Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Simonr — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 08:47:48 GMT

Sorry, this is the version we have, but it should not be much work either implementing these changes to this ble_app_beacon_scanner application made for the nRF5 SDK v17.0.2.

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../7658.ble_5F00_app_5F00_beacon_5F00_scanner.zip

Alternatively you can follow the migration guide to make the existing example compatible with SDK v17.0.2.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Thabet — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:05:30 GMT

HelloSimonr,

Would you have this example using nRF5 SDK 17.0.2? Thanks!

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Simonr — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 13:00:36 GMT

Hi again

Right, you're using the nRFConnect for desktop BLE app. This app does not support advertising/scanning on the Coded PHY, as it is based on a version of the S132 SoftDevice. The Dongle supports Coded PHY, but not the firmware the Bluetooth Low Energy app uses.

You need to use the nRFConnect for mobile application and a phone supporting Coded PHY, or a central application scanning using Coded PHY on your Dongle. You can check out this example that a colleague of mine made for the nRF52840. It scans for beacons using extended advertising, so all you should have to do is to set the PHY to Coded PHY and adapt it to fit the Dongle (as explained in our Dongle Programming tutorial here).

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../ble_5F00_app_5F00_beacon_5F00_scanner_5F00_extended.zip

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Despair1337 — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:37:59 GMT

Hi Simonr,

For some reason, when I use desktop nRF Desktop application - Bluetooth Low Energy, it sees only 1M and M2 PHY, Coded PHY advertising devices are not visible.

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Simonr — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:15:57 GMT

Yes, the nRF52840 Dongle supports advertising/scanning using Coded PHY. Can you explain what you mean with "through nRFConnect app"? From personal experience I have also had issues with the OnePlus 6T, but I've used the Samsung S10+ (and newer models) to scan for Coded PHY advertisements as intended.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Despair1337 — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 17:23:12 GMT

Hi Simonr and thank you for your fast response.

I changed the code according to your advices, and it's easier to connect now, still sadly, it's very hard to connect onto it. Sometimes it works good, sometimes not. I also tried it on some other phone, and it had same issue (some Qualcomm based phone, probably different SoC that one I have in OnePlus 6T).

Anyway, my question is, does nRF58420 Dongle can support Long Range through nRF Connect app?

Thanks

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Despair1337 — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 17:20:03 GMT

Oh, good to know! I tested also some other phones (which claimed to support coded phy), but one had similar behavior, and one didn't seen him at all.

Although, do you encounter issues with connecting? Like, from 10 tries, only 3 times it works. Sometimes, it works reliably, but after reboot, it again have hard time to connect.

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

TylerS — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 15:54:50 GMT

As Simonr said, this is an issue with the phone. I also have a 6T and experience the exact same thing. The frustrating thing is in other corners of forms and such, it is listed as a phone that supports Coded Phy.

RE: Bluetooth Long Range - Advertising and Connection issues

Simonr — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 13:04:17 GMT

Please note that you need to set the advdata.flags to BLE_GAP_ADV_FLAGS_LE_ONLY_GENERAL_DISC_MODE in order to use Coded PHY advertising. Also make sure that the scan response data is set to null, as extended advertising (which is used by Coded PHY) does not support scan response data.

The long range scanner log you're seeing is reminiscent of that in a phone that does not support Coded PHY fully, as it's not able to scan on the secondary advertising channels. (which are the gaps you're seeing). A Coded PHY advertisement will advertise for a small amount of time on the primary channels (37, 38, 39) which are the "RSSI snippets" you're seeing in nRFConnect.

The nRFConnect app only checks for a specific bit in the Android stack for whether BLE Coded PHY is supported. Unfortunately, this bit does not require that the device is able to scan for devices advertising over Coded PHY.

Best regards,

Simon