XIAO MG24 BLE range

Products & Technology XIAO
#1

Hi.

i am testing the new product: XIAO MG24. As written in the documentation of the product the onboard antena can have up to 50m. From the docs:
“Equipped with an on-board antenna with BLE range up to 50m in an open location with no signal interference, while reserving an interface for external UFL antenna”

With my testing on examples provided in the library, i cannot get more than 3m. What am I missing here?

Product: https://www.seeedstudio.com/Seeed-Studio-XIAO-MG24-p-6247.html

Best regards,

#2

Hi potocnik,

What it says 50m is really an ideal value in an ideal environment. Practically speaking, it’s 10m at most.
What antennas did you use and which sketches did you use on the transmitter and receiver sides, respectively?

#3

Hi there,

I might add, that BLE at that distance usually means coded PHY mode for Longer range.
Not even the original BLE 5.0 spec is 50 meters so IDK where they are getting the “SALES” info from?

this say’s :saluting_face:
Typical BLE Range
By default, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices often achieve a range of around 10 to 30 meters (roughly 30 to 100 feet) in open space under average conditions. However, actual range can vary dramatically depending on:

  1. Transmit Power: Higher power can extend range but also increase power consumption.
  2. Antenna Quality: PCB antenna design, orientation, and surrounding materials can boost or hinder signals.
  3. Environment: Obstacles (walls, metal, people) attenuate signals. Outdoors in line-of-sight can stretch range significantly more than indoor settings.
  4. Bluetooth Version: BLE versions (e.g., Bluetooth 5.0, 5.1, 5.2) introduced new PHY modes and extended data rates that can potentially reach longer distances (over 100 meters in ideal line-of-sight tests).

Extended Range with Bluetooth 5+

  • Bluetooth 5 introduced new modes (like LE Coded PHY, sometimes called “long range mode”) that trade data rate for better sensitivity and can extend range up to several hundred meters in open, unobstructed environments (lab conditions).
  • Real-world performance might be closer to 50–150 meters outdoors with minimal interference.

Summary

  • Baseline: 10–30 meters (indoor, nominal conditions).
  • Outdoors & Good Antenna: Up to ~100 meters.
  • LE Coded PHY (Bluetooth 5+): 100+ meters in ideal scenarios.

For most consumer BLE devices, 10–30 meters is a safe expectation unless the manufacturer specifically states they use extended-range features and a well-optimized antenna design.

HTH
GL :slight_smile: PJ :v:

#4

plus there is so much background bluetooth traffic its unbleavable…

#5

I tried to use w/o antenna, and was surprised when they said 50m :smiley: The receiver was phone, for testing purpuses. Will try to setup some antennas to achive some more range than couple of meters

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#6

The transmit power of BLE can be changed from -3 dBm to 8 dBm. It may extend the communication distance a little.
See the link below.

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