How to reduce zigbee power consumption when endpoint is searching network

[Jorcis]

We have a multiprotocol project running BLE and Zigbee Stacks. The device always operate on BLE, but Zigbee is optional. The project is developed using NCS with zephyr revision v2.4.99-ncs2. Zigbee can be enabled or disabled writing to a BLE characteristic. The device is configured as a Zigbee Endpoint

Zigbee stack is started with those lines of code:

	zb_af_register_device_ctx(&device_context);

	zb_set_ed_timeout(ED_AGING_TIMEOUT_64MIN);
	zb_set_keepalive_timeout(ZB_MILLISECONDS_TO_BEACON_INTERVAL(3000));
	zb_set_rx_on_when_idle(ZB_FALSE);

	zigbee_enable();

When zigbee stack is searching network, the device is consuming around 15 mA, and after successful steering it lows down to 100 uA. If Zigbee is enabled, consumption is OK, but when Zigbee is disabled, and no network is available, the device keeps consuming 15 mA forever.

My questions are:

¿How can I disable the Zigbee stack on runtime, and avoid the consumption part due to zigbee functions?

alternatively

¿Is there a way to simulate a network join, without having a real network, so that the Zigbee EP thinks it is connected and the consumption keeps on 100 uA?

Even if we decide not to execute zigbee_enable at start up, the fact of having CONFIG_ZIGBEE=y consumes around 1 mA. So that not enabling zigbee at start up, is not an option.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks,

Jordi

[AHaug]

Hi Jordi,

If Zigbee is enabled, consumption is OK, but when Zigbee is disabled, and no network is available, the device keeps consuming 15 mA forever.

The current consumption should not be so high, which leads me to believe there is some issue with how you disable Zigbee. The Zigbee current consumption should be in lower µA-levels if its idling or is done with searching/establishing networks, which means that it might still be in a phase where it tries to establish and search for a network.. Could you show/add code for how you disable Zigbee?

¿How can I disable the Zigbee stack on runtime, and avoid the consumption part due to zigbee functions?

An option you could investigate is to check multiprotocol support in NCS with this Zigbee sample that supports enabling of multiprotocol support (and for some more reading multiprotocol support in nRF5 SDK). This should, to my knowledge, allow you to time slice when you allow which of the protocols to use the radio.  

Let me know about how you disable Zigbee and if any of this helps at all!

Kind regards,
Andreas

[Jorcis]

Hi Andreas,

First of all, sorry for the late response.

As for your question of how I disable zigbee, indeed, I have tried to execute many functions trying to disable it.  As there is no equivalent function to zigbee_enable(), I have tried zb_bdb_reset_via_local_action(0), zdo_mgmt_leave_req(0). I have also tried to execute zb_sleep_now() at a 2 second interval, and finally as in the light_switch sample, I have tried zigbee_configure_sleepy_behavior(true), but the least I get when is around 2 mA. (Remember consumption is ok when steering is successful, this behavior only occurs when no zigbee network is found)

With the power profiler I see consumption is 17mA until second 42, when it decreases to 170 uA just for 2 seconds and then it begins again at 17 mA. This 42 seconds coincides at the time when steering is not successful, as you can see in attached log. If we managed to stabilized consumption to 170 uA after not successfully steering, that would be ok.

00> [00:00:00.435,821] <inf> ieee802154_nrf5: nRF5 802154 radio initialized
00> *** Booting Zephyr OS build v2.4.99-ncs2-1  ***
00> 
00> [00:00:00.909,973] <dbg> wbolt.WBolt: Zigbee is enabled
00> [00:00:00.910,064] <inf> sdc_hci_driver: SoftDevice Controller build revision: 
00>                                          d9 e2 43 71 3b 2d c0 15  55 e1 1d c8 99 75 01 7a |..Cq;-.. U....u.z
00>                                          62 85 8d 0a                                      |b...             
00> [00:00:00.914,520] <dbg> BluetoothAdvertising.setDeviceName: Device name is wBolt FA9B8F6E371B
00> 
00> [00:00:00.922,912] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 16
00> [00:00:00.922,943] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Production configuration is not present or invalid (status: -1)
00> [00:00:00.923,095] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 1
00> [00:00:00.923,095] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Zigbee stack initialized
00> [00:00:01.187,225] <inf> spi_nrfx_spim: CS c0m
00> [00:00:10.909,942] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.joinedTimeout: ...
00> [00:00:10.909,942] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Enabled sleepy end device behavior.
00> [00:00:10.909,942] <inf> ram_pwrdn: RAM power off unsupported.
00> [00:00:43.126,403] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 7
00> [00:00:43.126,434] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network steering was not successful (status: -1)
00> [00:00:43.126,739] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:00:43.126,953] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:01:26.041,259] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 7
00> [00:01:26.041,259] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network steering was not successful (status: -1)
00> [00:01:26.041,595] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:01:26.041,778] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:02:10.955,688] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 7
00> [00:02:10.955,688] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network steering was not successful (status: -1)
00> [00:02:10.955,993] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:02:10.956,207] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:02:59.863,342] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 7
00> [00:02:59.863,342] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network steering was not successful (status: -1)
00> [00:02:59.863,647] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:02:59.863,861] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:03:21.374,328] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network rejoin procedure stopped as scheduled.
00> [00:03:56.777,313] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 7
00> [00:03:56.777,313] <inf> zigbee_app_utils: Network steering was not successful (status: -1)
00> [00:03:56.777,465] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:03:56.777,618] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:04:06.776,855] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:04:16.776,092] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:04:26.775,329] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:04:36.774,566] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15
00> [00:04:46.773,803] <dbg> ZigbeeDeviceContext.zboss_signal_handler: sig = 15