PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Aki-Petteri — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:44:56 GMT

Hello, I am currently working with the same custom board as mentioned earlier in this thread with the exact same specifics and it seems this same old problem has risen again. Would you happen to have any information what couldve caused this problem? Because the problems has come back somewhere between the release of Power Profiler version v4.1.2. and the current one v4.3.1. So i am wondering if one of the newer updates have brought back any old known problem of some sorts.

Regards,
Aki-Petteri

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Arttu — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 08:31:31 GMT

After updating to Power Profiler 4.1.2 our probleblems were fixed, now we cant re-create this reboot behaviour and everything seem to work as intended.

Regards,
Arttu

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Arttu — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 10:23:15 GMT

Hi Håkon.

[quote userid="2115" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/112289/ppk2-stops-power-input-for-short-periods-of-time-in-ampere-mode-causing-device-to-reboot/490571"]Does this happen if you run the PPK2 in source meter mode and provide 3.0V to your PCB?[/quote]

The device runs normally in source mode. The problems only occur in ampere mode.

[quote userid="2115" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/112289/ppk2-stops-power-input-for-short-periods-of-time-in-ampere-mode-causing-device-to-reboot/490571"]Could it be that there is a bad connection between to/from the PPK2?[/quote]

We did run the test with 2 ppk few times, so its unlikely.

[quote userid="2115" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/112289/ppk2-stops-power-input-for-short-periods-of-time-in-ampere-mode-causing-device-to-reboot/490571"]Monitoring the voltage after the PPK2 will help here to determine what happens.[/quote]

I will get back to you after we are done testing this.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Arttu

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 10:15:08 GMT

Hi Arttu,

Thanks for explaining the scenario. If you have a boost converter, the voltage level should not be problematic.

Does this happen if you run the PPK2 in source meter mode and provide 3.0V to your PCB?

If this issue happens even at low uA current consumption, small periods of switching in resistors should not have an impact, as the total capacitance in your design should be able to handle this. Could it be that there is a bad connection between to/from the PPK2?

Monitoring the voltage after the PPK2 will help here to determine what happens.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Arttu — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 08:53:09 GMT

I forgot to mention that,

We use boost converter so it should be 3.3V at all times. boost converter accepts 400mV to 3.3V as input and should give 3.3V output. Also the Device operates completely normally without PPK. Wouldnt the brown-out power reset scenarios occur with just the battery as well if the battery would be the reason? Our tests point to ppk dropping power, not the battery.

Regards,

Arttu

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 08:24:26 GMT

Your battery's nominal voltage is on the very edge of what the hardware accepts:

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ps_nrf9160/page/recommended_op_conditions.html

Please monitor the VDD voltage while testing to ensure that it does not trigger a brown-out/power on reset scenario.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Arttu — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 07:59:55 GMT

Hi Håkon.
our battery is 3v 950mAh from minamoto, type CR2.

The reboot issue appears randomly , some times during peak current and some times just middle of sleep current. Unfortonately we dont have trace. We havent monitored Vbat because the device operates completely normally if we take PPK2 out of the circuit.

Best regards,
Arttu.

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:11:31 GMT

Hi Arttu,

Thanks for providing these details.

What type of battery are you using? You mention 3V, do you mean 3.7V?

[quote user="Acorien"]Our custom board is using nrf9160. Peak currents are up to 500mA when modem is connecting.
peak currents shouldnt matter cause ppk caused many reboots during sleep current (below 4µA).[/quote]

Is the issue when going from PSM to LTE_ACTIVE state? ie. from 4 uA to >100 mA? Do you have a trace of such a reboot-issue?

Have you tried monitoring VBAT while this occurs to see if it goes below 3.0V and triggers a brown-out reset?

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Arttu — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 13:57:16 GMT

Hi.
Our custom board is using nrf9160. Peak currents are up to 500mA when modem is connecting.
peak currents shouldnt matter cause ppk caused many reboots during sleep current (below 4µA).

Regards,
Arttu

RE: PPK2 stops power input for short periods of time in ampere mode causing device to reboot.

Håkon Alseth — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 11:22:59 GMT

Hi,

Which device is on your PCB? And what peak currents are expected in your application?

Kind regards,

Håkon