Digi XBee S2C 802.15.4 User manual

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4
Radio Frequency (RF) Module
User Guide

Revision history—90001500
Revision Date Description
G May 2018 Added note on range estimation. Changed ICto ISED.
H June 2018 Changes to the Active Scan command.
J May 2019 Removed Brazilian certification information.
K May 2019 Added FCC publication 996369 related information.
L July 2019 Added the NPcommand. Added RS-485 support.
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States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2018 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Customer support
Gather support information: Before contacting Digi technical support for help, gather the following
information:
Product name and model
Product serial number (s)
Firmware version
Operating system/browser (if applicable)
Logs (from time of reported issue)
Trace (if possible)
Description of issue
Steps to reproduce
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 2

Contact Digi technical support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages.
Contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
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XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 3

Contents
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide
Applicable firmware and hardware 11
Technical specifications
Performance specifications 13
Power requirements 13
General specifications 14
Regulatory conformity summary 14
Serial communication specifications 15
UART pin assignments 15
SPI pin assignments 15
GPIO specifications 15
Hardware
Antenna options 18
Mechanical drawings 18
Mounting considerations 19
Pin signals 20
Notes 23
Design notes 23
Power supply design 23
Board layout 23
Antenna performance 23
Keepout area 24
RF pad version 26
Configure the XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module
Software libraries 30
Configure the device using XCTU 30
Over-the-air (OTA) firmware update 30
XBee Network Assistant 30
XBee Multi Programmer 31
Modes
Serial modes 33
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 4

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 5
Transparent operating mode 33
API operating mode 33
Command mode 34
Transceiver modes 36
Idle mode 36
Transmit mode 36
Receive mode 36
Operation
Addressing 38
Send packets to a specific device 38
Addressing modes 38
Encryption 38
Maximum payload 40
Maximum payload rules 40
Maximum payload summary tables 41
Work with Legacy devices 41
Networking 42
MAC Mode configuration 42
XBee retries configuration 43
Transmit status based on MAC mode and XBee retries configurations 43
Peer-to-peer networks 44
Master/slave networks 44
Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) 48
CCA operations 48
Serial interface 49
Select a serial port 49
UART data flow 50
Flow control 51
SPI operation 52
SPI signals 52
SPI parameters 53
SPI and API mode 53
Full duplex operation 53
Slave mode characteristics 54
I/O support 54
Digital I/O line support 55
Analog input 55
On demand I/O sampling 55
Periodic I/O sampling 57
Change Detect I/O sampling 58
Wakeup I/O sampling 59
Sample rate (interval) 59
I/O line passing 59
Output control 60
Sleep support 60
Sleep modes 60
Sleep parameters 61
Sleep current 62
Sleep pins 62
Direct and indirect transmission 62
Node discovery 63
Node discovery 63
Node discovery in compatibility mode 64

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 6
Directed node discovery 64
Directed node discovery in compatibility mode 64
Destination Node 64
Remote configuration commands 65
Send a remote command 65
Apply changes on remote devices 65
Remote command responses 65
AT commands
Special commands 67
WR (Write) 67
RE (Restore Defaults) 67
FR (Software Reset) 67
Networking and security commands 67
C8 (802.15.4 Compatibility) 67
CH (Operating Channel) 69
ID (Network ID) 69
DH (Destination Address High) 69
DL (Destination Address Low) 70
MY (Source Address) 70
SH (Serial Number High) 70
SL (Serial Number Low) 70
MM (MAC Mode) 71
RR (XBee Retries) 71
RN (Random Delay Slots) 72
ND (Network Discovery) 72
NT (Node Discover Timeout) 73
NO (Node Discovery Options) 73
DN (Discover Node) 74
CE (Coordinator Enable) 74
SC (Scan Channels) 75
SD (Scan Duration) 75
A1 (End Device Association) 76
A2 (Coordinator Association) 77
AI (Association Indication) 78
DA (Force Disassociation) 78
FP (Force Poll) 78
AS (Active Scan) 79
ED (Energy Detect) 80
EE (Encryption Enable) 80
KY (AES Encryption Key) 81
NI (Node Identifier) 81
NP (Maximum Packet Payload Bytes) 81
RF interfacing commands 82
PL (TX Power Level) 82
PM (Power Mode) 83
CA (CCA Threshold) 83
Sleep commands 83
SM (Sleep Mode) 84
ST (Time before Sleep) 84
SP (Cyclic Sleep Period) 84
DP (Disassociated Cyclic Sleep Period) 85
SO (Sleep Options) 85
Serial interfacing commands 85

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 7
BD (Interface Data Rate) 86
NB (Parity) 87
RO (Packetization Timeout) 87
D7 (DIO7/CTS) 87
D6 (DIO6/RTS) 88
AP (API Enable) 88
I/O settings commands 89
D0 (DIO0/AD0) 89
D1 (DIO1/AD1) 89
D2 (DIO2/AD2) 90
D3 (DIO3/AD3) 90
D4 (DIO4) 91
D5 (DIO5/ASSOCIATED_INDICATOR) 91
D8 (DIO8/SLEEP_REQUEST) 92
P0 (RSSI/PWM0 Configuration) 92
P1 (PWM1 Configuration) 93
P2 (SPI_MISO) 93
M0 (PWM0 Duty Cycle) 94
M1 (PWM1 Duty Cycle) 94
P5 (SPI_MISO) 94
P6 (SPI_MOSI Configuration) 95
P7 (SPI_SSEL ) 95
P8 (SPI_SCLK) 95
P9 (SPI_ATTN) 96
PR (Pull-up/Down Resistor Enable) 96
PD (Pull Up/Down Direction) 97
IU (I/O Output Enable) 97
IT (Samples before TX) 97
IS (Force Sample) 98
IO (Digital Output Level) 98
IC (DIO Change Detect) 98
IR (Sample Rate) 99
RP (RSSI PWM Timer) 99
I/O line passing commands 99
IA (I/O Input Address) 99
T0 (D0 Timeout) 100
T1 (D1 Output Timeout) 100
T2 (D2 Output Timeout) 100
T3 (D3 Output Timeout) 100
T4 (D4 Output Timeout) 101
T5 (D5 Output Timeout) 101
T6 (D6 Output Timeout) 101
T7 (D7 Output Timeout) 101
PT (PWM Output Timeout) 101
Diagnostic commands 102
VR (Firmware Version) 102
VL (Version Long) 102
HV (Hardware Version) 102
DB (Last Packet RSSI) 102
EC (CCA Failures) 103
EA (ACK Failures) 103
DD (Device Type Identifier) 103
Command mode options 104
CT (Command mode Timeout) 104
CN (Exit Command mode) 104

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 8
AC (Apply Changes) 104
GT (Guard Times) 104
CC (Command Character) 105
Operate in API mode
API mode overview 107
API frame specifications 107
API operation (AP parameter = 1) 107
API operation-with escaped characters (AP parameter = 2) 107
Start delimiter 108
Length 108
Frame data 108
Checksum 109
Calculate and verify checksums 109
Escaped characters in API frames 110
Frame descriptions 111
64-bit Transmit Request - 0x00 111
16-bit Transmit Request- 0x01 113
Local AT Command Request - 0x08 115
Queue Local AT Command Request - 0x09 117
Remote AT Command Request - 0x17 119
Description 122
Format 122
Examples 123
16-bit Receive Packet - 0x81 124
64-bit I/O Sample Indicator - 0x82 126
16-bit I/O Sample Indicator - 0x83 128
Description 130
Examples 131
Transmit Status - 0x89 132
Modem Status - 0x8A 135
Modem status codes 136
Remote AT Command Response- 0x97 138
Regulatory information
United States (FCC) 142
OEM labeling requirements 142
FCC notices 142
FCC-approved antennas (2.4 GHz) 144
RF exposure 156
FCC publication 996369 related information 156
Europe (CE) 157
Maximum power and frequency specifications 157
OEM labeling requirements 157
Listen Before Talk requirement 158
Declarations of conformity 158
Antennas 158
ISED (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) 159
Labeling requirements 159
For XBee S2C surface-mount 159
For XBee-PRO S2C surface-mount 159
For XBee S2C through-hole 159

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 9
For XBee-PRO S2C through-hole 159
Transmitters for detachable antennas 159
Detachable antenna 160
Australia (RCM) 160
South Korea 160
Load 802.15.4 firmware on ZB devices
Background 166
Load 802.15.4 firmware 166
Migrate from XBee through-hole to surface-mount devices
Pin mapping 169
Mount the devices 170
PCB design and manufacturing
Recommended solder reflow cycle 173
Recommended footprint and keepout 173
Flux and cleaning 175
Rework 175

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Modules are embedded solutions providing wireless end-point
connectivity to devices. These devices use the IEEE 802.15.4 networking protocol for fast point-to-
multipoint or peer-to-peer networking. They are designed for high-throughput applications requiring
low latency and predictable communication timing.
There are two footprints for the XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module hardware: through-hole
(TH) and surface-mount (SMT). TH devices include a 20-pin header and require the placement of two
1x10 sockets on the carrier board for mounting the device. SMT devices include 37 pads. They are
placed directly on the carrier board, which means they do not require holes or sockets for mounting.
The TH version may be useful for prototyping and production, but we recommend SMT for high-volume
applications, as the component can be placed automatically by a pick-and-place machine and you save
the cost of a socket on each board.
The XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module supports the needs of low-cost, low-power wireless
sensor networks. The devices require minimal power and provide reliable delivery of data between
devices. The devices operate within the ISM 2.4 GHz frequency band.
The XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module uses S2C hardware and the Silicon Labs EM357 chipset.
As the name suggests, the 802.15.4 module is over-the-air compatible with our Legacy 802.15.4
module (S1 hardware), and the TH versions of the new product are also form factor compatible with
designs that use the Legacy module.
Note OTA capability is only available when MM (Mac Mode)= 0 or 3
Applicable firmware and hardware 11
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 10

XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide Applicable firmware and hardware
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 11
Applicable firmware and hardware
This manual supports the following firmware:
n802.15.4 version 20xx
It supports the following hardware:
nXB24C TH
nXB24C SMT
nXBP24C TH
nXBP24C SMT

Technical specifications
Performance specifications 13
Power requirements 13
General specifications 14
Regulatory conformity summary 14
Serial communication specifications 15
GPIO specifications 15
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 12

Technical specifications Performance specifications
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 13
Performance specifications
The following table describes the performance specifications for the devices.
Note Range figure estimates are based on free-air terrain with limited sources of interference. Actual
range will vary based on transmitting power, orientation of transmitter and receiver, height of
transmitting antenna, height of receiving antenna, weather conditions, interference sources in the
area, and terrain between receiver and transmitter, including indoor and outdoor structures such as
walls, trees, buildings, hills, and mountains.
Specification XBee value XBee-PRO value
Indoor / urban range Up to 200 ft (60 m) Up to 300 ft. (90 m)
Outdoor RF line-of-sight range Up to 4000 ft (1200 m) Up to 2 miles (3200
m)
Transmit power output (software
selectable)
6.3 mW (8 dBm), Boost mode1
3.1 mW (5 dBm), Normal mode
Channel 26 max power is 0.3 mW (-5
dBm)
63 mW (18 dBm)2
RF data rate 250,000 b/s 250,000 b/s
Maximum data throughput Up to 96,000 b/s Up to 96,000 b/s
UART interface data rate 1200 b/s to 250,000 b/s 1200 b/s to 250,000
b/s
SPI data rate Up to 5 Mb/s (burst) Up to 5 Mb/s (burst)
Receiver sensitivity -102 dBm, Boost mode
-100 dBm, Normal mode
-101 dBm
Power requirements
The following table describes the power requirements for the XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF
Module.
Specification XBee XBee-PRO
Supply voltage 2.1 - 3.6 V 2.7 - 3.6 V
Transmit current (typical, VCC = 3.3 V) 45 mA (8 dBm, Boost mode)
33 mA (5 dBm, Normal mode)
120 mA (18 dBm)
Idle / receive current (typical, VCC = 3.3 V) 31 mA (Boost mode)
28 mA (Normal mode)
31 mA
Power-down current <1 uA @ 25C <1 uA @ 25C
1Boost mode enabled by default; see PM (Power Mode).
2See Regulatory information for region-specific certification requirements.

Technical specifications General specifications
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 14
General specifications
The following table describes the general specifications for the devices.
Specification XBee XBee-PRO
Operating
frequency
ISM 2.4 GHz
Supported
channels
11 - 26 12 - 23
Form factor TH: 2.438 x 2.761 cm (0.960 x 1.087 in)
SMT: 2.199 x 3.4 x 0.305 cm (0.866 x
1.33 x 0.120 in)
TH: 2.438 x 3.294 cm (0.960 x 1.297 in)
SMT: 2.199 x 3.4 x 0.305 cm (0.866 x
1.33 x 0.120 in)
Operating
temperature
-40 to 85 ºC (industrial)
Antenna options TH: PCB antenna, U.FL connector, RPSMA connector, or integrated wire
SMT: RF pad, PCB antenna, or U.FL connector
Regulatory conformity summary
This table describes the agency approvals for the devices.
Country
XBee
(surface-mount)
XBee-
PRO
(surface-
mount)
XBee
(through-
hole)
XBee-PRO
(through-
hole)
United States (FCC Part 15.247) FCC ID:
MCQ-XBS2C
FCC ID:
MCQ-
PS2CSM
FCC ID:
MCQ-S2CTH
FCC ID:
MCQ-PS2CTH
Innovation, Science and Economic
Development Canada (ISED)
IC:
1846A-XBS2C
IC:
1846A-
PS2CSM
IC:
1846A-S2CTH
IC:
1846A-
PS2CTH
FCC/IC test transmit power
output range
-26 to +8dBm -0.7 to
+19.4
dBm
-26 to +8 dBm +1 to +19
dBm
Europe (CE) Yes - Yes -
Australia RCM RCM RCM RCM
Japan R201WW10215369 R210- 105563
South Korea MSIP-CRM-DIG-
XBee-S2C
MSIP-CRM-
DIG-XBee-S2C-
TH
RoHS Compliant

Technical specifications Serial communication specifications
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 15
Serial communication specifications
The XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module supports both Universal Asynchronous Receiver /
Transmitter (UART) and Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)serial connections.
UART pin assignments
The SC1 (Serial Communication Port 1) of the Ember 357 is connected to the UART port. The following
table provides the UART pin assignments.
Specifications Module pin number
UART pins XBee (surface-mount) XBee (through-hole)
DOUT 3 2
DIN / CONFIG 4 3
CTS / DIO7 25 12
RTS / DIO6 29 16
SPI pin assignments
The SC2 (Serial Communication Port 2) of the Ember 357 is connected to the SPI port.
Specifications Module pin number
SPI pins XBee (surface-mount) XBee (through-hole)
SPI_SCLK 14 18
SPI_SSEL 15 17
SPI_MOSI 16 11
SPI_MISO 17 4
SPI_ATTN 12 19
GPIO specifications
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Modules have 15 General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) ports
available. The exact list depends on the device configuration, as some GPIO pads are used for
purposes such as serial communication.
GPIO Electrical Specification Value
Low Schmitt switching threshold 0.42 - 0.5 x VCC
High Schmitt switching threshold 0.62 - 0.8 x VCC
Input current for logic 0 -0.5 µA

Technical specifications GPIO specifications
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 16
GPIO Electrical Specification Value
Input current for logic 1 0.5 µA
Input pull-up resistor value 29 kΩ
Input pull-down resistor value 29 kΩ
Output voltage for logic 0 0.18 x VCC
(maximum)
Output voltage for logic 1 0.82 x VCC
(minimum)
Output source/sink current for pad numbers 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26,
28, 29, 30, and 32 on the SMT modules
4 mA
Output source/sink current for pin numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 19 on
the TH modules
4 mA
Output source/sink current for pad numbers 7, 8, 24, 31, and 33 on the SMT
modules
8 mA
Output source/sink current for pin numbers 6, 7, 11, 18, and 20 on the TH modules 8 mA
Total output current (for GPIO pads) 40 mA

Hardware
Antenna options 18
Mechanical drawings 18
Mounting considerations 19
Pin signals 20
Design notes 23
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 17

Hardware Antenna options
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 18
Antenna options
The ranges specified are typical for the integrated whip (1.5 dBi) and dipole (2.1 dBi) antennas. The
printed circuit board (PCB) antenna option provides advantages in its form factor; however, it typically
yields shorter range than the whip and dipole antenna options when transmitting outdoors. For more
information, see XBee and XBee-PRO OEM RF Module Antenna Considerations Application Note.
Mechanical drawings
The following mechanical drawings of the XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module show all
dimensions in inches. The first drawing shows the surface-mount device (antenna options not shown).
The following drawings show the standard (non-PRO) through-hole device.

Hardware Mounting considerations
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 19
The following drawings show the XBee-PRO through-hole device.
Mounting considerations
We design the through-hole module to mount into a receptacle so that you do not have to solder the
module when you mount it to a board. The development kits may contain RS-232 and USB interface
boards that use two 20-pin receptacles to receive modules.

Hardware Pin signals
XBee/XBee-PRO S2C 802.15.4 RF Module User Guide 20
The following illustration shows the module mounting into the receptacle on the RS-232 interface
board.
Century Interconnect and Samtec manufacture the 2 x 10 pin 2 mm spacing receptacles on Digi
development boards. Several other manufacturers provide comparable mounting solutions; we
currently use the following receptacles:
nThrough-hole single-row receptacles: Samtec part number: MMS-110-01-L-SV (or equivalent)
nSurface-mount double-row receptacles: Century Interconnect part number: CPRMSL20-D-0-1
(or equivalent)
nSurface-mount single-row receptacles: Samtec part number: SMM-110-02-SM-S
Note We recommend that you print an outline of the module on the board to indicate the
correct orientation for mounting the module.
Pin signals
The following image shows the pin numbers; it shows the device's top sides, the shields are on the
bottom.
The following table shows the pin assignments for the through-hole device. In the table, low-asserted
signals have a horizontal line above signal name.
Pin Name Direction Description
1 VCC - Power supply