bluetooth 5 vs 4.2

[mikkel1e]

Hi
i'm going to do a school project with bluetooth mesh network so i was wondering if bluetooth 5 supports it and what are the benefits of using bluetooth 5 over bluetooth 4.2
The reason I'm asking is because I have to buy a board so I know if I need one with 5 or 4.2
hope you can help
You may make a documentation for your claim

[MartinBL]

Hi,

The short answer is that you can use any device compatible with  BLE version 4.2 or above. 

The longer answer is that BLE 5 devices are backwards compatible and support all the features you will find in BLE 4.2. When a BLE 5 device tries to connect with a 4.2 device they exchange information about what features each device supports and then decide upon the "least common denominator". If you want to use a Nordic device I suggest that you chose a device from the nRF52 family. You can find more information about Nordic's mesh solution here: nRF5 SDK for Mesh.

[mikkel1e]

Why use 5 if 4.2 supports the same, does 5 not have some better features like range but thanks 

[MartinBL]

As mentioned, BLE 5 is backwards compatible. So let us say that 

BLE 4.2 supports feature A and B
BLE 5.0 supports feature A, B, C, and D. 

A BLE 5.0 device can communicate just fine with a 4.2 device using feature A and B, but a 4.2 device cannot use feature C and D. Examples of features a 4.2 doesn't support is Long range (also known as coded phy) and 2Mbps mode. 

[mikkel1e]

thanks, i know you done a lot but do you have a place it says that bluetooth mesh makes use of bluetooth 5 so we can prove it in the report we are going to write.

[MartinBL]

Hi,

Please refer to Mesh Profile Specification 1.0 Ch 1.2:

1.2 Bluetooth specification release compatibility
This specification shall be used with:

• Core Specification Addendum 6 [3] combined with an allowed Bluetooth Core Specification (see [3]
  Volume 1, Part D, Section 1.2, Table 1.3), OR
• Any version of the Bluetooth Core Specification later than v5.0.

[David Edwin]

Just to make this very clear, BTLE Mesh does NOT require BT 5 , though it can run on BT 5. It should be able to run on BT 4.0 and greater with the CSA 6.