app_ble_uart example not initializing BLE on nRF52DK PCA10040 SDKv16 and S132 soft device

[SChary]

Hi

I am trying to get the ble_app_uart to run on my nRF52DK with the nRF52832 on board. I am using SDK version 16 and SoftDevice version 132.

When compile and download the program, i do not see it advertising as it is not visible in the scanned device list on the nRF Connect app on my iPad.

Upon debugging, I find that during initialization in main(), the program seems to run into an error and goes to the app_error_weak() function and stays there.

The call stack shows that it arrived there from the following function - APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code) after bsp_init() funct

<code>

static void buttons_leds_init(bool * p_erase_bonds)
{
    bsp_event_t startup_event;

    uint32_t err_code = bsp_init(BSP_INIT_LEDS | BSP_INIT_BUTTONS, bsp_event_handler);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    err_code = bsp_btn_ble_init(NULL, &startup_event);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

    *p_erase_bonds = (startup_event == BSP_EVENT_CLEAR_BONDING_DATA);
}
</code>

Since there were no logging calls in place in the code until this point, there was no information on the Debug terminal.  I will put in some logging calls to indicate the status of the execution and post it here soon.

PS: To confirm if the hardware is ok, I downloaded the LED_blinky example and it works fine - i am able to see the blinky device on the nRF LED_Blinky app on my iPad and communicate with it.

So it appears the problem is happening only with this example, which sounds strange. I haven't made any changes yet, just using the default example code. 

Regards

Sreenivasa Chary

[SChary]

I also erased the kit and reloaded the software - both the soft device and the app, but still the same issue is seen.

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi Sreenivasa, 

After loading images, did you press  again to run? What is the log you see in the Debug Terminal window? Did you see LED1 blinking  (BSP_INDICATE_CONNECTED)? If not, Could you flash the image with nRF Connect Programmer or Command Line Tools with the following commands:

nrfjprog --family NRF52 --program s132_nrf52_7.0.1_softdevice.hex --chiperase --verify
C:\Users\amhs\Downloads\nRF5_SDK_16.0.0_98a08e2\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_uart\hex
nrfjprog --family NRF52 --program ble_app_uart_pca10040_s132.hex --sectorerase --verify
nrfjprog -r

Did you see LED1 blinking (BSP_INDICATE_CONNECTED)?

-Amanda H.

[SChary]

Yes Amanda, I did press the Play button to start the target running, but as i mentioned, there are no NRF_LOG() statements in the code prior to the hanging point. So the debug terminal was empty. I will try to program as you said , from the nrfConnect tool and check again, will revert to you asap......

REgards

Chary BS

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi Sreenivasa, 

SChary said:

Yes Amanda, I did press the Play button to start the target running, but as i mentioned, there are no NRF_LOG() statements in the code prior to the hanging point.

 That's strange. The default setting of NRF_LOG_BACKEND_RTT_ENABLED is 1. Could you check the sdk_config.h as

//==========================================================
// <e> NRF_LOG_BACKEND_RTT_ENABLED - nrf_log_backend_rtt - Log RTT backend
//==========================================================
#ifndef NRF_LOG_BACKEND_RTT_ENABLED
#define NRF_LOG_BACKEND_RTT_ENABLED 1
#endif

Could you also try to reset the board by turning off and on the power switch? 

-Amanda H. 

[SChary]

Yes, I configured the RTT backend and NRF_LOGGING settings using the CMSIS configuration tool. I also tried power cycling the board.

i am trying to find out where exactly it is getting stuck -will share the details shortly...

Regards

Sreenivasa Chary

[SChary]

Hi Amanda,

I found the cause of the issue, in app_button.c, in function app_button_init(),

there is this call ,

 err_code = nrf_drv_gpiote_in_init(p_btn->pin_no, &config, gpiote_event_handler);

which is in file nrfx_gpiote.c

There, in the pin/channel allocation logic, for Pin number = 13 (0x0d) the code hits line 557:

err_code = NRFX_ERROR_NO_MEM;

Therefore, when it returns with this error (code 0x04), the next line in app_button_init() 

line 298 :

VERIFY_SUCCESS(err_code);

is failing. And the system is going to NRF_BREAKPOINT_CND in app_error_weak.c

I saw in another post, a similar report by some one else, but he was able to get the debug log where it suggested the solution - to modify the memory allocation. However, in my case i do not see any such log.

What should i modify to overcome this condition?

Regards

Chary BS