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TI CC2650STK's Connectivity Issue (Device to Computer)

Tony Wong71
Prodigy 90 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC2650STK

Hi,

Recently, I purchased the TI SimpleLink Multi-Standard Sensor Tage Development Kit (CC2650STK). However, I was experiencing some issues on connecting the device to my laptop via Bluetooth. My laptop is Bluetooth 4.0. Do you think it is the issue between the device's bluetooth version of 4.1? Isn't it Bluebooth 4.1 is backward compatible with older version of Bluetooth? When I used my Samsung S5 phone, the device works functionally with the interaction of the Android TI app.

I am concerned because without establishing the wireless communication, how would able to debug the code I made for the device? Thank you! 

My laptop is running WIndows 8.1 Pro.

  • 0
    Prodigy 40 points
    I also purchased two of these to use out-of-the-box, but they will not pair with Windows 8.1 . I tried a few different Bluetooth stacks on 8.1 besides the MS stack and they all fail to pair. It seems that TI hasn't tested the default firmware for standards compliance? This is not a hobbyist-friendly device. I recommend hobbyists to steer clear of the CC2650STK and buy other bluetooth development devices.
  • 0
    Prodigy 90 points
    So is there any purpose for the debugger, like XDS100v3? If we would like to develop an android app or IOS, what we need essentially is the library to access the sensor data code right?
  • 0 in reply to Owen Piette
    Prodigy 90 points
    Hi, Owen,

    So this package does not allow us to debug the device or connect to composer studio via Bluetooth? We must purchase the debugger?
  • 0 in reply to Tony Wong71
    TI__Mastermind 34660 points
    Hello Tony. You are correct. There is no debugging capability through Bluetooth and you will need a debugger.
  • 0
    Guru 21435 points

    To add to Tim's answer......and just in case there is any confusion regarding BLE and how it functions.

    The SensorTag is using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart) and not Classic Bluetooth. So you will need a device that supports BLE to be able to see the SensorTag.

    If you have a Bluetooth 4.0 support than this should mean you have BLE support on your computer or device, however it does not work in the same way as Classic Bluetooth, you do not Pair using the Bluetooth pairing tool. BLE usually works within an app/application and not with the traditional Bluetooth tools.

    Also many Android devices will not support BLE at this stage, the more advanced ones like your Samsung S5 will most likely support it. This is why you can see it using the TI app with this smartphone....but if you tried to pair it with this same smart phone you would not see it in the list.

    Glenn.

  • 0 in reply to Glenn Vassallo
    Prodigy 90 points

    Hi, Glenn,

    My laptop has Bluetooth v 4.0 and actually is able to recognize the device CC2650STK. However, when I tried to pair up with it, my system said "it didn't work" in the Windows 8.1 Pro. Do you have any idea?

    If I have a Bluetooth Module 4.1 USB, would it be possible to read off sensor data from the laptop? I know TI has some HTML UI to perform that. If I was able to get the device paired up with my laptop, theoretically it will work right?

    Best,
    Tony

  • 0 in reply to Glenn Vassallo
    Prodigy 40 points

    This response seems wrongish, maybe I'm just misunderstanding: " it does not work in the same way as Classic Bluetooth, you do not Pair using the Bluetooth pairing tool." From what I understand, which is limited, the pairing mechanism is the same:

    "In version 4.0 and 4.1 of the core specification, Bluetooth Smart uses the Secure Simple Pairing model (referred to as LE Legacy after the Bluetooth 4.2 release), in which devices choose one method from Just Works, Passkey Entry and Out Of Box (OOB) based on the input/output capability of the devices." https://developer.bluetooth.org/TechnologyOverview/Pages/LE-Security.aspx

    From what I read on the forums, it seems that the old sensortag, the CC2541DK, asked for a PIN code to pair. So that must be using "PassKey Entry". This new sensortag doesn't ask for a Passkey, so it must be either "Just Works" or "OOB"? Can anyone say definitely which method it uses? Or just point me to the code for the default firmware? Thanks!

  • 0 in reply to Tony Wong71
    Guru 21435 points
    Hi Tony,

    I am not sure, I cannot test your scenario as I do not have a Windows Machine with BLE support. I do have a Macintosh with BLE support and the Bluetooth paring does not see it, I can see it however when I use an Macintosh BLE Application called LightBlue.

    I am not aware of any HTML UI to perform reading of sensors, other than the Cloud webpage...but this will require the iOS App (and I think soon the Android App) acting as a Gateway.

    You may be able to find a BLE Windows Application that can read the raw data for each of the services, but it may not make much sense.

    I did notice there were many SensorTag Windows Applications written for the first version of the SensorTag, perhaps there will be some for version 2 also.

    Glenn.
  • 0 in reply to Owen Piette
    Guru 21435 points
    Hi Owen,

    This is definitely not the case with Macintosh and iOS. The traditional Bluetooth pairing parts of these OSes do not see the SensorTag. Whether this is a BLE standard issue or a feature selection as you have suggested, I am not sure.

    You can get the firmware from here - www.ti.com/.../sensortag-sw

    Is it possible that pairing is a profile specific thing...for example using GATT to connect a keyboard, you would want to pair with traditional tools as this would be used by many features on a device.

    But for App specific devices, you would perform the pairing if specified from with in the App that uses the device....I could be wrong and am making assumptions through limited use and development rather than reading the specification.

    Glenn.
  • 0
    Prodigy 40 points
    I finally found an answer, though I can't find confirmation that it's still true today:
    vincenth.net/.../building-cross-platform-ibeacon-apps-for-ios-android-and-windows-with-c-and-xamarin.aspx

    It turns out that Glenn was absolutely right, but let me clarify his answer. BLE has added support for a new pair-less connection, and it seems that the new SensorTag only supports this option by not implementing traditional pairing (though I would think that it should!) The connection is made directly to the GATT server. The idea was to keep power consumption low and skip the pairing overhead. Also it allows for "beacons", or devices that only send out data but don't need to establish pairing or to encrypt their data. (Think store advertisements to your phone as you're walking past.)

    This opens up two problem, though:
    1. Pairing establishes encryption keys. Without pairing, there's no encryption!
    2. The current Windows 8.1 BLE driver doesn't support pair-less connections. Period. I read somewhere that Windows 10 might. Do some google searches on "Windows BLE beacon support" and you can read all about it. Of course, Android, Linux, and IOS do.

    So until the SensorTag supports pairing or Windows releases pairless support, Windows users are SOL. THough I'm open to being proven wrong!
  • 0 in reply to Owen Piette
    Guru 21435 points
    Hi Owen,

    Thanks for the link....I just started with Xamarin to see if it can help speed up my app development and this like a useful project to look at.

    Glenn.
  • 0 in reply to Glenn Vassallo
    TI__Mastermind 34660 points

    Regarding the choice of pairing method for the sensor tag application...it is simply a sample application and the pairing method can be modified as desired in the code using the GAPBondManager. Please see section 5.4 and Appendix VI of the Software Developer's Guide (http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/swru393/swru393.pdf) for a GAPBondManager description and API.

  • 0
    Prodigy 40 points
    Hi Tony,
    I bought a USB device that has a full BLE stack and a programmable interface over a serial port, the BlueGiga BLE112. I bought it from Mouser for $20. Using it I've connected to the CC2650STK and scanned all of the values over GATT in Windows XP and 8.1. Finally. It isn't native BLE support, but it's useable! www.mouser.com/.../BLED112
    www.bluegiga.com/.../bled112-bluetooth-smart-dongle