Compatibility of nRF51 dongle

[Maxime]

Hello, I have a very basic question:

Are Bluetooth nRF5x products compatible with other manufacturers? For example, can I have an nRF51 dongle communicate with a Microchip RN4871 (which uses BLE 4.2)?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Maxime

[awneil]

Yes - that is the whole point of standards like Bluetooth!

Although S130 is the only SoftDevice qualified to v4.2: 

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-short-range-wireless/nRF51822

See also:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/b/blog/posts/what-impact-does-the-deprecation-and-withdrawal-of-bluetooth-core-specification-v4-0-and-v4-1-have-on-your-current-and-future-products

[Maxime]

Thank you for your very complete answer! I just don't understand why in some datasheets (like nrf51422) it is written :

"Fully on-air compatible with nRF24L/nRFAP-series"

I thought it meant they were only compatible with these chips. What does that mean? Thank you in advance

[awneil]

When working as a BLE device, it complies with the BLE specs.

But it can also work in other modes - nRF24 compatibility being one of them.

IIRC, this is referred to as "proprietary" - because it is!