BLE HID Keyboard Example¶

The BLE HID Keyboard Example demonstrates how to implement the HID over GATT profile for keyboard.

The application includes the three mandatory services needed for the HID over GATT profile:

Human Interface Device Service
Device Information Service
Battery Service

Tip

Before you start building, remember to set up the nRF5 SDK development environment first. See Setup the nRF5 SDK for details.

Building the example¶

You can find the source code and the project file of the example in the following folder: examples/nrf5-sdk/ble_app_hids_keyboard.

Open terminal and navigate to the directory with the example Makefile:

cd ./examples/nrf5-sdk/ble_app_hids_keyboard/armgcc

Run make merge to build the application and merge with the Softdevice:

make merge

Programming the firmware¶

If compiled successfully, the firmware is located in ble_app_hids_keyboard/armgcc/_build with the name nrf52840_xxaa_s140.hex.

Connect the debugger USB port to your PC using the provided USB-C Cable. A disk drive called M2-DOCK will be automatically detected by the computer.

Run the following command in ble_app_hids_keyboard/armgcc to program the board:

make flash_all

Tip

See Programming section for details about how to program the nRF52840 M.2 Module.

Testing¶

Use a computer with Bluetooth Low Energy supported to test the HID Keyboard Example. Here goes with macOS.

After the application starts, observe that GREEN LED is blinking. This indicates that the device is advertising.
Go to System Preferences -> Bluetooth Preferences, observe that the BLE HID keyboard named Nordic_Keyboard is found.
Connect to the keyboard. Observe that GREEN constant light, that is, the connections is established.
Put your cursor in the following text area and press the USER button on the board to input hello:

Note

RESET the board to clear bond information from persistent storage before the next connection.

Create an Issue¶

Interested in contributing to this project? Want to report a bug? Feel free to click here: