BLE_APP_UART Problem

[Avesta]

I am designing a wearable device that uses BLE and UART. During the development stage, I worked with the nRF52 Development Kit and started with the ble_app_uart example from nRF5_SDK 17.1.0_ddde560. Everything worked properly at that stage.

Next, I designed my own PCB. As a reference, I used a Chinese module (XL52832.D01). This module also worked correctly. However, when I assembled the components on my custom PCB, some issues appeared.

Most of the BLE peripheral examples, such as ble_app_blinky and other peripheral demos, run without problems on my PCB. But ble_app_uart does not work. I tried changing many parameters and tested both the 32 MHz and 32.768 kHz oscillators. I could not find any hardware fault, yet ble_app_uart still fails to run.

I then checked the ERRATA documentation for possible causes. Eventually, I noticed something related to IC revisions. To investigate further, I ordered different revisions (E0, E1, and G0). None of them worked. Surprisingly, only revision B0 — the one used in the XL52832 module — works properly on my PCB.

Could you please help me understand why revision B0 works on my PCB while the others do not? And more importantly, how can I resolve this issue so that my design is compatible with all revisions?

Best regards,

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi,

SDK 17.1.0 is compatible with all nRF52832 revisions (except for the Engineering revisions). It seems unlikely that the revision is what made the difference here, so I think debugging is needed to understand the issue.

When you write that "ble_app_uart does not work", what exactly does that mean? How does it behave? How have you debugged, and what did you learn from debugging?

[Avesta]

Hello Einar Thorsrud,

 

I appreciate your support. I can successfully flash and run several BLE examples like ble_app_blinky, ble_app_cscs, and ble_app_bps. For these, I can connect via the nRF Connect app, control LEDs (e.g., turn them ON/OFF), and observe proper behavior, including the BLE connect LED indicating a successful connection.

 

However, when I flash the ble_app_uart example, the device does not advertise. The BLE connect LED stays off, and during scanning with nRF Connect, the "NORDIC_UART" device does not appear.

 

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

Hardware Verification: I inspected the board for potential faults (e.g., soldering issues, component placement), but found no obvious problems. Since other BLE examples work fine, the hardware seems functional for basic BLE operations.

 

Debugging with Logs: To identify the failure point, I added NRF_LOG_INFO statements throughout the initialization in main.c and used the SEGGER RTT Viewer for output. Here's the modified code snippet for reference:

 

// Initialize.

NRF_LOG_INFO("Program started.");

uart_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("UART initialized.");

log_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Log initialized.");

timers_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Timers initialized.");

buttons_leds_init(&erase_bonds);

NRF_LOG_INFO("Buttons and LEDs initialized.");

power_management_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Power management initialized.");

ble_stack_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("BLE stack initialized.");

gap_params_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("GAP params initialized.");

gatt_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("GATT initialized.");

services_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Services initialized.");

advertising_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Advertising initialized.");

conn_params_init();

NRF_LOG_INFO("Connection params initialized.");

 

// Start execution.

printf("\r\nUART started.\r\n");

NRF_LOG_INFO("Debug logging for UART over RTT started.");

NRF_LOG_INFO("Advertising started.");

advertising_start();

 

// Enter main loop.

for (;;)

{

    idle_state_handle();

}

Initial RTT Output:

00> <info> app: Program started.

00>

00> <info> app: UART initialized.

00>

00> <info> app: Log initialized.

00>

00> <info> app_timer: RTC: initialized.

00>

00> <info> app: Timers initialized.

00>

• <error> app: Fatal error.

 

This suggests the crash occurs after timers_init() but before buttons_leds_init().

Further Testing: I commented out the buttons_leds_init() call and its log statement to isolate the issue. The updated RTT output was:

00> <info> app: Program started.

00>

00> <info> app: UART initialized.

00>

00> <info> app: Log initialized.

00>

00> <info> app_timer: RTC: initialized.

00>

00> <info> app: Timers initialized.

00>

00> <info> app: Power management initialized.

00>

00> <error> app: Fatal error

00>

Now the crash appears after power_management_init() but before ble_stack_init(). This points to a potential issue in ble_stack_init() when buttons_leds_init() is skipped.

Configuration Changes: I modified sdk_config.h to change NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC (e.g., switching between RC, XTAL, etc.), but this did not resolve the problem—the behavior remained the same.

It is noteworthy that when I replaced the original nRF52832-QFAA-B0 chip with a new nRF52832-QFAA-E0 on the XL52832-D01 board, the behavior of the XL52832-D01, which had previously functioned correctly, changed and began exhibiting issues similar to those observed with my custom PCB.

It seems initialization-related, possibly tied to SoftDevice enabling, clock configuration, or resource allocation. Any suggestions for capturing the specific error code (e.g., modifying app_error_handler) or other debugging steps would be greatly appreciated!

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi,

I see. "Fatal error" is printed from the default error handler. Can you build a debug build where you have "DEBUG" defined and run again? Then the log should print the file name, line number and error code which will give us more information (see also An introduction to error handling in nRF5 projects for details on this). When you have that, can you let me know edactly which function call returns which error code?

[Avesta]

Thank you, Einar Thorsrud.

I rebuilt the project. With DEBUG enabled, I get NRF_ERROR_NO_MEM in APP_UART_COMMUNICATION_ERROR as below:
This happens when using ble_app_uart on my custom PCB. Other examples (like ble_app_blinky) work fine.

00> <info> app_timer: RTC: initialized.
00>
00> <error> app: ERROR 4 [NRF_ERROR_NO_MEM] at ..\..\..\main.c:560
00>
00> PC at: 0x0002C22
00>
00> <error> app: End of error report

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi,

There is no errror check on line 560 in ble_app_blinky main.c so it seems like you ahve modified the project. Can you share your modified project? (Prefrably the whole project, but at least let me know the code around line 560 so that we know which function returned the error code.

[Avesta]

Hi,

Thanks for the follow-up. I think there has been a misunderstanding: my issue is with ble_app_uart, not ble_app_blinky.
The ble_app_blinky example actually works fine on my custom PCB without any problems.
The error I reported (line 560 with APP_UART_COMMUNICATION_ERROR) comes from ble_app_uart, not blinky.

Best wishes.

.

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/** @file
 *
 * @defgroup ble_sdk_uart_over_ble_main main.c
 * @{
 * @ingroup  ble_sdk_app_nus_eval
 * @brief    UART over BLE application main file.
 *
 * This file contains the source code for a sample application that uses the Nordic UART service.
 * This application uses the @ref srvlib_conn_params module.
 */


#include <stdint.h>
#include <string.h>
#include "nordic_common.h"
#include "nrf.h"
#include "ble_hci.h"
#include "ble_advdata.h"
#include "ble_advertising.h"
#include "ble_conn_params.h"
#include "nrf_sdh.h"
#include "nrf_sdh_soc.h"
#include "nrf_sdh_ble.h"
#include "nrf_ble_gatt.h"
#include "nrf_ble_qwr.h"
#include "app_timer.h"
#include "ble_nus.h"
#include "app_uart.h"
#include "app_util_platform.h"
#include "bsp_btn_ble.h"
#include "nrf_pwr_mgmt.h"

#if defined (UART_PRESENT)
#include "nrf_uart.h"
#endif
#if defined (UARTE_PRESENT)
#include "nrf_uarte.h"
#endif

#include "nrf_log.h"
#include "nrf_log_ctrl.h"
#include "nrf_log_default_backends.h"

#define APP_BLE_CONN_CFG_TAG            1                                           /**< A tag identifying the SoftDevice BLE configuration. */

#define DEVICE_NAME                     "Nordic_UART"                               /**< Name of device. Will be included in the advertising data. */
#define NUS_SERVICE_UUID_TYPE           BLE_UUID_TYPE_VENDOR_BEGIN                  /**< UUID type for the Nordic UART Service (vendor specific). */

#define APP_BLE_OBSERVER_PRIO           3                                           /**< Application's BLE observer priority. You shouldn't need to modify this value. */

#define APP_ADV_INTERVAL                64                                          /**< The advertising interval (in units of 0.625 ms. This value corresponds to 40 ms). */

#define APP_ADV_DURATION                18000                                       /**< The advertising duration (180 seconds) in units of 10 milliseconds. */

#define MIN_CONN_INTERVAL               MSEC_TO_UNITS(20, UNIT_1_25_MS)             /**< Minimum acceptable connection interval (20 ms), Connection interval uses 1.25 ms units. */
#define MAX_CONN_INTERVAL               MSEC_TO_UNITS(75, UNIT_1_25_MS)             /**< Maximum acceptable connection interval (75 ms), Connection interval uses 1.25 ms units. */
#define SLAVE_LATENCY                   0                                           /**< Slave latency. */
#define CONN_SUP_TIMEOUT                MSEC_TO_UNITS(4000, UNIT_10_MS)             /**< Connection supervisory timeout (4 seconds), Supervision Timeout uses 10 ms units. */
#define FIRST_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_DELAY  APP_TIMER_TICKS(5000)                       /**< Time from initiating event (connect or start of notification) to first time sd_ble_gap_conn_param_update is called (5 seconds). */
#define NEXT_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_DELAY   APP_TIMER_TICKS(30000)                      /**< Time between each call to sd_ble_gap_conn_param_update after the first call (30 seconds). */
#define MAX_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_COUNT    3                                           /**< Number of attempts before giving up the connection parameter negotiation. */

#define DEAD_BEEF                       0xDEADBEEF                                  /**< Value used as error code on stack dump, can be used to identify stack location on stack unwind. */

#define UART_TX_BUF_SIZE                256                                         /**< UART TX buffer size. */
#define UART_RX_BUF_SIZE                256                                        /**< UART RX buffer size. */


BLE_NUS_DEF(m_nus, NRF_SDH_BLE_TOTAL_LINK_COUNT);                                   /**< BLE NUS service instance. */
NRF_BLE_GATT_DEF(m_gatt);                                                           /**< GATT module instance. */
NRF_BLE_QWR_DEF(m_qwr);                                                             /**< Context for the Queued Write module.*/
BLE_ADVERTISING_DEF(m_advertising);                                                 /**< Advertising module instance. */

static uint16_t   m_conn_handle          = BLE_CONN_HANDLE_INVALID;                 /**< Handle of the current connection. */
static uint16_t   m_ble_nus_max_data_len = BLE_GATT_ATT_MTU_DEFAULT - 3;            /**< Maximum length of data (in bytes) that can be transmitted to the peer by the Nordic UART service module. */
static ble_uuid_t m_adv_uuids[]          =                                          /**< Universally unique service identifier. */
{
    {BLE_UUID_NUS_SERVICE, NUS_SERVICE_UUID_TYPE}
};


/**@brief Function for assert macro callback.
 *
 * @details This function will be called in case of an assert in the SoftDevice.
 *
 * @warning This handler is an example only and does not fit a final product. You need to analyse
 *          how your product is supposed to react in case of Assert.
 * @warning On assert from the SoftDevice, the system can only recover on reset.
 *
 * @param[in] line_num    Line number of the failing ASSERT call.
 * @param[in] p_file_name File name of the failing ASSERT call.
 */
void assert_nrf_callback(uint16_t line_num, const uint8_t * p_file_name)
{
    app_error_handler(DEAD_BEEF, line_num, p_file_name);
}

/**@brief Function for initializing the timer module.
 */
static void timers_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code = app_timer_init();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}

/**@brief Function for the GAP initialization.
 *
 * @details This function will set up all the necessary GAP (Generic Access Profile) parameters of
 *          the device. It also sets the permissions and appearance.
 */
static void gap_params_init(void)
{
    uint32_t                err_code;
    ble_gap_conn_params_t   gap_conn_params;
    ble_gap_conn_sec_mode_t sec_mode;

    BLE_GAP_CONN_SEC_MODE_SET_OPEN(&sec_mode);

    err_code = sd_ble_gap_device_name_set(&sec_mode,
                                          (const uint8_t *) DEVICE_NAME,
                                          strlen(DEVICE_NAME));
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    memset(&gap_conn_params, 0, sizeof(gap_conn_params));

    gap_conn_params.min_conn_interval = MIN_CONN_INTERVAL;
    gap_conn_params.max_conn_interval = MAX_CONN_INTERVAL;
    gap_conn_params.slave_latency     = SLAVE_LATENCY;
    gap_conn_params.conn_sup_timeout  = CONN_SUP_TIMEOUT;

    err_code = sd_ble_gap_ppcp_set(&gap_conn_params);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for handling Queued Write Module errors.
 *
 * @details A pointer to this function will be passed to each service which may need to inform the
 *          application about an error.
 *
 * @param[in]   nrf_error   Error code containing information about what went wrong.
 */
static void nrf_qwr_error_handler(uint32_t nrf_error)
{
    APP_ERROR_HANDLER(nrf_error);
}


/**@brief Function for handling the data from the Nordic UART Service.
 *
 * @details This function will process the data received from the Nordic UART BLE Service and send
 *          it to the UART module.
 *
 * @param[in] p_evt       Nordic UART Service event.
 */
/**@snippet [Handling the data received over BLE] */
static void nus_data_handler(ble_nus_evt_t * p_evt)
{

    if (p_evt->type == BLE_NUS_EVT_RX_DATA)
    {
        uint32_t err_code;

        NRF_LOG_DEBUG("Received data from BLE NUS. Writing data on UART.");
        NRF_LOG_HEXDUMP_DEBUG(p_evt->params.rx_data.p_data, p_evt->params.rx_data.length);

        for (uint32_t i = 0; i < p_evt->params.rx_data.length; i++)
        {
            do
            {
                err_code = app_uart_put(p_evt->params.rx_data.p_data[i]);
                if ((err_code != NRF_SUCCESS) && (err_code != NRF_ERROR_BUSY))
                {
                    NRF_LOG_ERROR("Failed receiving NUS message. Error 0x%x. ", err_code);
                    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
                }
            } while (err_code == NRF_ERROR_BUSY);
        }
        if (p_evt->params.rx_data.p_data[p_evt->params.rx_data.length - 1] == '\r')
        {
            while (app_uart_put('\n') == NRF_ERROR_BUSY);
        }
    }

}
/**@snippet [Handling the data received over BLE] */


/**@brief Function for initializing services that will be used by the application.
 */
static void services_init(void)
{
    uint32_t           err_code;
    ble_nus_init_t     nus_init;
    nrf_ble_qwr_init_t qwr_init = {0};

    // Initialize Queued Write Module.
    qwr_init.error_handler = nrf_qwr_error_handler;

    err_code = nrf_ble_qwr_init(&m_qwr, &qwr_init);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Initialize NUS.
    memset(&nus_init, 0, sizeof(nus_init));

    nus_init.data_handler = nus_data_handler;

    err_code = ble_nus_init(&m_nus, &nus_init);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for handling an event from the Connection Parameters Module.
 *
 * @details This function will be called for all events in the Connection Parameters Module
 *          which are passed to the application.
 *
 * @note All this function does is to disconnect. This could have been done by simply setting
 *       the disconnect_on_fail config parameter, but instead we use the event handler
 *       mechanism to demonstrate its use.
 *
 * @param[in] p_evt  Event received from the Connection Parameters Module.
 */
static void on_conn_params_evt(ble_conn_params_evt_t * p_evt)
{
    uint32_t err_code;

    if (p_evt->evt_type == BLE_CONN_PARAMS_EVT_FAILED)
    {
        err_code = sd_ble_gap_disconnect(m_conn_handle, BLE_HCI_CONN_INTERVAL_UNACCEPTABLE);
        APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
    }
}


/**@brief Function for handling errors from the Connection Parameters module.
 *
 * @param[in] nrf_error  Error code containing information about what went wrong.
 */
static void conn_params_error_handler(uint32_t nrf_error)
{
    APP_ERROR_HANDLER(nrf_error);
}


/**@brief Function for initializing the Connection Parameters module.
 */
static void conn_params_init(void)
{
    uint32_t               err_code;
    ble_conn_params_init_t cp_init;

    memset(&cp_init, 0, sizeof(cp_init));

    cp_init.p_conn_params                  = NULL;
    cp_init.first_conn_params_update_delay = FIRST_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_DELAY;
    cp_init.next_conn_params_update_delay  = NEXT_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_DELAY;
    cp_init.max_conn_params_update_count   = MAX_CONN_PARAMS_UPDATE_COUNT;
    cp_init.start_on_notify_cccd_handle    = BLE_GATT_HANDLE_INVALID;
    cp_init.disconnect_on_fail             = false;
    cp_init.evt_handler                    = on_conn_params_evt;
    cp_init.error_handler                  = conn_params_error_handler;

    err_code = ble_conn_params_init(&cp_init);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for putting the chip into sleep mode.
 *
 * @note This function will not return.
 */
static void sleep_mode_enter(void)
{
    uint32_t err_code = bsp_indication_set(BSP_INDICATE_IDLE);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Prepare wakeup buttons.
    err_code = bsp_btn_ble_sleep_mode_prepare();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Go to system-off mode (this function will not return; wakeup will cause a reset).
    err_code = sd_power_system_off();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for handling advertising events.
 *
 * @details This function will be called for advertising events which are passed to the application.
 *
 * @param[in] ble_adv_evt  Advertising event.
 */
static void on_adv_evt(ble_adv_evt_t ble_adv_evt)
{
    uint32_t err_code;

    switch (ble_adv_evt)
    {
        case BLE_ADV_EVT_FAST:
            err_code = bsp_indication_set(BSP_INDICATE_ADVERTISING);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;
        case BLE_ADV_EVT_IDLE:
            sleep_mode_enter();
            break;
        default:
            break;
    }
}


/**@brief Function for handling BLE events.
 *
 * @param[in]   p_ble_evt   Bluetooth stack event.
 * @param[in]   p_context   Unused.
 */
static void ble_evt_handler(ble_evt_t const * p_ble_evt, void * p_context)
{
    uint32_t err_code;

    switch (p_ble_evt->header.evt_id)
    {
        case BLE_GAP_EVT_CONNECTED:
            NRF_LOG_INFO("Connected");
            err_code = bsp_indication_set(BSP_INDICATE_CONNECTED);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            m_conn_handle = p_ble_evt->evt.gap_evt.conn_handle;
            err_code = nrf_ble_qwr_conn_handle_assign(&m_qwr, m_conn_handle);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;

        case BLE_GAP_EVT_DISCONNECTED:
            NRF_LOG_INFO("Disconnected");
            // LED indication will be changed when advertising starts.
            m_conn_handle = BLE_CONN_HANDLE_INVALID;
            break;

        case BLE_GAP_EVT_PHY_UPDATE_REQUEST:
        {
            NRF_LOG_DEBUG("PHY update request.");
            ble_gap_phys_t const phys =
            {
                .rx_phys = BLE_GAP_PHY_AUTO,
                .tx_phys = BLE_GAP_PHY_AUTO,
            };
            err_code = sd_ble_gap_phy_update(p_ble_evt->evt.gap_evt.conn_handle, &phys);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
        } break;

        case BLE_GAP_EVT_SEC_PARAMS_REQUEST:
            // Pairing not supported
            err_code = sd_ble_gap_sec_params_reply(m_conn_handle, BLE_GAP_SEC_STATUS_PAIRING_NOT_SUPP, NULL, NULL);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;

        case BLE_GATTS_EVT_SYS_ATTR_MISSING:
            // No system attributes have been stored.
            err_code = sd_ble_gatts_sys_attr_set(m_conn_handle, NULL, 0, 0);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;

        case BLE_GATTC_EVT_TIMEOUT:
            // Disconnect on GATT Client timeout event.
            err_code = sd_ble_gap_disconnect(p_ble_evt->evt.gattc_evt.conn_handle,
                                             BLE_HCI_REMOTE_USER_TERMINATED_CONNECTION);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;

        case BLE_GATTS_EVT_TIMEOUT:
            // Disconnect on GATT Server timeout event.
            err_code = sd_ble_gap_disconnect(p_ble_evt->evt.gatts_evt.conn_handle,
                                             BLE_HCI_REMOTE_USER_TERMINATED_CONNECTION);
            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            break;

        default:
            // No implementation needed.
            break;
    }
}


/**@brief Function for the SoftDevice initialization.
 *
 * @details This function initializes the SoftDevice and the BLE event interrupt.
 */
static void ble_stack_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code;

    err_code = nrf_sdh_enable_request();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Configure the BLE stack using the default settings.
    // Fetch the start address of the application RAM.
    uint32_t ram_start = 0;
    err_code = nrf_sdh_ble_default_cfg_set(APP_BLE_CONN_CFG_TAG, &ram_start);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Enable BLE stack.
    err_code = nrf_sdh_ble_enable(&ram_start);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Register a handler for BLE events.
    NRF_SDH_BLE_OBSERVER(m_ble_observer, APP_BLE_OBSERVER_PRIO, ble_evt_handler, NULL);
}


/**@brief Function for handling events from the GATT library. */
void gatt_evt_handler(nrf_ble_gatt_t * p_gatt, nrf_ble_gatt_evt_t const * p_evt)
{
    if ((m_conn_handle == p_evt->conn_handle) && (p_evt->evt_id == NRF_BLE_GATT_EVT_ATT_MTU_UPDATED))
    {
        m_ble_nus_max_data_len = p_evt->params.att_mtu_effective - OPCODE_LENGTH - HANDLE_LENGTH;
        NRF_LOG_INFO("Data len is set to 0x%X(%d)", m_ble_nus_max_data_len, m_ble_nus_max_data_len);
    }
    NRF_LOG_DEBUG("ATT MTU exchange completed. central 0x%x peripheral 0x%x",
                  p_gatt->att_mtu_desired_central,
                  p_gatt->att_mtu_desired_periph);
}


/**@brief Function for initializing the GATT library. */
void gatt_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code;

    err_code = nrf_ble_gatt_init(&m_gatt, gatt_evt_handler);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    err_code = nrf_ble_gatt_att_mtu_periph_set(&m_gatt, NRF_SDH_BLE_GATT_MAX_MTU_SIZE);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for handling events from the BSP module.
 *
 * @param[in]   event   Event generated by button press.
 */
void bsp_event_handler(bsp_event_t event)
{
    uint32_t err_code;
    switch (event)
    {
        case BSP_EVENT_SLEEP:
            sleep_mode_enter();
            break;

        case BSP_EVENT_DISCONNECT:
            err_code = sd_ble_gap_disconnect(m_conn_handle, BLE_HCI_REMOTE_USER_TERMINATED_CONNECTION);
            if (err_code != NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATE)
            {
                APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
            }
            break;

        case BSP_EVENT_WHITELIST_OFF:
            if (m_conn_handle == BLE_CONN_HANDLE_INVALID)
            {
                err_code = ble_advertising_restart_without_whitelist(&m_advertising);
                if (err_code != NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATE)
                {
                    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
                }
            }
            break;

        default:
            break;
    }
}


/**@brief   Function for handling app_uart events.
 *
 * @details This function will receive a single character from the app_uart module and append it to
 *          a string. The string will be be sent over BLE when the last character received was a
 *          'new line' '\n' (hex 0x0A) or if the string has reached the maximum data length.
 */
/**@snippet [Handling the data received over UART] */
void uart_event_handle(app_uart_evt_t * p_event)
{
    static uint8_t data_array[BLE_NUS_MAX_DATA_LEN];
    static uint8_t index = 0;
    uint32_t       err_code;

    switch (p_event->evt_type)
    {
        case APP_UART_DATA_READY:
            UNUSED_VARIABLE(app_uart_get(&data_array[index]));
            index++;

            if ((data_array[index - 1] == '\n') ||
                (data_array[index - 1] == '\r') ||
                (index >= m_ble_nus_max_data_len))
            {
                if (index > 1)
                {
                    NRF_LOG_DEBUG("Ready to send data over BLE NUS");
                    NRF_LOG_HEXDUMP_DEBUG(data_array, index);

                    do
                    {
                        uint16_t length = (uint16_t)index;
                        err_code = ble_nus_data_send(&m_nus, data_array, &length, m_conn_handle);
                        if ((err_code != NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATE) &&
                            (err_code != NRF_ERROR_RESOURCES) &&
                            (err_code != NRF_ERROR_NOT_FOUND))
                        {
                            APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
                        }
                    } while (err_code == NRF_ERROR_RESOURCES);
                }

                index = 0;
            }
            break;

        case APP_UART_COMMUNICATION_ERROR:
            APP_ERROR_HANDLER(p_event->data.error_communication);
            break;

        case APP_UART_FIFO_ERROR:
            APP_ERROR_HANDLER(p_event->data.error_code);
            break;

        default:
            break;
    }
}
/**@snippet [Handling the data received over UART] */


/**@brief  Function for initializing the UART module.
 */
/**@snippet [UART Initialization] */
static void uart_init(void)
{
    uint32_t                     err_code;
    app_uart_comm_params_t const comm_params =
    {
        .rx_pin_no    = RX_PIN_NUMBER,
        .tx_pin_no    = TX_PIN_NUMBER,
        .rts_pin_no   = RTS_PIN_NUMBER,
        .cts_pin_no   = CTS_PIN_NUMBER,
        .flow_control = APP_UART_FLOW_CONTROL_DISABLED,
        .use_parity   = false,
#if defined (UART_PRESENT)
        .baud_rate    = NRF_UART_BAUDRATE_115200
#else
        .baud_rate    = NRF_UARTE_BAUDRATE_115200
#endif
    };

    APP_UART_FIFO_INIT(&comm_params,
                       UART_RX_BUF_SIZE,
                       UART_TX_BUF_SIZE,
                       uart_event_handle,
                       APP_IRQ_PRIORITY_LOWEST,
                       err_code);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}
/**@snippet [UART Initialization] */


/**@brief Function for initializing the Advertising functionality.
 */
static void advertising_init(void)
{
    uint32_t               err_code;
    ble_advertising_init_t init;

    memset(&init, 0, sizeof(init));

    init.advdata.name_type          = BLE_ADVDATA_FULL_NAME;
    init.advdata.include_appearance = false;
    init.advdata.flags              = BLE_GAP_ADV_FLAGS_LE_ONLY_LIMITED_DISC_MODE;

    init.srdata.uuids_complete.uuid_cnt = sizeof(m_adv_uuids) / sizeof(m_adv_uuids[0]);
    init.srdata.uuids_complete.p_uuids  = m_adv_uuids;

    init.config.ble_adv_fast_enabled  = true;
    init.config.ble_adv_fast_interval = APP_ADV_INTERVAL;
    init.config.ble_adv_fast_timeout  = APP_ADV_DURATION;
    init.evt_handler = on_adv_evt;

    err_code = ble_advertising_init(&m_advertising, &init);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    ble_advertising_conn_cfg_tag_set(&m_advertising, APP_BLE_CONN_CFG_TAG);
}


/**@brief Function for initializing buttons and leds.
 *
 * @param[out] p_erase_bonds  Will be true if the clear bonding button was pressed to wake the application up.
 */
static void buttons_leds_init(bool * p_erase_bonds)
{
    bsp_event_t startup_event;

    uint32_t err_code = bsp_init(BSP_INIT_LEDS | BSP_INIT_BUTTONS, bsp_event_handler);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    err_code = bsp_btn_ble_init(NULL, &startup_event);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    *p_erase_bonds = (startup_event == BSP_EVENT_CLEAR_BONDING_DATA);
}


/**@brief Function for initializing the nrf log module.
 */
static void log_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code = NRF_LOG_INIT(NULL);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    NRF_LOG_DEFAULT_BACKENDS_INIT();
}


/**@brief Function for initializing power management.
 */
static void power_management_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code;
    err_code = nrf_pwr_mgmt_init();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Function for handling the idle state (main loop).
 *
 * @details If there is no pending log operation, then sleep until next the next event occurs.
 */
static void idle_state_handle(void)
{
    if (NRF_LOG_PROCESS() == false)
    {
        nrf_pwr_mgmt_run();
    }
}


/**@brief Function for starting advertising.
 */
static void advertising_start(void)
{
    uint32_t err_code = ble_advertising_start(&m_advertising, BLE_ADV_MODE_FAST);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}


/**@brief Application main function.
 */
int main(void)
{
    bool erase_bonds;

    // Initialize.
    uart_init();
    log_init();
    timers_init();
    buttons_leds_init(&erase_bonds);
    power_management_init();
    ble_stack_init();
    gap_params_init();
    gatt_init();
    services_init();
    advertising_init();
    conn_params_init();

    // Start execution.
    printf("\r\nUART started.\r\n");
    NRF_LOG_INFO("Debug logging for UART over RTT started.");
    advertising_start();

    // Enter main loop.
    for (;;)
    {
        idle_state_handle();
    }
}


/**
 * @}
 */

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi,

I am sorry, I was too fast when looking up the line number yesterday. This means that you are getting a UART framing error, as explain in this post. What is the state of the UART RX pin? Is it floating? Or if not, could there be a baud rate issue or baud rate mismatch? If so, it oculd be s simple as having an nRF device with ann HFINT that is on the edge. And in that case starting the HFXO when using UART could be usefull (it is also a good test). As a test, you could call sd_clock_hfclk_request() after initializing the SoftDevice to have the HFXO always running and see if that makes a difference.

[Avesta]

Hi, thank you so much for your support.

Step 1 – Clock Test (HFXO vs HFINT)
I added sd_clock_hfclk_request(); after BLE stack initialization to force the HFXO (32 MHz crystal) to always run.
My updated ble_stack_init() looks like this:

static void ble_stack_init(void)
{
    ret_code_t err_code;

    err_code = nrf_sdh_enable_request();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Configure the BLE stack using the default settings.
    uint32_t ram_start = 0;
    err_code = nrf_sdh_ble_default_cfg_set(APP_BLE_CONN_CFG_TAG, &ram_start);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Enable BLE stack.
    err_code = nrf_sdh_ble_enable(&ram_start);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // ⭐ Force HFXO on (for UART accuracy test)
    err_code = sd_clock_hfclk_request();
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    // Register a handler for BLE events.
    NRF_SDH_BLE_OBSERVER(m_ble_observer, APP_BLE_OBSERVER_PRIO, ble_evt_handler, NULL);
}

Result: No improvement, the same errors still occurred.

Step 2 – Disabling Flow Control
In pca10040.h I changed:

#define HWFC false

Result: No improvement, errors still occurred.

Step 3 – Modifying Error Handling
I modified the uart_event_handle() to avoid resetting the program on UART communication errors, and instead only print warnings:

case APP_UART_COMMUNICATION_ERROR:
    NRF_LOG_WARNING("UART COMM ERROR: 0x%X", p_event->data.error_communication);
    break;

case APP_UART_FIFO_ERROR:
    NRF_LOG_WARNING("UART FIFO ERROR: 0x%X", p_event->data.error_code);
    break;

Result: After this change, the program continues to run and the BLE stack starts normally.

RTT log output after changes

:

<info> app_timer: RTC: initialized.
<warning> app: UART COMM ERROR: 0x4
<warning> app: UART COMM ERROR: 0x8
<info> app: HFXO requested
<info> app: Debug logging for UART over RTT started.
<info> app: Connected
<info> app: Data len is set to 0xF4(244)

The LED starts blinking, and the nRF Connect app shows NORDIC_UART and indicates a successful connection.

Question:
Could you please help me fully understand the root cause of these UART communication errors, and how I can properly solve it for my custom PCB?
For reference, I am not using the TX/RX pins (#define RX_PIN_NUMBER 23, #define TX_PIN_NUMBER 24) on my board.

Best wishes,