nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE main page.

They allow you to work on custom central or peripheral development using tools that behave as known-good references. The sniffer, app, and protocol analyzer make a powerful combination. You can also use the free Nordic nRF Connect for Mobile app on an iOS or Android mobile device to act as either side of a BLE connection, central or peripheral, to provide traffic. The Sniffer package consists of firmware to load onto the device that provides the sniffing functionality, and Wireshark plugin and profile to control the sniffer and analyze the captured traffic.

This post shows using the nRF52840 USB dongle. Nordic provides the free nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE software package for turning several of their low-cost boards containing an nRF SoC (System-on-Chip) into BLE sniffers, using the Programmer app in the free nRF Connect for Desktop package. This is a great way to learn how the protocol works or to verify that the devices are communicating properly. That allows you to see the protocol activity, and for unencrypted data, the data contents. Once you’ve captured that data, you can analyze it with tools like Wireshark. The sniffer receives and records the data being broadcast by other nearby BLE devices. For RF (Radio Frequency) wireless communications like Bluetooth Low Energy, the medium is the open air. This is useful for developers and testers doing development, researchers studying system behavior, and students or professionals learning the protocol and device software.Ī sniffer allows you to capture traffic from the communications medium and analyze it. When working with communications devices, it’s helpful to be able to observe the communications traffic.

The Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Dongle can be used as a BLE sniffer.

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