is possible to order nRF51822 preprogrammed?

[Nicola]

Hi all,

I read that the nRF51822 comes as a blank chip from the factory, and this means that we have to program the SoftDevice ourself. I am wondering if this is the only available choice. Is there any way to obtain a certain amount of nRF51822 preprogrammed with the softdevice?

[davide]

Any update on this? It's 2015, is the bootloader preloaded?

[Carles]

No, it's not preloaded, and it doesn't look like it's in the plans to preload it. Instead it comes bundled inside the SoftDevice .hex file and you can use the mergehex tool if you want to use another one.