Hi, I have a problem with advertising on nrf52840q1aabb chip. I used example code ble_app_template on nrf52840q1aaaa revision and everything works fine but after changing mcu to nrf52840q1aabb application stops advertising - It's not detected by nRF Connection. I used Eclipse with gcc on Wnidows and SDK 14 and softdevice s140 5.0.0-2 alpha.
There are some important changes made to the QIAABB device. In QIAAAA the DEC4 and DEC6 pins were connected internally in the IC. The architects figured out that this wasn't ideal and the decoupling pins now have to be connected externally. Have a look at the reference schematics from the OPS 0.5.0:
and compare it to the schematics in OPS v0.5.1:
If you haven't made this change in your layout, the radio (and hence your BLE advertising) won't work properly, but the rest of your application will.
These changes are poorly documented. I suppose it should have been mentioned here and the schematics in OPS 0.5.1 still shows part number QIAAAA. I'll make an internal report and get it updated. Sorry for the inconvenience.
@endnode is right. s140 5.0.0-2 alpha is starting to get old and is not tested on nrf52840 QIAABB which is the Engineering B revision of the IC. Unfortunately the Software Compatibility Matrix hasn't been updated with the latest IC revision yet. Even the S140 v6.0.0-6.alpha hasn't been thoroughly tested on Engineering B either, but they should do for development. We will release a compatible Softdevice and update the compatibility matrices as soon as possible.
There are some important changes made to the QIAABB device. In QIAAAA the DEC4 and DEC6 pins were connected internally in the IC. The architects figured out that this wasn't ideal and the decoupling pins now have to be connected externally. Have a look at the reference schematics from the OPS 0.5.0:
and compare it to the schematics in OPS v0.5.1:
If you haven't made this change in your layout, the radio (and hence your BLE advertising) won't work properly, but the rest of your application will.
These changes are poorly documented. I suppose it should have been mentioned here and the schematics in OPS 0.5.1 still shows part number QIAAAA. I'll make an internal report and get it updated. Sorry for the inconvenience.
@endnode is right. s140 5.0.0-2 alpha is starting to get old and is not tested on nrf52840 QIAABB which is the Engineering B revision of the IC. Unfortunately the Software Compatibility Matrix hasn't been updated with the latest IC revision yet. Even the S140 v6.0.0-6.alpha hasn't been thoroughly tested on Engineering B either, but they should do for development. We will release a compatible Softdevice and update the compatibility matrices as soon as possible.
