Certification guideline/Bluetooth Qualification Process example with STM32WBx

This article details the seven different steps on the Launch Studio webpage, but before going through this process, let's look at STM32WB55RG and the associated Bluetooth® Low Energy stack.

1. STM32WBxx component (tested) and its associated Bluetooth® Low Energy stack information

The Bluetooth® Special Interest Group (SIG) provides a listing search[1] for finding previously qualified designs and declared products. You can search for products by declaration ID, qualified design ID, product name, or model number. The subchapters below detail the information on STM32WB55 available via this listing search.

1.1. STM32WBxx component (tested)

This window shows the QDID number for STM32WB55 (127495)[2]. Note that there are different STM32WB & STM32WBA versions. In this example, STM32WB55RG (1-MB flash memory) RF_PHY layer is used.

Connectivity STM32WB55 launch Studio search.png


This RF PHY was qualified in 2019, with core specification 5.0. The component was qualified using the test case reference list (TCRL) version 2023-1, details of which can be found on the Bluetooth® TCRL information webpage[3].

Connectivity QDID STM32WB55RG details.png


1.2. STM32WB_BLE_STACK

This window shows the QDID number for STM32_BLE_STACK (216169)[4].

Connectivity STM32 FW details.png



Connectivity STM32 FW details 2.png


You can see that STM32WB _BLE_STACK was qualified with Bluetooth® 5.3 & Bluetooth® 5.4. STM32WB_BLE_STACK_Full_Ext includes new Bluetooth® 5.4 features, such as encrypted advertising data and LE GATT security levels characteristics, along with GAP/GATT/SM and L2CAP layers in the Arm Cortex®-M0+ processor.

Info white.png Information
If you're starting to develop your platform, STMicroelectronics recommends using the Bluetooth® Low Energy stack, which supports the latest Bluetooth® version (5.4), even if your RF PHY was qualified using an older Bluetooth® core version.

2. Qualification process

The Bluetooth® website provides several pages detailing the different steps in the qualification process:

  • Bluetooth® qualification listing[5]
  • Bluetooth® project basics[6]

Each subchapter below describes a different step of the qualification process on the Bluetooth® website.

2.1. Project Basics

In this window, select at least one RF PHY and one host stack for your project. The host stack is linked to an SDK version. In our example (STM32WB55RG), you can find the latest SDK version on our STM32CubeWB webpage[7].

Connectivity Project Basics.png



Connectivity Project Basics2.png


After selecting "End Product" in the "Product Types" field, select "[2/4] LE Controller" in the "Controller Core Configuration" field (the previously selected STMicroelectronics RF PHY and host stack are Bluetooth®-Low-Energy-oriented only).

Next, click on "Save and continue to Layer Selection."

2.2. Layer Selection

All different layers have been prechecked based on the component features. However, no standard profile has been qualified for STM32WBx. If you need one, select it and provide your own test evidence.

Connectivity Layer Selection 1.png


Continue to the next section, "ICS Selection."

2.3. ICS Selection

This section can be confusing, because you must solve all potential inconsistencies.
The capabilities of each layer are preselected, but depending on the TCRL version used for qualification of the RF PHY and host stack, some inconsistencies might exist.

To check for inconsistencies, click on the "Consistency Check" button in the top right corner of the window.

Connectivity ICS section 1.png



Connectivity ICS section 2.png



Check all highlighted inconsistencies and correct the preselected features. The example below shows an inconsistency related to the product and controller core specification.

Connectivity ICS section 3.png



Your end project should contain only one core specification. However, by default, since the RF PHY was qualified with core 5.0 and the host stack with core 5.4, the tool selects both specifications. Since you're using STMicroelectronics Bluetooth® Low Energy stack 5.4, unselect all other core specifications.

Connectivity ICS section 4.png



Proceed like this for all inconsistencies. When all inconsistencies have been fixed, proceed to the next step.

2.4. Testing

In this section, you have to download a test plan. This is an Excel sheet built using the different features you selected in the previous steps.

Connectivity 1 test section.png



Complete the file and insert the reference of the existing QDID as shown below. The associated QDID should be the one related to the host stack.

Connectivity 1 test 2.png



Then go to the next section, "Test Documentation."

2.5. Test Documentation

In this section, you upload the test plan you completed in the previous step.

Connectivity 2 test documentation.png

2.6. Product Declaration

In this section, you must provide all information related to your product.

Connectivity 3 Project declaration.png

2.7. Declaration ID

In this section, you pay the declaration fees related to the qualification path you have selected (with or without testing required).

Connectivity 4 declaration ID.png



Connectivity 4 declaration ID-2.png

2.8. Review & Submit

This final section allows you to review the information you have entered in the previous steps and submit your request for qualification.

Connectivity 5 review.png



For more details about the certification process, visit our Certification guideline wiki page.

3. References