Multiprotocol

Get the best of two worlds - Combine and leverage

The benefits of wireless connectivity with multiprotocol are many and varied: It delivers a better user experience, different protocols offer complementary strengths when used together and developers can design once and use in multiple regions, and field upgrades can be supported.

All Nordic software and hardware supports multiple wireless connectivity protocols to allow for the ultimate flexibility in your design. Create one device that can connect to multiple protocols, or a device that can be configured to different protocols.

Multiprotocol demo video

Thread and Bluetooth Low Energy

nRF5 SDK for Thread: Thread/Bluetooth Low Energy multiprotocol demo

Switched Multiprotocol

Switched multiprotocol means that only one protocol is active at the time. This is in many use cases perfectly adequate. For example for smart home applications where the network type is unknown, it could be Bluetooth mesh, Thread or Zigbee. With switched multiprotocol you can develop a generic application and then the user can select the appropriate protocol to use, adapting to the network that already exists. Another possibility is to leverage Bluetooth Low Energy interoperability. The user can configure and even commission in devices with Bluetooth LE, and then switch to the appropriate protocol, it being Bluetooth mesh, Thread or Zigbee. Or you can do device firmware updates with Bluetooth LE, while the device typically uses another protocol.

Dynamic Multiprotocol

Dynamic multiprotocol means that multiple protocols are active at the same time. It is possible with a fast switching radio that time slices and shares the time between the protocols. The link scheduling is autonomous and connections are maintained. Leverage Bluetooth Low Energy interoperability and bridge into a Bluetooth mesh, Thread or Zigbee network. Use it for commissioning or to simply interact with the network.

Multiprotocol support

Compatability table

While Nordic SoCs support multiprotocol, there are limitations of the individual
technologies. Take a look at the table below to check your compatibility options.

	Bluetooth Low Energy	ZigBee	Thread	802.15.4	Proprietary
Bluetooth Low Energy	YES *	YES	YES	YES	YES
ZigBee	YES	N/A	YES	YES	YES
Thread	YES	YES	N/A	YES	YES
802.15.4	YES	YES	YES	N/A	YES
Proprietary	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES

* Multirole, 20 concurrent roles / connections (19 links and a scanner or broadcaster).

The complete multiprotocol solution. Fast switching radio and complementary software

Nordic provides the complete multiprotocol solution. The nRF52 Series are all-flash based SoCs with extensive processing power and a fast switching radio that are capable of running multiple protocols effortlessly. The SoCs are complemented by a broad suite of software that supports a wide selection of protocols.

Our solution enables you to run Bluetooth Low Energy concurrently with a 2.4 GHz proprietary, ANT, Bluetooth mesh, Thread or Zigbee.
Examples to get you going can be found in the respective SDKs.

nRF52 and nRF53 Series protocol support

Overview

	nRF52810	nRF52811	nRF52832	nRF52833	nRF52840	nRF5340
Bluetooth Low Energy	x	x	x	x	x	x
Bluetooth Direction Finding		(x)		(x)		(x)
Bluetooth mesh	(x)	(x)	(x)	x	x	(x)
Thread		x		x	x	(x)
Zigbee				x	x	(x)
802.15.4		(x)		(x)	x	(x)
ANT	x	(x)	x	(x)	x	(x)
2.4 GHz proprietary	x	x	x	x	x	x

(x) Software support planned

nRF52 series SoC

Recommended for advanced multi-protocol designs

nRF52810 SoC

Bluetooth 5.2 SoC supporting Bluetooth Low Energy

64 MHz Cortex-M4
192 KB Flash, 24 KB RAM
2.4 GHz transceiver
2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
Bluetooth Low Energy
+4 dBm TX power
128-bit AES
UART, SPI, TWI, PDM
PWM
12-bit ADC

nRF52832 SoC

Versatile Bluetooth 5.2 SoC supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh and NFC

64 MHz Cortex-M4 with FPU
512/256 KB Flash, 64/32 KB RAM
2.4 GHz transceiver
2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth mesh
+4 dBm TX power
128-bit AES
UART, SPI, TWI, PDM, I2S
PWM
12-bit ADC
NFC-A

nRF52840 SoC

Bluetooth 5.2 SoC supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, NFC, Thread and Zigbee

64 MHz Arm Cortex-M4 with FPU
1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM
2 Mbps, 1 Mbps, Long Range
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth mesh
Thread, Zigbee
+8 dBm TX Power
128-bit AES CCM, Arm CryptoCell-310
UART, SPI, TWI, PDM, I2S, QSPI, PWM
12-bit ADC
NFC
USB 2.0