BLE is a feature included only on some of the latest XBee devices, like XBee 3 BLU and it allows your device to wirelessly communicate with other BLE-enabled devices.

Enable the BLE interface

If you want to connect, configure or send data over BLE, you have to:

  1. Enable BLE on the XBee device, as it comes disabled by default.

  2. Enable security by setting a password on the XBee 3 BLU.

Before you begin, define the password you want to use for BLE on the XBee 3 BLU and store it in a secure place. Use a secure password of at least eight characters and a random combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.

Digi recommends you use a security management tool such as LastPass or Keepass for generating and storing passwords for many devices.

To communicate with your XBee 3 BLU device over BLE:

  1. Connect your device to a PC where XBee Studio is installed.

    This section assumes that you know how to connect the XBee 3 BLU device to a PC. For more information on how to connect an XBee device to a PC, see the Step 2 - Set up the hardware page from the getting started section.

  2. Open XBee Studio.

  3. Wait for your device to be discovered.
    A module that’s never been configured should be discovered automatically, but if you have problems discovering your local device, see the Device discovery tools section of XBee Studio User Guide to learn how to do it manually.

  4. Click on the device. The Dashboard page appears. It contains the device information, connection interface and a list of quick actions.

    BLE can be enabled either through Quick Actions, which simplify the configuration process (only valid for the supported actions), or manually through the Settings view.

    1. Go to the Settings page of your device and:

      1. Set the Bluetooth Identifier (BI) setting to XBee_BLU_1.

      2. Set the Bluetooth Enable (BT) setting to Enabled [1].

      3. Configure the authentication to communicate with your device by clicking the Configure button on the Bluetooth Authentication setting. Type a new password in the Password field of the Basic configuration section in the popup.

        Memorize this password because you will use with the mobile application.
        You can change the password at any time following the above process.

      4. Click the Write settings button on the top toolbar and wait for the settings to be written to the device.

    1. In the Quick Actions section of the Dashboard page of your device click the Bluetooth Configuration quick action.

      1. Set the Enable Bluetooth Low Energy interface checkbox to enabled.

      2. Enter a value of your choice in the Identifier field.

        In order to use the XBee Mobile app, you should start the Identifier value with the word XBee. If you don’t want to, remember to disable the filter in the app when you use it for the first time.

      3. Enter a value of your choice in the Password field.

        Memorize this password because you will use with the mobile application.
        You can change the password at any time following the above process.

      4. Click the Apply button and wait for the settings to be written to the device.

When you enter the BLE password in XBee Studio, the salt and verifier values are calculated as you set your password.
For more information on how these values are used in the authentication process, see SRP authentication on XBee devices.

Test the communication

To verify that the BLE interface of your device is enabled and you can communicate with it, you need to use the XBee Mobile app.

You can find information on how to install the XBee Mobile app in the Getting Started Guide.

To test the BLE connection of your XBee 3 BLU module:

  1. Open the XBee Mobile app. (Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the phone or tablet.)

  2. Wait for your device to be discovered and select it once it appears in the list.

  3. Introduce the Bluetooth authentication password of your device.

Once done, you can configure and communicate with the module over BLE to change settings, update the firmware and more.

To learn more about how to configure your devices over bluetooth, visit the XBee Mobile app user guide.