Using Bluetooth to setup Wi-Fi connected device

RE: Using Bluetooth to setup Wi-Fi connected device

jablackann — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:46:05 GMT

Thanks for the suggestions. At this point, we would really not want to step back and redesign the entire product to use a new WiFi/Bluetooth combo device. I certainly understand that but we are hoping that could come in a cost reduction design down the road.

I did some searching and found this article.

How to use Bluetooth Low-Energy for Wi-Fi commissioning from Silicon Labs. We will try to see if we can get some type of solution working similar to this.

I was just curious if anyone has experience implementing a solution similar to this using Nordic hardware/software.

Thanks.

RE: Using Bluetooth to setup Wi-Fi connected device

Susheel Nuguru — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 08:39:47 GMT

I think this is exactly one of the use cases we intend (disclosure: no promises made) to cover with combo Wifi/BLE SoC in the future. I have not done total research yet, but it looks like provisioning/commissioning through BLE seems to give a fast and easy user experience.

RE: Using Bluetooth to setup Wi-Fi connected device

Johannes — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:25:30 GMT

Very complex question. I have a device which is primarily run by a nrf52840 and uses an ESP8266 as a WiFi 'modem'. I transmit the Wifi credentials to the nordic chip via bluetooth which then in turn instructs the ESP.

but in your case if the product is primarily wifi based, adding a whole new bluetooth SoC may be overkill.

There are many ways to configure the wifi of IoT devices but almost all of them have some flaw or another.

You may want to consider switching to a different Wifi module which has also bluetooth support, for example ESP32.