) data line in the 6-pin and 6-pad packages, but the WS2816 frame is 48 bits per pixel against 24, so the data stream is not interchangeable. The 4-pin and 5-pin WS2816 variants have no backup input at all.

Library support

FastLED
WS2813 ↗
Adafruit_NeoPixel
NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800
WLED
WS281x

Parts using this protocol

Dating evidence

Evidence, not a release date. A library commit proves the part existed by that date and says nothing about how long before.

  • 2016-05 datasheet revision WS2813 datasheet published by Normand Electronic; the month is taken from the publisher's own upload path (/upload/201605/) ↗ month
  • 2016-07-18 first library support FastLED — first commit introducing WS2813 ↗ day
  • 2018-01-10 first library support WLED — first commit introducing WS2813 ↗ day