Two defects, both specific to running this sample on a XIAO rather than a DK, and both only on the border router side -- which is why the link was so lopsided and why a Matter device could attach but not sustain SRP updates. The coprocessor sample sets CONFIG_GPIO=n, which is reasonable on a DK whose RCP has no GPIO-controlled RF hardware. This board selects its antenna path with one: P2.03 powers the RF switch and P2.05 picks ceramic or external, declared as regulator-fixed nodes with regulator-boot-on. With GPIO off, REGULATOR_FIXED cannot build (it depends on GPIO), so those nodes got no driver, neither pin was ever driven, and the border router ran with an unpowered antenna switch. The devicetree looks correct throughout, which is what made this hard to see. Separately, Zephyr defaults OPENTHREAD_DEFAULT_TX_POWER to 0 dBm and the sample never overrides it, while Nordic's Matter samples use 8 -- so the border router was transmitting 8 dB weaker than the devices talking to it. That asymmetry hits beacon responses during a joiner's active scan, which is exactly what kept failing. Measured: -93 dBm at close range before, -71 dBm after, against a -101 dBm sensitivity floor.
1.8 KiB
1.8 KiB