NRFSniffer python tools does not recognize NRF51422 dongle. No capture possible.

[v.planat]

Hi,

As a university we bought several NRF51422 dongles to sniff BLE traffic

Following the installation instruction here: https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fug_sniffer_ble%2FUG%2Fsniffer_ble%2Fintro.html

We installed NRF COnnect & uploaded the sniffer_nrf51dongle_nrf51422_4.0.0.hex using NRF Programmer

We then installed the NRF sniffer in the appropriated wireshark location

When we try to use the NRF sniffer python script (with the Dongle In) to check the interface this seems working well

PS C:\Temp\todel\extcap> python.exe .\nrf_sniffer_ble.py --extcap-interfaces
extcap {version=4.0.0}{display=nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE}{help=www.nordicsemi.com/.../nRF-Sniffer-for-Bluetooth-LE}
interface {value=COM5-None}{display=nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE COM5}
control {number=0}{type=selector}{display=Device}{tooltip=Device list}
control {number=1}{type=selector}{display=Key}{tooltip=}
control {number=2}{type=string}{display=Value}{tooltip=6 digit passkey or 16 or 32 bytes encryption key in hexadecimal starting with '0x', big endian format.If the entered key is shorter than 16 or 32 bytes, it will be zero-padded in front'}{validation=\b^(([0-9]{6})|(0x[0-9a-fA-F]{1,64})|([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}) (public|random))$\b}
control {number=3}{type=string}{display=Adv Hop}{default=37,38,39}{tooltip=Advertising channel hop sequence. Change the order in which the siffer switches advertising channels. Valid channels are 37, 38 and 39 separated by comma.}{validation=^\s*((37|38|39)\s*,\s*){0,2}(37|38|39){1}\s*$}{required=true}
control {number=7}{type=button}{display=Clear}{tooltop=Clear or remove device from Device list}
control {number=4}{type=button}{role=help}{display=Help}{tooltip=Access user guide (launches browser)}
control {number=5}{type=button}{role=restore}{display=Defaults}{tooltip=Resets the user interface and clears the log file}
control {number=6}{type=button}{role=logger}{display=Log}{tooltip=Log per interface}
value {control=0}{value= }{display=All advertising devices}{default=true}
value {control=1}{value=0}{display=Legacy Passkey}{default=yes}
value {control=1}{value=1}{display=Legacy OOB data}
value {control=1}{value=2}{display=Legacy LTK}
value {control=1}{value=3}{display=SC LTK}
value {control=1}{value=4}{display=SC Private Key}
value {control=1}{value=5}{display=LE address}

But when we try to capture some traffic this does not work

PS C:\Temp\todel\extcap> python.exe .\nrf_sniffer_ble.py --capture
An interface must be provided or the selection must be displayed

In Wireshark the Nrf is not recognized

 We tried on wondows 10 & windows 7 Pro both 64 bits

On windows-10 python is 3.9.1, on windows 7 python is 3.8.10

pyserial was installed successfully

We don't understand how to troubleshoot this issue

We will appreciate a quick support to solve this problem and deliver the lab to the students

Best regards

Vincent Planat

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi Vincent Planat,

An interface must be provided or the selection must be displayed

You must add the interface as an argument with --extcap-interface. This is the interface you get from --extcap-interfaces, which in the output above is COM5-None. In addition to this, you need to add the --fifo option. So the command should be:

nrf_sniffer_ble.py --extcap-interface COM5-None --capture --fifo FIFO

This will dump the data in the file FIFO. You can read more about using the extcap interface in the Wireshark documentation, such as the chapter 8.2.1. Extcap command line interface.

In Wireshark the Nrf is not recognized

Have you tried refreshing the interfaces in Wireshark? You can do so by selecting Capture > Refresh Interfaces. It should show up under the Capture tab on the welcome page like this:

Best regards,

Marte