BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Hung Bui — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 09:10:03 GMT

Hi Morpho,
I don't know what causing the issue. But if you can reproduce the problem with ble_app_hrs_freertos then it's easier to track down what could be wrong. We don't know if using C++ compiler can cause any problem.

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 19:17:02 GMT

But why do you think I should try ble_app_hrs_freertos though? Are you saying FreeRTOS is causing this issue?

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Hung Bui — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:01:04 GMT

Hi Morpho,

My suggestion is still testing with the sample first.
I would start with the ble_app_hrs_freertos.
If you can make it work converting to C++ , you can start changing the service to your custom service, following what we did in ble_app_uart.

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 23:38:12 GMT

It already is registered

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Hung Bui — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 09:29:50 GMT

Hi Morpho,
Then you need to look into if ble_cus_on_ble_evt() has been registered as the BLE Observer or not.
Please take a look at the ble_app_hrs_freertos example. It's declared here in ble_hrs.h:

My suggestion is to try base your application on an example and then modify it for your need. This way you can always fallback when you see it doesn't work as it should.

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:18:02 GMT

It doesn't crash and that's what I'm saying; I put a breakpoint in ble_cus_on_ble_evt() and it didn't get there. The application is running fine (I am able to get sensor readings running in a separate task)

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Hung Bui — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:06:53 GMT

Hi Morpho,

ble_cus_on_ble_evt() should be invoked when there is an BLE event, for example connection request. However, if the program crash before that, or if it stuck in some infinite loop of other *_on_ble_evt() then it will not be able to come to ble_cus_on_ble_evt().
So what you need to do is to try debug it and see if it stuck some where or it crashed.
You can also try to remove some of the features, try to make it as similar as possible to the example to see why your application doesn't work.

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 21:00:10 GMT

Sorry, was on vacation.

Please refer to the screenshot I attached in my first response to Jared; I was able to see the advertisement however the connection doesn't happen upon pressing the Connect button on top right. Shouldn't ble_cus_on_ble_evt be invoked upon a Connection request?

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Hung Bui — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 10:45:38 GMT

Hi Morpho,

I'm taking over the case from Jared.

I just want to clarify, when you don't call custom_value_char_add() you can see the device advertise and you can connect to it ?

When you call custom_value_char_add() you don't see the device advertise ?

Most likely there were an assert when calling custom_value_char_add(), have you tried to step into the code and make sure there is no assert ? All error code return NRF_SUCCESS ?

If you are building application in C++ and FreeRTOS, my suggestion is to base your application on one of our example instead of following the tutorial.
This way you have a working example to convert to C++ and add FreeRTOS.
For custom service and characteristic , please take a look at the ble_app_uart example

For FreeRTOS, please take a look at ble_app_hrs_freertos.

But my suggestion is to start with the basic first before you add advanced feature or something we don't support out of the box, like C++ for example.

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 15:53:16 GMT

I got this error earlier but I think I was able to resolve by 1) ensuring I am using C++ compiler 2) commenting out references to UARTE0_UART0_IRQHandler in nrfx_irqs_nrf52840.h

Following is my preprocessor list under Common configs:

../../../config
../../../../../../components
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_advertising
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_dtm
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_racp
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_ancs_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_ans_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_bas
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_bas_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_cscs
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_cts_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_dfu
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_dis
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_gls
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_hids
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_hrs
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_hrs_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_hts
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_ias
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_ias_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_lbs
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_lbs_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_lls
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_nus
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_nus_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_rscs
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_rscs_c
../../../../../../components/ble/ble_services/ble_tps
../../../../../../components/ble/common
../../../../../../components/ble/nrf_ble_gatt
../../../../../../components/ble/nrf_ble_qwr
../../../../../../components/ble/peer_manager
../../../../../../components/boards
../../../../../../components/libraries/atomic
../../../../../../components/libraries/atomic_fifo
../../../../../../components/libraries/atomic_flags
../../../../../../components/libraries/balloc
../../../../../../components/libraries/bootloader/ble_dfu
../../../../../../components/libraries/bsp
../../../../../../components/libraries/button
../../../../../../components/libraries/cli
../../../../../../components/libraries/crc16
../../../../../../components/libraries/crc32
../../../../../../components/libraries/crypto
../../../../../../components/libraries/csense
../../../../../../components/libraries/csense_drv
../../../../../../components/libraries/delay
../../../../../../components/libraries/ecc
../../../../../../components/libraries/experimental_section_vars
../../../../../../components/libraries/experimental_task_manager
../../../../../../components/libraries/fds
../../../../../../components/libraries/fstorage
../../../../../../components/libraries/gfx
../../../../../../components/libraries/gpiote
../../../../../../components/libraries/hardfault
../../../../../../components/libraries/hardfault/nrf52
../../../../../../components/libraries/hci
../../../../../../components/libraries/led_softblink
../../../../../../components/libraries/log
../../../../../../components/libraries/log/src
../../../../../../components/libraries/low_power_pwm
../../../../../../components/libraries/mem_manager
../../../../../../components/libraries/memobj
../../../../../../components/libraries/mpu
../../../../../../components/libraries/mutex
../../../../../../components/libraries/pwm
../../../../../../components/libraries/pwr_mgmt
../../../../../../components/libraries/queue
../../../../../../components/libraries/ringbuf
../../../../../../components/libraries/scheduler
../../../../../../components/libraries/sdcard
../../../../../../components/libraries/sensorsim
../../../../../../components/libraries/slip
../../../../../../components/libraries/sortlist
../../../../../../components/libraries/spi_mngr
../../../../../../components/libraries/stack_guard
../../../../../../components/libraries/strerror
../../../../../../components/libraries/svc
../../../../../../components/libraries/timer
../../../../../../components/libraries/twi_mngr
../../../../../../components/libraries/twi_sensor
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/audio
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/cdc
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/cdc/acm
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/hid
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/hid/generic
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/hid/kbd
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/hid/mouse
../../../../../../components/libraries/usbd/class/msc
../../../../../../components/libraries/util
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/conn_hand_parser
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/conn_hand_parser/ac_rec_parser
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/conn_hand_parser/ble_oob_advdata_parser
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/conn_hand_parser/le_oob_rec_parser
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/ac_rec
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/ble_oob_advdata
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/ble_pair_lib
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/ble_pair_msg
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/common
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/ep_oob_rec
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/hs_rec
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/connection_handover/le_oob_rec
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/generic/message
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/generic/record
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/launchapp
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/parser/message
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/parser/record
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/text
../../../../../../components/nfc/ndef/uri
../../../../../../components/nfc/platform
../../../../../../components/nfc/t2t_lib
../../../../../../components/nfc/t2t_parser
../../../../../../components/nfc/t4t_lib
../../../../../../components/nfc/t4t_parser/apdu
../../../../../../components/nfc/t4t_parser/cc_file
../../../../../../components/nfc/t4t_parser/hl_detection_procedure
../../../../../../components/nfc/t4t_parser/tlv
../../../../../../components/softdevice/common
../../../../../../components/softdevice/s140/headers
../../../../../../components/softdevice/s140/headers/nrf52
../../../../../../components/toolchain/cmsis/include
../../../../../../external/fprintf
../../../../../../external/freertos/config
../../../../../../external/freertos/portable/CMSIS/nrf52
../../../../../../external/freertos/portable/GCC/nrf52
../../../../../../external/freertos/source/include
../../../../../../external/segger_rtt
../../../../../../external/utf_converter
../../../../../../integration/nrfx
../../../../../../integration/nrfx/legacy
../../../../../../modules/nrfx
../../../../../../modules/nrfx/drivers/include
../../../../../../modules/nrfx/hal
../../../../../../modules/nrfx/mdk
../config

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Jared — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 11:25:53 GMT

Hi,

Does the project build for you successfully?

I get this error which is usually due to the sdk_config.h not being set correctly or the drivers that contain multiple definitions of the IRQ handler being included simultaneously,

Is there some missing configuration from your part?

I also see that you use C++ and FreeRTOS in this project,

regards
Jared

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 06:49:05 GMT

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../smart_5F00_watch.zip

You can extract this zip in <SDK>/examples/ble_peripheral. It's nRF5_SDK_17.1.0_ddde560

And yes NRF_SDH_BLE_VS_UUID_COUNT is 1

And I have followed the steps; it's just not exact service name and possibly few minor changes.

I think we should be able to narrow down the issue as to what could potentially cause the service to not advertise

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Jared — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 12:53:02 GMT

Hi,

Did you increase the

NRF_SDH_BLE_VS_UUID_COUNT?

Also, when you followed the guide without any modifications, you were able to see the service after adding custom_value_char_add() right?

Can you share a minimal project that will reproduce the issue on the nRF52 development kit, you can upload the project as a zip, just drag and drop it into the reply box,

Could you also specify where in the SDK I should put the project for it to build successfully,

thank,

regards

Jared

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 14:59:50 GMT

[quote userid="73165" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/102623/ble-service-not-advertising-if-characteristics-are-added/440758"]I see that you're using a custom application, can you try to use our nRF Connect app instead?[/quote]

1. I am already using it as a Central; custom BLE service is set up as peripheral on the nRF Board

Well, it's not that I don't see the service at all; it's just I don't see it when custom_value_char_add() is added. Do you see anything wrong in the snippet? I can also attach the project.
Thanks

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Jared — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 13:22:12 GMT

Hi there,

[quote user=""]Thing that I notice is: if I don't invoke custom_value_char_add(), I'm able to see the service advertised in nRF Connect app, however if I invoke it, I don't see it. I don't see the returns of any SD functions ending in an error either.
[/quote]

So I've followed the same tutorial, and I was still able to the custom service after connection when adding custom_value_char_add(). Two questions;

I see that you're using a custom application, can you try to use our nRF Connect app instead?
If you follow the steps in the tutorial with no modifications, do you still not see the custom service after connecting in step 4?

Note, that you have to turn on auto discovery in the nRF Connect mobile app when scanning for the service to show,

regards

Jared

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

morpho — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 18:59:44 GMT

Program isn't asserting

It seems to only advertise when I don't invoke custom_value_char_add, and pressing the "Connect" option, it remains "Connecting".

Does that tell you something?

So questions remain:

1. Why could not adding characteristics to the BLE service prevent it from advertising?

2. Upon running in debug mode, ble_cus_on_ble_evt() doesn't get invoked upon Connecting. Shouldn't it?

Also I have noted that when I use APP_ERROR_CHECK, or VERIFY_SUCCESS, program ends up in a weird state (sometimes nrf_log_frontend) due to logger

Here's a gist for custom_service: https://gist.github.com/huzzziiii/51252a15dac42c52535c75ff03a3156f

RE: BLE service not advertising if characteristics are added

Jared — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 09:23:00 GMT

Hi,

Are you saying that the customer service is no longer shown in the advertised packet after "Step4 Adding a Custom Value Characteristic to the Custom Service?"

[quote user=""]Could there be a potential issue in GATT? Any starting points for debugging?[/quote]

Are there any signs of the program asserting? Does it advertise, are you able to connect to it and see the custom service as shown in the instructions?

regards

Jared