54l15-NCS3.2.4-NLC(mesh)-PST-Certification

[Nathan]

Hi Nordic team:

If my product has mesh functionality and needs to pass NLC certification and needs to be tested with a PST tool at a testing agency.

Do I need to flash a dedicated firmware (Bluetooth tester) for this?

Can the mesh demo of NCS pass Bluetooth certification?

github.com/.../tester

The testing agency said that the mesh functionality needs to be tested. If I want to pass the certification, do I have to combine the Bluetooth tester demo with the mesh demo to create a dedicated firmware for certification? Now that I have flashed the mesh demo firmware, it fails the PST tool test (the log keeps showing connection timeout).

Can the NLC mesh routine of NCS be directly certified, or just demonstrate its function? If I need to test the mesh function and also pass PST, what should I do?

I am not very familiar with certification, and I hope to receive clear answers to the above questions。

Thanks.

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi Iiu, 

Nordic's Bluetooth Mesh stack in nRF Connect SDK is pre-qualified by Bluetooth SIG, covering Bluetooth Mesh Protocol v1.1, Mesh Model v1.1, Mesh DFU, BLOB Transfer, and NLC Profiles. According to the listing at Bluetooth SIG (requires a user account to view), Q380588 covers all NCS 3.2.x releases. 

You can inherit Nordic's qualification rather than re-testing everything from scratch, provided you do not modify the qualified stack. The Bluetooth LE qualification process is largely declarative. You can reference Nordic's Design Number (DN) in your own product listing. See the Bluetooth Qualification.

The NLC mesh samples (e.g., Lightness Controller, Sensor Server/Client, Dimming Control) are provided as functional application samples. They are built on top of the qualified stack. See the Bluetooth Mesh Samples and Bluetooth Networked Lighting Control profiles.

Regards,
Amanda H.

[Nathan]

Hi Amanda，

Thank you for your reply.So for Bluetooth authentication,we only need to inherit Nordic's authentication.

We just need to run a demo to prove whether the product has used an authenticated demo. However, we are currently facing some issues.

When testing The NLC mesh samples and attempting to use the PST tool for authentication pre-testing.

All three demos log display connection timeout issues. How can we resolve this?

Thanks.

NCSversion：3.2.4 54L15 DK
PTSversion：8.13.0 Build 4
Source：github.com/.../light_ctrl

log：

Report_MESH_2026_05_13_16_04_20.xml

[JONATHAN LL]

Update:
Can we get the .zip of the build folder, need to look at the compiled firmware, the board name being used and “prj.conf” and “.config” files for compilation. 


We typically see that Test 1 and 2 passes easily. Test 3 can present more of a challenge when packets are lost - we call this as “unstable test” however, the main test steps can be complete after 3-4 retries inside the chamber. Though Test 3 will not fully pass due to another problem that appears after this (for which we have created ticket to SIG here https://bluetooth.atlassian.net/browse/ES-29264 ).

Regards,
Jonathan

[Nathan]

Hi Jonathan，

Thank you for your reply and support.

The dongle uses 54L15 DK, and the software will automatically program it to the DK using this tool

The test was also conducted using 54l15 DK

This is the project file for test run, light_ctrl (ncs demo)

light_ctrl_324.zip

[JONATHAN LL]

Thanks Liu,  we will have a look and update with feedback and next steps here. 

Regards,
Jonathan

[JONATHAN LL]

Here is the update from our team doing tests:

We have compiled the customer’s provided zip file as is and I can confirm that BV-01-I and BV-02-I pass on my desk:

The BV-03-I also goes past the point of failure shown in the customer’s case and fails at test step number 15 (Mesh Mesh Test specification).

The step number 15 is a known issue with this test case, and these steps will be removed in future via Erratum https://bluetooth.atlassian.net/browse/ES-29264 . The waiver request has been created for this test case: https://bluetooth.atlassian.net/browse/ES-29394 . Once the waiver is approved, Customer can use this waiver request, until last 4 steps have been removed from PTS software. Mentioning this waiver for their qualification documentation will enable them to skip passing BV-03-I test.


For customer’s reference I have attached the logs on my side:
IOPT_MESH_NODE_BV_xx_I_tests_2026_06_05_17_35_20.zip

Some tips to get things passing on customer’s side:

• It looks like they have a heavy BLE or WiFi interference which causes problems PTS testing. Use of RF chamber to keep both - IUT and PTS DKs inside is strongly advised.

• Secondly, they can try adding these options to prj.conf “CONFIG_BT_MESH_RELAY_RETRANSMIT_COUNT=1 or 2" and “CONFIG_BT_MESH_NETWORK_TRANSMIT_COUNT=1or 2"

Regards,
Jonathan

[Nathan]

Hi Jonathan，

Thank you for your verification and reply.

CONFIG_BT_MESH_RELAY_RETRANSMIT_COUNT = 1 this options and enter the chamer for testing，Amanda has already mentioned it. I have tried everything but the test still failed.

CONFIG_BT_MESH_NETWORK_TRANSMIT_COUNT this option and change the value to 2 i will test.

Are you also unable to pass the test?

If you have passed the test, could you provide the firmware for me to test and confirm the hardware environment?

Do I have to wait until the exemption is approved to skip this test?

Thanks.