diff --git a/wled00/const.h b/wled00/const.h
index b1265879d7..1a458bd619 100644
--- a/wled00/const.h
+++ b/wled00/const.h
@@ -474,8 +474,8 @@
 
 //this is merely a default now and can be changed at runtime
 #ifndef LEDPIN
-#if defined(ESP8266) || (defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32) && defined(WLED_USE_PSRAM)) || defined(CONFIG_IDF_TARGET_ESP32C3)
-  #define LEDPIN 2    // GPIO2 (D4) on Wemos D1 mini compatible boards
+#if defined(ESP8266) || (defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32) && defined(WLED_USE_PSRAM)) || defined(CONFIG_IDF_TARGET_ESP32C3) || defined(ARDUINO_ESP32_PICO)
+  #define LEDPIN 2    // GPIO2 (D4) on Wemos D1 mini compatible boards, and on boards where GPIO16 is not available
 #else
   #define LEDPIN 16   // aligns with GPIO2 (D4) on Wemos D1 mini32 compatible boards
 #endif
diff --git a/wled00/wled.cpp b/wled00/wled.cpp
index bbd47b75cc..97a8a3e48f 100644
--- a/wled00/wled.cpp
+++ b/wled00/wled.cpp
@@ -381,6 +381,11 @@ void WLED::setup()
     if (!pDoc) pDoc = &gDoc; // just in case ... (it should be globally assigned)
     DEBUG_PRINTLN(F("PSRAM not used."));
   #endif
+#endif
+#if defined(ARDUINO_ESP32_PICO)
+// special handling for PICO-D4: gpio16+17 are in use for onboard SPI FLASH (not PSRAM)
+managed_pin_type pins[] = { {16, true}, {17, true} };
+pinManager.allocateMultiplePins(pins, sizeof(pins)/sizeof(managed_pin_type), PinOwner::SPI_RAM);
 #endif
 
   //DEBUG_PRINT(F("LEDs inited. heap usage ~"));