Arduino - Button Toggle LED

In a previous tutorial, We have learned how to turn on the LED if the button is pressed, and turn off LED if the button is released. In this tutorial, We are going to learn how to toggle LED each time button is pressed.

The tutorial includes two main parts:

Hardware Required

1×Arduino UNO or Genuino UNO
1×USB 2.0 cable type A/B
1×Breadboard-mount Button with Cap
1×Breadboard-mount Button Kit
1×Panel-mount Push Button
1×LED
1×220 ohm resistor
1×Breadboard
1×Jumper Wires
1×(Recommended) Screw Terminal Block Shield for Arduino Uno
1×(Recommended) Breadboard Shield For Arduino Uno
1×(Recommended) Enclosure For Arduino Uno

Or you can buy the following sensor kits:

1×DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1×DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)
Please note: These are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy the components through these links, We will get a commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate it.

About LED and Button

If you do not know about LED and button (pinout, how it works, how to program ...), learn about them in the following tutorials:

Wiring Diagram

Arduino Button LED Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Arduino Code - Button Toggles LED Without Debouncing

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-button-toggle-led */ // constants won't change const int BUTTON_PIN = 7; // Arduino pin connected to button's pin const int LED_PIN = 3; // Arduino pin connected to LED's pin // variables will change: int ledState = LOW; // the current state of LED int lastButtonState; // the previous state of button int currentButtonState; // the current state of button void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize serial pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); // set arduino pin to input pull-up mode pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT); // set arduino pin to output mode currentButtonState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); } void loop() { lastButtonState = currentButtonState; // save the last state currentButtonState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); // read new state if(lastButtonState == HIGH && currentButtonState == LOW) { Serial.println("The button is pressed"); // toggle state of LED ledState = !ledState; // control LED arccoding to the toggled state digitalWrite(LED_PIN, ledState); } }

Quick Steps

  • Connect Arduino to PC via USB cable
  • Open Arduino IDE, select the right board and port
  • Copy the above code and open with Arduino IDE
  • Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
  • Keep pressing the button several seconds and then release it.
  • See the change of LED's state

Code Explanation

Read the line-by-line explanation in comment lines of code!

In the code, ledState = !ledState is equivalent to the following code:

if(ledState == LOW) ledState = HIGH; else ledState = LOW;

※ NOTE THAT:

In practice, the above code does not work correctly sometimes. To make it always work correctly, we need to debounce for the button. Debouncing for the button is not easy for beginners. Fortunately, thanks to the ezButton library, We can do it easily.

Arduino Code - Button Toggles LED With Debouncing

Why do we need debouncing? ⇒ see Arduino - Button Debounce tutorial

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-button-toggle-led */ #include <ezButton.h> /// constants won't change const int BUTTON_PIN = 7; // the number of the pushbutton pin const int LED_PIN = 3; // the number of the LED pin ezButton button(BUTTON_PIN); // create ezButton object that attach to pin 7; // variables will change: int ledState = LOW; // the current state of LED void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize serial pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT); // set arduino pin to output mode button.setDebounceTime(50); // set debounce time to 50 milliseconds } void loop() { button.loop(); // MUST call the loop() function first if(button.isPressed()) { Serial.println("The button is pressed"); // toggle state of LED ledState = !ledState; // control LED arccoding to the toggleed sate digitalWrite(LED_PIN, ledState); } }

Quick Steps

  • Install ezButton library. See How To
  • Copy the above code and open with Arduino IDE
  • Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
  • Press button several times
  • See the change of LED's state

Video Tutorial

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Button and LED on Commercial Products

Most electronic products have a reset button. Additionally, the button also keeps other functionalities in many products.

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