Question: What does the Declaration ID cost?

Answer: Details on declaration and listing fees can be found on the Bluetooth SIG Qualification & Listing Fees page.

Question: Can I reuse TI's Declaration ID when listing my product with Bluetooth SIG?

Answer: No. Each product must obtain its own Declaration ID. You can reference TI's qualified components or subsystems (QDID's) in your product's listing, as noted in Section 2, to reduce the amount of testing required to qualify your end product.

Question: If I do not put the Bluetooth logo on my product, do I still need to list my product with Bluetooth SIG?

Answer: For more information, see the "Do I Need to List and/or Qualify My Product?" guide on the Bluetooth SIG website. Additional questions on this topic should be directed to Bluetooth SIG directly via their contact information. Note that TI cannot determine whether a product must be listed or qualified as it is the customer's responsibility to adhere to all regulatory, certification and qualification requirements.

If you determine that you need to list (certify) your product with BT SIG, follow the process that is listed under Section 2.1. You can combine with the TI BLE-Stack QDID (this saves you the bulk of the testing). Test only the adopted services you are using with the PTS tool and do the RF-PHY testing (if you are not using a pre-certified module). The TI software has all the necessary hooks to enable the RF-PHY testing on the device side.

If you determine that you do not need to list your product with BT SIG, then these steps may not be required. However, you may need to perform regulatory testing (for example, FCC) depending on where you sell or ship your product.

Question: My test facility has said that the CC254x QDIDs are expired and, thus, ineligible for use, or I need to test with the latest TCRL.

Answer: The CC254x uses a subsystem certification that does not expire. However, the applicability of the QDID may be dependent on whether the associated Bluetooth specification has been withdrawn by the SIG. The status of the specification can be determined during the listing process. TI recommends using the most recent QDID during the qualification process. The CC254x QDIDs listed in Table 2-7 are still valid and indicated as such when submitted to the SIG Qualification Listing Interface. There is no certification requirement to test with updated TCRLs when using the TI CC254x QDIDs.

Question: What is a Bluetooth Qualification Consultant (BQC)?

Answer:

• Previously known as a BQE or "Bluetooth Qualification Expert (BQE)", an individual recognized by the Bluetooth SIG to provide a Bluetooth member with qualification related services [7].
• Expert in understanding the qualification policy and process
• Optional for members to use them

Question: I have created my own proprietary profiles, do I need to qualify them?

Answer: No, those are not part of the qualification process. However, note that they should follow the GATT protocol (that is, have a primary service, characteristic declarations with proper formatting, and so forth) and use 128-bit custom UUIDs.

Question: Can I reuse the CC2640 or CC254x FCC Certification?

Answer: The CC2640 and CC254x devices are wireless MCUs and thus cannot be individually certified by the FCC (or any regulatory body) since the wireless MCU + external RF design combination must be considered for regulatory listing purposes. However, you may reuse a module certification (MCU + Antenna) provided it is pre-certified with the respective regulatory body and you follow the layout placement guidelines from the data sheet. For example, the CC2650 Module from TI (CC2650MODA [12]) has FCC, ETSI, IC (Canada) and Japan regulatory pre-certification. A listing of modules that incorporate TI Bluetooth Low Energy wireless MCUs can be found on the main Bluetooth Low Energy Wiki page. TI provides the necessary interfaces to allow you to perform the required regulatory testing. For more details, see the following regulatory sections.

Question: Where can I find a list of test facilities to perform regulatory and Bluetooth testing?

Answer: A list of Test Facilities can be found on the Bluetooth SIG website (requires login). Many of these test facilities can also perform regulatory testing.

Question: My test lab is requesting me to fill out a form. Where can I find the required information?

Answer: All of the device-specific information can be found in the wireless MCU data sheet and the RF-PHY Test Parameters table listed above. The remaining items will be obtained by performing actual measurements on your board using Direct Test Mode (DTM) or Modem Test Commands. Details about the internal radio architecture needed for regulatory filing can be obtained by reviewing TI CC254x and CC26xx FCC filings. For more information, see Section 3.