RF not working in nRF52 DK (nRF52832_xxAA_REV3)

[Prerana Diwani]

Hi all,

I'm currently working with the nRF52 DK (nRF52832_xxAA_REV3) using the nRF5 SDK version 17.1.0_ddde560 and the IAR Embedded Workbench - Arm 8.32.3 IDE. I'm facing an issue with the RF part not working in the ble_app_blinky example code located at:
nRF5_SDK_17.1.0_ddde560\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\pca10040\s132.

Before flashing the ble_app_blinky example, I have already flashed the SoftDevice S132. However, when I flash the ble_app_blinky example, it seems to hang on the sd_softdevice_enable() function during debugging and never progresses. On the other hand, when I flash the blinky example (from nRF5_SDK_17.1.0_ddde560\examples\peripheral\blinky\pca10040\s132), it works fine without any RF functionality.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue or can point out possible causes for this hang when enabling the SoftDevice? Any suggestions or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

[onserious]

"nRF5_SDK_17.1.0_ddde560\examples\Subway Surfers Online\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\pca10040\s132."

It sounds like the SoftDevice might not be properly flashed. Have you verified that the SoftDevice is correctly written to flash before flashing the application? 

[Prerana Diwani]

yes, I have read flash with nrf connect desktop after flashing soft device. so, I'm certain sure SoftDevice is correctly flashed before flashing the application. I have test this with multiple iterations. 

[Hung Bui]

Hi Prerana,
First of all, nRF52 SDK is depreciated and it's recommended to use nRF Connect SDK for new application. 

Are you testing on our DK or on your custom board ? Have you verified that you have a 32kHz crystal on the board ? 
If you don't you would need to change the clock source to RC instead of crystal. To do that you can go to sdk_config.h and change: 

NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC 0

NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV 16

NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV 2

NRFX_CLOCK_CONFIG_LF_SRC 0

CLOCK_CONFIG_LF_SRC 0