With Silicon Labs Bluetooth Mesh SDK, you can build reliable and secure wireless mesh applications for industrial and commercial IoT segments. The Mesh SDK has your entire product life-cycle covered, from development to over-the-air maintenance. Our simplified Mesh stack always supports the latest protocol version, cutting-edge features, and robust security. It works with C-based GCC or IAR compilers and Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio, an intuitive development environment and the most valuable dev toolbox free-of-charge.
Overview
Bluetooth Mesh SDK
The Bluetooth Mesh Software Development Kit is part of the Silicon Labs GSDK. It consists of an extensive library of example projects, peripheral drivers, the Bluetooth Mesh protocol stack, and the API.
Hardware-agnostic Stack
With Silicon Labs, you have just one proven, hardware-agnostic software stack and API for Bluetooth Mesh. This approach speeds up development and radically simplifies SW and HW migration to your new Bluetooth Mesh products – it results in more robust software and reduces development and maintenance costs.
The Latest Bluetooth Mesh Specification
With Silicon Labs Bluetooth Mesh stack, you can keep your products ahead of the competition! Our stack evolves in the frontline of the industry to support the latest specifications and deliver all the essential features among the first in the world.
Bluetooth Mesh Software Features and Benefits
| Features | Benefits | |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh Node Types | All the node types specified for Bluetooth mesh are supported on Silicon Labs stack: Relay, Proxy, Friend, and Low Power Node (LPN). | |
| Provisioning Protocols | For new nodes on mesh network, the provisioner and provisioned node can communicate over either PB-ADV or PB-GATT bearers, ensuring compatibility for smartphones with Bluetooth LE and GATT support. | |
| GATT Services | Both GATT services are supported in Silicon Labs Bluetooth mesh – Proxy and Provisioning. | |
| Wi-Fi Coexistence | Allows the Bluetooth mesh device to coordinate transmitting and receiving with the collocated Wi-Fi device with reduced interference, and increased reliability. | |
| Certificate Based Provisioning (CBP) | Use certificates to authenticate devices before provisioning, thus saving cost and time. Also, prevents counterfeit devices from being provisioned into the network. | |
| Remote Provisioning (RPR) | Easy way to provision even when the nodes are not in direct radio range of the provisioner, thereby reducing installation cost and time. | |
| Private Beacons | Does not allow for static information in beacons to be shared outside of the network. | |
| Proprietary Extension | Allows extended advertising on all 40 channels - increasing throughput by 10x. | |
| Simultaneous DFU Upgrade | Standardize way to do simultaneous DFU for homogeneous devices, reducing cost and time. |
Security
Mesh Stack Security
Silicon Labs Bluetooth Mesh stack is equipped with all the specified security features.
ECDH - Elliptic-curve Diffie–Hellman key agreement
AES-128 encryption, authentication, and obfuscation for authenticating messages and prevent data tracking
Out-of-Band authentication to add a device to the Mesh network securely with user verified random numbers
Replay protection to prevent Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks
Key refresh (blacklist) to change security keys during the lifetime of a device
Secure Execution Environment
If your IoT application requires security beyond the Bluetooth specification, Silicon Labs hardware supports mbed TLS, a trusted execution environment for Bluetooth applications.
Secure Maintenance Over-the-Air
Maintain your entire installed base via the secure OTA firmware update, which authenticates the update file source, encrypts the process using AES-128, and guarantees an unaltered firmware via the secure boot.
Secure Firmware Updates
Our Secure Gecko Bootloader supports authenticated and AES-128 encrypted software updates via OTA, UART, Secure Boot, flash partitioning, and internal and external SPI for flash.
Hardware Security
In addition to the full range of software security features, your IoT applications will be protected by Silicon Labs hardware security.
Mesh Development Tools
Silicon Labs Bluetooth Mesh SDK uses C programming language, and you can use it with GCC or IAR compilers. For ultimate speed and easiness of development, we recommend our Simplicity Studio, the unified development environment for all Silicon Labs technologies and hardware.
Simplicity Studio
Simplicity Studio provides an intuitive dev experience and the most valuable toolbox free-of-charge.
When you install Simplicity Studio, it automatically customizes your development environment and installs the SDKs based on the target hardware. Everything is wrapped into a single, intuitive, end-to-end dev experience – including Eclipse-based IDE, the correct version of GCC toolchain, Make, Commander, J-Link drivers, energy profiler, network analyzer, PIN tool, GATT configurator, Mesh Configurator, and more. It is the only development tool to download with Silicon Labs.
Downloads
Download and Install Simplicity Studio
Get up and running quickly with precompiled demos, application notes and examples. Use advanced tools including energy profiling and network analysis to optimize your wireless systems. Choose your software package below.
GitHub
Silicon Labs wireless IoT SDKs and code examples are also available for download on GitHub.
VS Code IDE Support
In addition to the Simplicity Studio IDE, we also support VS Code that can be used in companion with all of our unique development tools.
Mobile Apps
EFR Connect
The only BLE mobile app with data throughput and smartphone interoperability testing – and much more.
Bluetooth Mesh App
The easiest way to provision, configure and control your Bluetooth Mesh network.
Tech Docs
Gecko SDK Release Notes (4.3.2.0)
Latest Release - Q4/2023 (October 2023)
Bluetooth Mesh Version 5.0.2.0
- Support for Mesh Protocol 1.1
- Support for Mesh Model 1.1
- Support for Mesh Binary Large Object Transfer
- Support for Mesh Device Firmware Up-date
| Release | Date | Release Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023/10 | Version 5.0.2.0  |
| 2023/08 | Version 4.2.2.0 |
|
| 2023/07 | Version 5.0.1.0 |
|
| 2023/06 | Version 3.0.5.0 |
|
| 2023/06 | Version 5.0.0.0 |
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| 2023/05 | Version 4.2.1.0 |
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| 2023/03 | Version 4.2.0.0 |
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| 2022 | 2022/10 | Version 3.0.3.0 |
| 2022/09 | Version 3.0.2.0 |
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| 2022/08 | Version 3.0.1.0 |
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| 2022/06 | Version 3.0.0.0 |
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| 2022/03 | Version 2.2.2.0 |
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| 2022/01 | Version 2.2.1.0 |
Bluetooth Mesh ADK Version 3.1.4.0
- Application min SDK version changed to Android 28 and iOS 12
- Library min SDK version changed to Android 26 (no change to iOS)
- IOP tests added
- Simultaneous provisioning of multiple devices and simultaneous proxy ses- sions
- Performance and stability improve- ments
| Release | Date | Release Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021/10 | Version 3.1.4.0 |
| 2021/09 | Version 3.1.3.0 |
|
| 2021/07 | Version 3.1.1.0 |
Gecko Platform Version 4.3.2.0
- Support for EFR32xG27 devices
- Power Manager update for optimized return from EM2
- CPC support for multiple SPI clients
- CPC remote peripheral (GPIO) access
- License change (to open-source zlib) for various platform files
| Release | Date | Release Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023/10 | Version 4.3.2.0 |
| 2023/08 | Version 4.2.4.0 |
|
| 2023/07 | Version 4.3.1.0 |
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| 2023/06 | Version 4.1.5.0 |
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| 2023/06 | Version 4.3.0.0 |
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| 2023/05 | Version 4.2.3.0 |
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| 2023/03 | Version 4.2.2.0 |
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| 2023/02 | Version 4.2.1.0 |
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| 2023/01 | Version 4.1.4.0 |
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| 2022 | 2022/12 | Version 4.2.0.0 |
| 2022/10 | Version 4.1.3.0 |
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| 2022/09 | Version 4.1.2.0 |
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| 2022/08 | Version 4.1.1.0 |
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| 2022/06 | Version 4.1.0.0 |
|
| 2022/03 | Version 4.0.2.0 |
|
| 2022/01 | Version 4.0.1.0 |
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