Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

RE: Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

cegerer — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 06:52:08 GMT

Hi Hieu,

thanks for the feedback! Will continue to work with privacy enabled for now.

Best regards,

Christian

RE: Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

Hieu — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:40:44 GMT

Hi Christian,

My apology for the long wait. I needed to wait a few days for an equipment to become available to run some tests.

Regarding this case:

[quote user="cegerer"]ON for Adv, OFF for Scanner does not work[/quote]

From Bluetooth Core Spec Vol 3 Part C Section 10.7, a connection initiator using Privacy features cannot initiate a connection with a peer who doesn't have Privacy. So this is expected.

As for this case,

[quote user="cegerer"]OFF for both devices (Adv/Scanner) does not work[/quote]

This is not right, and we are investigating.
We found a strange implementation in the Zephyr Host that explains the behavior but still haven't fully traced the history behind this implementation yet.

For the time being, please try to workaround this issue by:

Replace the first argument in the line below with BT_LE_EXT_ADV_NCONN_IDENTITY.
https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-zephyr/blob/ncs-v3.2.4/samples/bluetooth/periodic_adv_conn/src/main.c#L186
Add CONFIG_BT_SCAN_WITH_IDENTITY to periodic_sync_conn.

Best regards,

Hieu

RE: Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

Hieu — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:30:42 GMT

Hi Christian,

I need to consult with our Host team a little. I will come back with details as soon as I have them.

Best regards,

Hieu

RE: Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

cegerer — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:56:32 GMT

Hi Hieu,

I tested now all combinations again:

OFF for both devices (Adv/Scanner) does not work
OFF for Adv, ON for Scanner works (also works when using option BT_LE_ADV_OPT_USE_IDENTITY for advertising)
ON for Adv, OFF for Scanner does not work

Could you please explain why it only works if scanning device uses RPA?

Thanks,

Christian

RE: Does PAwR and AUX_CONNECT_REQ need Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA)?

Hieu — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:06:39 GMT

Hi cegerer,

When you disable CONFIG_BT_PRIVACY and CONFIG_BT_SMP, did you do so on both devices or just one? If just one, which one?

Hieu