Hello. I have a pair of xbee3 modules ( XB3-24Z8PT-J). When i try to connect to them using xctu, it works about 1 time in 10, and even when it works, it shoes the model type, them , i keep having messages ‘auto resetting in progress’. Any tips on what could be going on ? i tried various baud rates, is 9600 the expected value ? They are out of the box so i expect them to have default configuration
The default baud rate is 9600bps. 8 data bits, No parity and 1 stop bit.
From the sounds of it, they are not at defaults or there is a problem with the interface board you are working with. I would suggest using a different board to test with.
X-CTU fails miserably when the XBee board is set to 9600 baud. It keeps resetting, and many values fail to update. WE have to set 115200 baud, apply the profile, and then change back to 9600 baud. Many of us have complained about this for years - nothing happens.
This is using the DIGI blue programming board, btw. Not our own hardware.
This would indicate that the radio is stuck in a bootloader state. That is why you have to load it at 115200bps.
You are not understanding. The XCTU app fails when the module is at 9600 baud. It works mostly, but keeps resetting every time it makes a change to a setting. And the changes do not happen.
We have to set the thing to 115200 baud, make the setting changes, and then change it back to 9600 baud.
This is using a 900Mhz radio XBee radio.
Chris Fox
That sounds more like you have changed the baud rate of the radio. What do you have the BD value set to on this radio?
Eric –
The radio (XBee 900HP PRO) is what I am working with. It is plugged into one if your blue boards (50001935-01). And, yes, the baud rate (BD) is changed to 9600 because that is what out device requires.
When we try to configure the board using a profile, it fails multiple times and the result is a mis-programmed radio.
XCTU discovers the radio OK, and reads its settings OK. But if we try to change any setting it fails and has to reset the radio. This means we cannot use profiles.
If we set the radio to 115200 baud, XCTU works. But it has timing that does not work with other baud rates.
I am guessing that we will have to set the radio to 115200 baud, apply the profile, and then set the baud rate back to 9600. VERY painful and unreliable in production.
Chris Fox
TopherFox, what is the exact part number for the 900 HP you are working with? The part number is on the white label and should be something like XBP8B-xxxxxxxxxx
XBee PRO S39 (PROS3B). We have dozens of them.
The problem isn’t the radios. It is he XCTU program. It has timings set for 115200 baud that don’t work for 9600 baud.
Chris Fox
That is not the part number. The part number is on the White Label on the shield side of the module. It will have something like XBP9B-DMUT-001.
The label is hard to read says:
XBP9B-DMST-002 I think.
Chris
Thank you for that data. That is the part number. In this case, try optimizing the USB drivers as described at Optimizing USB to serial port settings | Digi International
We get this when the baud rate is set to 9600. At 115200, XCTU is happy, but at lower baud rates it screws up.
I think this is a timing problem in XCTU but DIGI won’t even consider it.
It is a big problem for us because we need to use profiles in production to set-up the XBEE radio, but we ned it at 9600 baud. The profile tries to load bu keeps resetting the radio and the result is that the profile does not get loaded reliably.
Someone at DIGI needs to duplicate this and FIX IT.
Chris
As you can see, this has been a problem with XCTU for over ten years. Why won’t DIGI look at it? XCTU simply doesn’t work with XBee modules at lower baud rates. MANY uses have had the same problems with XCTU for many years!
This is really dumb. If the XCTU needs all these customized COMM port settings, why doesn’t it set them itself? On my system, I don’t even have the Advanced tab for the blue board. So every time I plug in the blue programming board I have to set up all these values? This is poor programming at best. I am disappointed in DIGI for this mess. And it has been a problem for customers for over a decade? Shame.
I think you have a misunderstanding. First,It is not an issue with XCTU but with the way the FTDI driver is configured for a low data rate serial device. XCTU is not designed to look for specific type of hardware outside of an XBee. That way, customers such as your self can use any kind of serial interface to connect the XBee to a PC with.
Second, No, you do not need to make the changes every time. Just once. Windows will remember these functions within its registry.
When I plug in the programming board, I don’t always get the same COMM port. And so, NO, the settings do NOT remain intact. Second, I use the same FTDI device in a few other products, and none of them have this trouble at any baud rate. I still argue that this is a serious failing of XCTU. You can’t blame this on FTDI. I am assuming that XCTU is another one of your abandoned “mature” products. There are things I love about DIGI and XBee, but there are things I hate as well. XCTU is one of them. Going to have to write my own to get the job done.