Certification guideline with STM32WB and STM32WBA

Coming soon

This page contains information related to Bluetooth® Low Energy or regional (CE, FCC) certification.
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with STM32WB and/or STM32WBA development. Otherwise please visit Introduction to Bluetooth® Low Energy with STM32 guideline.

1. STMicroelectronics tools for certification

STMicroelectronics provides dedicated STM32WB/WBA firmware called "Transparent Mode" that can be used for certification purposes.
STMicroelectronics also provides a dedicated GUI PC tool called STM32CubeMonitor-RF that can be used for regional RF certifications.

1.1. Transparent mode firmware

A set of commands/events is sent through the STM32WB/WBA UART or USB to control the Bluetooth® Low Energy stack via the transparent mode application.

1.1.1. STM32WB1x, STM32WB3x, STM32WB5x

STM32WB devices embed Arm Cortex®-M4 and Arm Cortex®-M0 network co-processors.
STM32WB-M0 devices embed the Bluetooth® smart protocol stack.

DELETE THIS? While, on external STM32WB-M4 a dedicated Transparent mode FW is available in STM32CubeWB software package.

For STM32WB-M4 devices, dedicated "Transparent Mode" firmware is available in the STM32CubeWB software package. It is available in source code and must be rebuilt using the customer hardware configuration (UART interface used, SMPS used or not, etc.).

Information

The stm32wbxx_BLE_Stack_full_extended_fw binary is mandatory for STM32WB-M0 with STM32WB-M4 transparent mode firmware.

For firmware examples, refer to:

• The P-NUCLEO-WB55 Nucleo folder if the UART interface is used.
• The P-NUCLEO-WB55 USBDongle folder if the USB interface is used.

1.1.2. STM32WBA5x

The "Transparent Mode" firmware is available in the STM32CubeWBA software package. It is available in source code and must be rebuilt using the customer hardware configuration (UART interface used, SMPS used or not, etc.).

Refer to the dedicated STM32WBA page STM32WBA Transparent Mode for more details.

1.2. STM32 Cube Monitor RF PC tool

STM32CubeMonitor-RF is a PC tool for quickly testing the RF performance of STM32WB/WBA-based hardware devices.

In the RF Tests tab, the required mode (Rx/Tx), modulation and power settings for the tested device can be configured quickly.

2. Bluetooth^® certification

2.1. Bluetooth^® Low Energy qualification process

All products using Bluetooth^® technology must complete the Bluetooth^® qualification process. Please refer to the Bluetooth^® SIG webpage (Bluetooth^® qualification process overview).

The Bluetooth^® qualification process is not a matter of putting the Bluetooth^® logo on a product, but of using licensed technology.

There are two possible paths for the qualification process:

No testing required

• I'm designing a product based on a pre-certified STMicroelectronics module, such as STM32WB5MMG or STM32WB1MMC.
• I'm designing a product using STM32WB and following the recommendations outlined in AN5165, or STM32WBA and not making changes to the schematics and layout.
  

Testing required

• I'm designing a product based on an STMicroelectronics chipset, such as STM32WB, and not following the recommendations outlined in AN5165, or STM32WBA, and making changes to the schematics or layout.
  

Launch Studio process flow
A dedicated chapter gives a step-by-step description of the Launch Studio process.
Whatever the STM32WB or STM32WBA chipset or associated modules used, STMicroelectronics does not provide end product devices, so the required testing path should be used. STMicroelectronics qualified its product as a component (tested) to allow changes and maintenance to the latest core functionality.
The image below shows the main qualification steps and associated costs:

All certification fees are available from the SIG Website.
THE RF PHY reports for STM32WB modules can be found on st.com:

• STM32WB5MMG (cutY) RF PHY test report.
• STM32WB5MMG (cutX) RF PHY test report.
• STM32WB1MMC (cutX) RF PHY test report.

Is software testing required?
Whatever the path selected, no software testing is required, except if using adopted standard profiles.

Where does Bluetooth^® qualification take place?
If testing is required, the qualification testing process must be done in an official Bluetooth^® qualification test facility (BQTF). BQTFs are formally recognized by the Bluetooth^® SIG as competent to perform Bluetooth^® qualification conformance tests.
A list of official BQTFs is available on the Bluetooth^® website.

2.2. Available qualified design IDs (QDID)

The tables below summarize all available PHY and host stack QDIDs for the STM32WB/STM32WBA family.
When proceeding to certification, customers should select the PHY and stack QDID corresponding to the STM32WBx version or stack/features used.
As a reminder:

• You need to start the Launch Studio process from the latest mandatory TCRL.
• This ensures interoperability between a 5.1 device and a 5.3 device, for example.
• All Bluetooth^® Low Energy features are optional, so you need to select the necessary features for your application.

2.2.1. STM32WB PHY QDID

Package	Part number	Cut version	RF PHY QDID
QFN48	STM32WB55Cx (BLE5.2 - 2Mbit/s) STM32WB50Cx (BLE5.2 - 1Mbit/s) STM32WB35Cx (BLE5.2 - 2Mbit/s) STM32WB30Cx (BLE5.2 - 1Mbit/s)	Y or X	161807 (TCRL 2021-1)
	STM32WB15CCU6E (BLE5.2 – 2Mbit/s) STM32WB10CCU5E (BLE5.2 – 1Mbit/s)	Y or X	164054 (TCRL 2020-1)
	STM32WB15CXX6 (BLE5.2 – 2Mbit/s) STM32WB10CXX5 (BLE5.2 – 1Mbit/s)	Y or X	161969 (TCRL 2020-1)
QFN68	STM32WB55Rx (BLE5.0 - 2Mbit/s)	Y	127495 (TCRL 2023-1)
CSP 100	STM32WB5xVY (BLE 5.1 - 2Mbit/s)	Y	134665 (TCRL 2021-1)
	STM32WB55VY (BLE5.3 - 2Mbit/s)	X	178970 (TCRL 2021-2)
BGA129	STM32WB55Vxx (BLE5.2 - 2Mbit/s)	Y or X	161808(TCRL 2021-1)
WLCSP49	STM32WB15CCY (BLE5.2 – 2Mbit/s) STM32WB10CCY (BLE5.2 – 1Mbit/s)	Y or X	170241 (TCRL 2020-1)
Module 86-pin LGA	STM32WB5MMG (BLE5.2 – 2Mbits/s)	Y	170767 (TCRL 2020-1)
	STM32WB5MMG (BLE 5.3 - 2Mbits/s)	X	187035 (TCRL2021-2)
Module 77-pin LGA	STM32WB1MMC (BLE5.3 – 2Mbit/s)	2.1	187042 (TCRL2023-1)

2.2.2. STM32WB host stack QDID

Features	Host stack version	STM32WB_Copro_Wireless_Binaries	QDID
4.0 HCI LL	STM32Cube_WB_BLE_HCI	stm32wb5x_BLE_HCI_AdvScan_fw.bin stm32wb5x_BLE_HCILayer_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_HCI_AdvScan_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_HCILayer_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_HCI_AdvScan_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_HCILayer_fw.bin	160726 (TCRL 2023-1) BLE 5.2
4.0 HCI LL, ATT, GAP, GATT, L2CAP, SMP	STM32Cube_WB_BLE_FULL_STACK STM32Cube_WB_BLE_BASIC_STACK STM32Cube_WB_BLE_LIGHT_STACK	stm32wb5x_BLE_Stack_full_fw.bin stm32wb5x_BLE_Stack_light_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_Stack_full_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_Stack_light_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_Stack_full_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_Stack_light_fw.bin	160724 (TCRL 2023-1) BLE 5.2
4.0 HCI LL with extended advertising, ATT, GAP, GATT, L2CAP with Enhanced Connected Oriented Channel, SMP	STM32CubeFW_WB_BLE_HCI_FULL_EXT STM32CubeFW_WB_BLE_STACK_FULL_EXT	stm32wb5x_BLE_HCILayer_extended_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_HCILayer_extended_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_HCILayer_extended_fw.bin stm32wb5x_BLE_Stack_full_extended_fw.bin stm32wb3x_BLE_Stack_full_extended_fw.bin stm32wb1x_BLE_Stack_full_extended_fw.bin	201968 (TCRL2023-1) BLE 5.3 216169 (TCRL2023-1) BLE 5.4

2.2.3. STM32WBA PHY QDID

Package	Part number	Cut version	RF PHY QDID
QFN48	STM32WBA52	1.x	197135 (TCRL 2022-2) BLE 5.4

2.2.4. STM32WBA Host stack QDID

Features	Host stack version	QDID
4.0 HCI LL with extended advertising, ATT, GAP, GATT, L2CAP with Enhanced Connected Oriented Channel, SMP	STM32Cube_WBA_BLE_HCI_STACK STM32Cube_WBA_BLE_FULL_STACK	198195 (TCRL 2022-1) BLE 5.3

2.3. Launch Studio process

Refer to the Bluetooth^® qualification process example wiki article for a detailed description of the different steps of the qualification process for your end product. It describes the qualification process using a specific example (STM32WB55RG component).

2.4. Bluetooth^® Low Energy PHY testing

In case PHY testing is required, the following chapters contain information on how to prepare the customer's hardware and software.

2.4.1. Software & hardware recommendation for Bluetooth^® Low Energy RF testing

The customer should prepare their device to ensure that:

• STM32WBx or STM32WBAx is programmed with the "Transparent Mode" firmware.
• The SMA RF cable is set instead of the antenna (a solid grounding connection is needed), because Bluetooth^® Low Energy RF PHY tests are done in conducted mode only.

2.4.2. Direct test mode

Direct test mode (The Bluetooth^® tester sends HCI commands directly to the tested device) is mandatory for the Bluetooth^® Low Energy qualification, which is why the customer product must be programmed with the "Transparent Mode" firmware (refer to the chapter on "Transparent Mode" firmware above).

2.4.3. Pixit

When proceeding to the RF PHY tests, the customer might need to provide the test house with a few details about the chipset RF PHY

2.4.3.1. STM32WB

The information needed for STM32WB devices is listed in the table below:

Note 1: some information is product-related and not chipset-related (noted “Product dependent” in the table).

Note 2: 2M tests should be set to “NA” if the device does not support 2M modulation.

2.4.3.2. STM32WBA

The information needed for STM32WBA devices is listed in the table below:

Note 1: some information is product-related and not chipset-related (noted “Product dependent” in the table).

Note 2: 2M tests should be set to “NA” if the device does not support 2M modulation.

Note 3: Direction finding parameters should be set to "NA" if not used.

3. Regional certification

In order to sell Bluetooth® Low Energy product in regional countries, equipment needs to comply with the associated RF regulatory requirements:

• FCC (Federal Communications Committee) for North America
  
• CE European Commission (Radio Equipment Directive)
  
• IC (Industry Canada).
  
• etc.
  

3.1. Module versus chipset

Chipset use case

• STM32WB chipsets are compliant with regional RF regulatory requirements.
  
• However, RF tests for regional certification are fully HW dependent (antenna, layout etc.)
  

→ Each customer product must go through RF tests for all regional certification.

Module use case

• STM32WBxMMx modules are RF pre-certified for various region.

Certificates and tests reports are available on st.com for STM32WB1M and STM32WB5M .

• It means limited RF tests are requested on final product (Rx and Tx radiated tests).
  

→ RF tests costs are then reduced when using our certified modules.
→ Each customer product must go through remaining RF tests for all regional certification.

3.2. Regional testing : How to?

3.2.1. Test setup for regional RF testing

Customer should then prepare its DUT so that:

• STM32WB is flashed with transparent mode FW.
  
• Device under test is connected to STM32CubeMonitor-RF PC tool.
  
• RF test will be done in conducted and mainly radiated mode. For conducted tests RF cable should be implemented instead of antenna (ensure solid grounding connection).
  

Below picture is describing recommended test setup for performing regional RF testing.

3.2.2. RED - EN 300 328 prefilled document

Customers will be asked to fill up a form for EN 300 328 RED RF tests. Below are pre-filled suggested values when related to to STM32WB/WBA (to be completed with product related information)

3.2.3. Immunity tests

For regional certification, test house will check final product is able to sustain BLE communication under EMC stress.
Possible setup could be as below:

• Device under test is flashed with Transparent Mode FW and connected to STM32 Cube Monitor RF.
  
• STM32WB evaluation kit (for example) is also used outside anechoic chamber. It is flashed with Transparent Mode FW and connected also to STM32 Cube Monitor RF.
  

• Thanks to ACI Utilities panel, you can quickly establish a BLE link between DUT and ST eval kit. You can then check any disconnection during EMC stress test.

1) DUT Advertises

2) STM32WB Scans

3) STM32WB Connects

4) If RF link is broken with DUT, disconnection will appear.