Thingy 53 - Bluetooth Connectivity issues when try on Android phone

Question

Greetings, 
 
 Apologies if this question has been asked previously but I recently received my Nordic Thingy 53 device and for the life of me the device will not connect to the Bluetooth on my multiple Android devices as connection fails due to in correct PIn or passcode. 
 
 Initially the device connected to my phone as I was able to load some samples using nRF Programmer mobile application however once I went to the Edge Impulse application my phone doesn't connect to the device and asks to make sure I have updated firmware or charged device and any attempts at reconnecting fail as the unit shows on Bluetooth but cannot connect and factory resetting my phone does nothing to solve the connection issue? The device will show on nRF Connect yet doesn't always Bond or Connect and if I try pairing it fails due to the PIN error!? 
 
 I then tried reinstalling samples using nRF Programmer mobile application yet that failed so I then tried updating the Firmware using nRF Connect for Desktop and the device would only show once I hit SW2 so followed the instructions to Update Firmware which was successful and my first attempt to pair the Thingy Peripheral LBS asked for PIN yet it didn't allow me to authenticate and I'm back to seeing the device on Bluetooth but it doesn't want to pair the device and I'm lost as to a solution to my problem? 
 
 The device is working as it flashes red, green, yellow colours and has been charged sufficiently yet I have no idea what the colours mean and after a few minutes it goes into sleep mode and a slight movement activates the lights again so maybe it just needs to be rest yet I have no idea how to do this so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Razor Burn · Accepted Answer

So I managed to update Peripheral LBS using the nRF Programmer app on Android using MIUI Global 13.0.9 (Android 12) and the Poco F3 sees the Nordic LBS in Bluetooth but when I pair I get the "Couldn't pair with Nordic_LBS because of an incorrect PIN or passkey" and in Edge Impulse it can't find any device? 
 nRF Connect app sees the device as Nordic_LBS and will connect but not Bond so not sure what is stopping it from pairing to Bluetooth as I tried a Huawei phone and Lenovo tablet with first attempt asking to authorize yet the device quickly disappears and won't connect so any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Razor Burn · Answer

OK so I'm not sure what I did but I went and installed EdgeImpulse from nRF Programmer app which was successful. That allowed me to pair the device and save it on my phones Bluetooth list. I then tried a few more apps such as nRF Connect and some how unlocked the SMP Service which was missing when I scanned for a device so now EdgeImpulse shows as Bonded. 
 
 I then tried Edge Impulse app and successfully added the device yet its still not showing up in Device Manager app as the message says: 
 2. Make sure the firmware with SMP server is flashed and device is advertising. 
 3. Check the filter settings. By default, the scanner displays only devices that advertise SMP service UUID (8D53Dc1D-1DB7-4CD3-868B-8A527460AA84) 
 I also see no device in nRF Bluetooth LE Joiner but I'm not sure if Thingy 53 actually uses that app so its not important. 
 How do I resolve the SMP server issue as nRF Connect lists the SMP Service details of the Bonded Device with a UUID number so why isn't that showing in Device Manager...? 
 
 Thanks again for the attention and hopefully I can move onto enjoying my new Thingy 53 as its really neat equipment in such a tiny format.

Menon · Answer

Hello, 
 It's bit confusing. Could you give a clear idea on what's the issue? Are you saying your parent issue is resolved now, means you are able to connect and program the thingy perfectly? Have you created your account in the nRF edge impulse app? 
 Could you tell which program in currently running inside the Thingy53? I didn't understand the SMP server part you are saying. Is that a message/notification you get while you try to connect? 
 
 Kind Regards, 
 Abhijith

Razor Burn · Answer

Hello, 
 
 Yes its all confusing for me as a beginner but I will summarize as things stand currently: 
 1) The Tingy53 has successfuly paired with my Android phone after installing EdgeImpulse 
 2) I'm unable to connect to a few apps such as nRF Bluetooth nor Device Manager as the pop up message mentions to check filter settings for SMP Server and SMP service UUID. 
 3) I am able to see Server details when connected in nRF Programmer as the Thingy 53 connects and bonds. 
 
 So to answer your question, yes I can connect now to Edge Impulse and most other phone apps so you may close the issue unless you can explain the SMP Server/service UUID message as the details are visible in nRF Programmer app...? 
 Also, a separate question but can the device be charged when turned off and how do we know whether the battery is fully charged as I wasn't able to locate that information from the User Guide. 
 
 Many thanks for your time.

Thingy 53 - Bluetooth Connectivity issues when try on Android phone

Top Replies