Issue with SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE and PM_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE: Power Management Callback Not Invoked

[Arthur J Sary]

Hello,

I'm working on a project using the nRF52840 and Zephyr, and I'm experiencing an issue when trying to use device power management (PM) with a custom sensor driver.
Environment:

• nRF Connect SDK v2.5.2

• Toolchains v2.7.0

• IDE: nRF Connect for VS Code extension

I am attaching a minimal project that reproduces the problem to facilitate support.

Device Definition

I am defining the device as follows in my driver:

#define KX132_SPI(inst) \
    (.spi = SPI_DT_SPEC_INST_GET(inst, SPI_OP_MODE_MASTER | \
        SPI_MODE_CPOL | SPI_TRANSFER_MSB | SPI_MODE_CPHA | SPI_WORD_SET(8), 0), )

#define KX132_DEFINE(inst) \
    static struct kx132_data kx132_data_##inst; \
    static const struct kx132_device_config kx132_device_config_##inst = { \
        COND_CODE_1(DT_INST_ON_BUS(inst, spi), KX132_SPI(inst), ()) \
    }; \
    PM_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE(inst, kx132_pm_action); \
    SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE(inst, kx132_init, PM_DEVICE_DT_INST_GET(inst), \
        &kx132_data_##inst, &kx132_device_config_##inst, APPLICATION, \
        CONFIG_SENSOR_INIT_PRIORITY, &kx132_driver_api);

This should correctly register the device with a power management callback (kx132_pm_action).
I'm also logging the following config macros at runtime to ensure they are enabled:

#ifdef CONFIG_PM_DEVICE
LOG_INF("CONFIG_PM_DEVICE");
#endif
#ifdef CONFIG_PM
LOG_INF("CONFIG_PM");
#endif
#ifdef CONFIG_PM_DEVICE_RUNTIME
LOG_INF("CONFIG_PM_DEVICE_RUNTIME");
#endif

All of these are active in my configuration and appear in the log during startup.

---

The Issue

When I attempt to turn off the device using the following code:

if (!device_is_ready(sensor)) {
    LOG_ERR("Sensor device not ready");
    return -ENODEV;
}

LOG_INF("Pointer do sensor: %p, nome: %s", sensor, sensor->name);

enum pm_device_state state;
int st_ret = pm_device_state_get(sensor, &state);
LOG_INF("Estado atual do sensor: %d, ret: %d", state, st_ret);

LOG_INF("Chamando PM_DEVICE_ACTION_TURN_OFF para o sensor");
int ret = pm_device_action_run(sensor, PM_DEVICE_ACTION_TURN_OFF);
LOG_INF("Resultado do PM_DEVICE_ACTION_TURN_OFF: %d", ret);

return ret;

I get the following log output:

<inf> ACCEL: Pointer do sensor: 0x35a44, nome: kx132@1
<inf> ACCEL: Estado atual do sensor: 0, ret: 0
<inf> ACCEL: Chamando PM_DEVICE_ACTION_TURN_OFF para o sensor
<inf> ACCEL: Resultado do PM_DEVICE_ACTION_TURN_OFF: -134

• The pointer and device name match as expected.

• The state of the device is ACTIVE (0).

• However, calling pm_device_action_run() always returns -134 (-ENOTSUP).

• The callback function kx132_pm_action() is never called (no log inside it appears).

What I Expect

• I expect the PM callback (kx132_pm_action) to be called when I run pm_device_action_run(), but this does not happen.

• All PM macros are enabled, the device is properly registered, and the device pointer is correct.

• If I register the device using DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE instead of SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE, the PM callback is called as expected.

---

Suspected Problem

It seems that SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE (and possibly SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_DEFINE) is not properly associating the PM structure with the device, or Zephyr is not enabling PM for this sensor device, despite all settings appearing to be correct.

---

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use the macros shown above in a sensor driver.

2. Build with CONFIG_PM, CONFIG_PM_DEVICE, and CONFIG_PM_DEVICE_RUNTIME enabled.

3. Call pm_device_action_run() for the sensor device.

4. Observe that the PM callback is not called and the return is always -ENOTSUP.

---

Could you clarify if this is a bug, a missing configuration, or if there are additional requirements for enabling PM for sensors defined with SENSOR_DEVICE_DT_INST_DEFINE?

I'm attaching the minimal project that reproduces the issue.

Thanks in advance!

pm_device.zip