Changelog for nRF Connect SDK v3.3.0-preview1

This changelog reflects the most relevant changes from the latest official release.

Known issues 

Known issues are only tracked for the latest official release. See known issues for nRF Connect SDK v3.2.0 for the list of issues valid for the latest release.

Changelog 

The following sections provide detailed lists of changes by component.

IDE, OS, and tool support 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Board support 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Build and configuration system 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Bootloaders and DFU 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with nRF91 Series 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with nRF70 Series 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with nRF54L Series 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with nRF54H Series 

Added:
- A document describing the merged slot update strategy for nRF54H20 devices, allowing simultaneous updates of both application cores (APP and RAD) in a single update operation. For more information, see Configuring nRF54H20 applications for updates using a merged slot.
- A document describing the manifest-based update strategy for nRF54H20 devices. For more information, see Configuring nRF54H20 applications for updates using a manifest.
- The Configuring bootloader requests on the nRF54H20 SoC page describes bootloader requests for the nRF54H20 SoC. It explains how you can pass information from the application to the bootloader.

Developing with nRF53 Series 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with nRF52 Series 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with Thingy:91 X 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with Thingy:91 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with Thingy:53 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with PMICs 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with Front-End Modules 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Developing with custom boards 

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Security 

Added:
- Support for the WPA3-SAE and WPA3-SAE-PT in the CRACEN driver.
- Support for the HMAC KDF algorithm in the CRACEN driver. The algorithm implementation is conformant to the NIST SP 800-108 Rev. 1 recommendation.
- Support for the secp384r1 key storage in the Key Management Unit (KMU).
- Support for AES-GCM AEAD using CRACEN for the nrf54lm20dk.
Updated:
- The API documentation section for the cryptographic drivers with links to the added API documentation for the CRACEN driver.
- The Oberon PSA Crypto to version 1.5.4 that introduces support for the following new features with the Oberon PSA driver:
  - Support for PSA Certified Crypto API v1.4, PSA Crypto API v1.4 PQC Extension and PSA Crypto Driver Interface v1.0 alpha 1.
  - Experimental support for Extendable-Output Function (XOF) algorithms SHAKE128, SHAKE256, ASCON XOF128 and ASCON CXOF128.
  - Experimental support for hash ML-DSA and deterministic ML-DSA asymmetric signature algorithms.
  - Experimental support for ASCON HASH256 hash algorithm.
  - Experimental support for ASCON AEAD128 AEAD algorithm.
  - Updated implementations of WPA3-SAE, ML-DSA and ML-KEM to support the PSA Crypto API v1.4.
The Supported cryptographic operations in the nRF Connect SDK page has been updated accordingly.
Removed:
- The CONFIG_PSA_WANT_KEY_TYPE_WPA3_SAE_PT Kconfig option and replaced it with CONFIG_PSA_WANT_KEY_TYPE_WPA3_SAE.
- The CONFIG_PSA_WANT_ALG_WPA3_SAE Kconfig option and replaced it by options CONFIG_PSA_WANT_ALG_WPA3_SAE_FIXED and CONFIG_PSA_WANT_ALG_WPA3_SAE_GDH.

Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M)

Updated to version 2.2.2.

Protocols 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by protocol. See Samples for lists of changes for the protocol-related samples.

Bluetooth® LE

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Bluetooth Mesh

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

DECT NR+

Added DECT NR+ full stack support, including the following features:
- Connection Manager integration for enabling easy connect for the applications.
- Network management API for controlling DECT NR+ operations.
- L2 API implementation enabling IPv6 connectivity, including HAL definition.
- Enabling Internet connectivity through sink and BR (Border Router) support together with, for example, Serial Modem on a gateway nRF91 LTE device.
- nRF91x1 DECT modem driver implementing HAL API and interfacing with DECT NR+ modem firmware where the DECT NR+ MAC layer is running.

Enhanced ShockBurst (ESB)

Fixed invalid radio configuration for legacy ESB protocol.

Gazell

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Matter

Updated the Default test event triggers section with the new Closure Control cluster test event triggers.

Matter fork

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

nRF IEEE 802.15.4 radio driver

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Thread

Added a warning when using precompiled OpenThread libraries with modified Kconfig options related to the OpenThread stack.

Wi-Fi®

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Applications 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by application.

Connectivity bridge

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

IPC radio firmware

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Matter bridge

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

nRF5340 Audio

Added:
- Dynamic configuration of the number of channels for the encoder based on the configured audio locations. The number of channels is set during runtime using the audio_system_encoder_num_ch_set() function. This allows configuring mono or stereo encoding depending on the configured audio locations, potentially saving CPU and memory resources.
- High CPU load callback using the Zephyr CPU load subsystem. The callback uses a printk() function, as the logging subsystem is scheduled out if higher priority threads take all CPU time. This makes debugging high CPU load situations easier in the application. The threshold for high CPU load is set in peripherals.c using CPU_LOAD_HIGH_THRESHOLD_PERCENT.
- CONFIG_SPEED_OPTIMIZATIONS to enable compiler speed optimizations for the application.
Updated:
- Switched to the new USB stack introduced in Zephyr 3.4.0. For an end user, this change requires no action. macOS will now work out of the box, fixing OCT-2154.
- Programming script. Devices are now halted before programming. Furthermore, the devices are kept halted until they are all programmed, and then started together with the headsets starting first. This eases sniffing of advertisement packets.
- With the latest release of nRF Connect for VS Code, you can build and program the nRF Audio application using the nRF Connect for VS Code GUI. Updated the Building and running nRF Audio applications accordingly: the note about missing support in nRF Connect for VS Code has been removed and the section about programming using standard methods now lists the steps for nRF Connect for VS Code and the command line.
- Improved handling of I2S RX buffer overruns. When an overrun occurs, the most recent block in the current frame is removed to make space for new incoming data.
- Optimized USB-to-encoder audio processing pipeline to reduce CPU usage. Note that LC3-encoding of sinusoidal input demands more of the CPU than real-world audio input.
- The audio data path now accumulates 10 ms frames instead of processing 1 ms blocks individually, reducing message queue operations by 90% and improving overall system performance. This optimization affects both USB audio input processing and the I2S audio datapath, resulting in more efficient encoder thread operation.
- Improved error handling with unlikely() macros for better branch prediction in performance-critical paths.

nRF Desktop

Added:
- A workaround for the USB next stack race issue where the application could try to submit HID reports while the USB is being disabled after USB cable has been unplugged, which results in an error. The workaround is applied when the CONFIG_DESKTOP_USB_STACK_NEXT_DISABLE_ON_VBUS_REMOVAL Kconfig option is enabled.
- Support for the nrf54lv10dk/nrf54lv10a/cpuapp board target.
Updated:
- The CONFIG_DESKTOP_BT Kconfig option to no longer select the deprecated CONFIG_BT_SIGNING Kconfig option. The application relies on Bluetooth LE security mode 1 and security level of at least 2 to ensure data confidentiality through encryption.
- The memory map for RAM load configurations of nRF54LM20 target to increase KMU RAM section size to allow for secp384r1 key.
- The default log levels used by the legacy USB stack (CONFIG_DESKTOP_USB_STACK_LEGACY) to enable error logs (CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_LOG_LEVEL_ERR, CONFIG_USB_DRIVER_LOG_LEVEL_ERR). Previously, the legacy USB stack logs were turned off. This change ensures visibility of runtime issues.

nRF Machine Learning (Edge Impulse)

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Thingy:53: Matter weather station

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Samples 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by sample.

Bluetooth samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Bluetooth Mesh samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Bluetooth Fast Pair samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Cellular samples

Cellular: nRF Cloud MQTT FOTA and Cellular: nRF Cloud MQTT device message samples:
- Added support for JWT authentication by enabling the CONFIG_MODEM_JWT Kconfig option. Enabling this option in the prj.conf is necessary for using UUID as the device ID.
Cellular: Location:
- Added support for onboarding with nRF Cloud Utils by using AT commands to set up the modem and device credentials.
Cellular: Modem Shell sample:
- Added support for JWT authentication by enabling the CONFIG_MODEM_JWT Kconfig option. Enabling this option is necessary for using nRF Cloud Utils as an onboarding method.
- Removed JITP from the shell commands and references from the sample documentation.

Cryptography samples

Crypto: AES CCM sample:
- Added support for the nrf54lm20dk/nrf54lm20a/cpuapp board target.

Debug samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

DECT NR+ samples

Added the nRF91x1: Hello DECT sample for demonstrating the use of the DECT NR+ stack with connection manager and IPv6 connectivity.
nRF91x1: DECT NR+ Shell sample:
- Updated:
  - The dect rf_tool command - Major updates to improve usage for RX and TX testing.
  - Scheduler - Dynamic flow control based on load tier to prevent modem out-of-memory errors.
  - Settings - Continuous Wave (CW) support and possibility to disable Synchronization Training Field (STF) on TX and RX.

Edge Impulse samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Enhanced ShockBurst samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Gazell samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

IronSide SE samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Keys samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Matter samples

Refactored documentation for all Matter samples and applications to make it more consistent and easier to maintain and read.
Matter: Manufacturer-specific:
- Added support for the NRF_MATTER_CLUSTER_INIT macro.
Matter: Closure:
- Added support for the Closure Control cluster test event triggers.
Matter: Door lock:
- Added support for the Thread and Wi-Fi switching section in the nRF54LM20 DK with the nRF7002-EB II shield attached.
Matter: Light bulb:
- Added support for the AWS IoT integration in the nRF54LM20 DK with the nRF7002-EB II shield attached.

Networking samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

NFC samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

nRF5340 samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Peripheral samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

PMIC samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Protocol serialization samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

SDFW samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Sensor samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

SUIT samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Thread samples

Added support for the nRF54L Series DKs in the following Thread sample documents:
- Thread: CoAP Client
- Thread: CoAP Server

Wi-Fi samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Other samples

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Drivers 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by driver.

Wi-Fi drivers

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Flash drivers

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Libraries 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by library.

Binary libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Bluetooth libraries and services

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Common Application Framework

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Debug libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

DFU libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Gazell libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Security libraries

nRF Security library:
- Updated the header files at subsys/nrf_security/src/drivers/cracen/cracenpsa/include/ with Doxygen documentation.

Modem libraries

LTE link control library:
- Added:
  - Support for new PDN events LTE_LC_EVT_PDN_SUSPENDED and LTE_LC_EVT_PDN_RESUMED.
  - The CONFIG_LTE_LOCK_BAND_LIST Kconfig option to set bands for the LTE band lock using a comma-separated list of band numbers.
- Removed:
  - The default value for the CONFIG_LTE_LOCK_BAND_MASK Kconfig option.
  - The lte_lc_modem_events_enable() and lte_lc_modem_events_disable() functions. Instead, use the CONFIG_LTE_LC_MODEM_EVENTS_MODULE Kconfig option to enable modem events.

Multiprotocol Service Layer libraries

Fixed:
- An issue with toggling of the REQUEST and STATUS0 pins when using the nRF700x coexistence interface on the nRF54H20 device.
- An issue where coexistence pin GPIO polarity settings were ignored when using the nRF700x coexistence interface.

Libraries for networking

nRF Cloud P-GPS library:
- Updated the range for the CONFIG_NRF_CLOUD_PGPS_NUM_PREDICTIONS and CONFIG_NRF_CLOUD_PGPS_REPLACEMENT_THRESHOLD Kconfig options to values supported by nRF Cloud.
- Fixed an issue where preemptive updates were not always performed when expected.
- Removed the CONFIG_NRF_CLOUD_PGPS_PREDICTION_PERIOD Kconfig choice and related options (CONFIG_NRF_CLOUD_PGPS_PREDICTION_PERIOD_120_MIN and CONFIG_NRF_CLOUD_PGPS_PREDICTION_PERIOD_240_MIN).

Libraries for NFC

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

nRF RPC libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Other libraries

Hardware ID library:
- Updated by renaming the CONFIG_HW_ID_LIBRARY_SOURCE_BLE_MAC Kconfig option to CONFIG_HW_ID_LIBRARY_SOURCE_BT_DEVICE_ADDRESS.

Shell libraries

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

sdk-nrfxlib

See the changelog for each library in the nrfxlib documentation for additional information.

Scripts 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by script.

Added the Matter Sample Checker script to check the consistency of Matter samples in the nRF Connect SDK.

Integrations 

This section provides detailed lists of changes by integration.

Google Fast Pair integration

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Edge Impulse integration

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Memfault integration

Added:
- The CONFIG_MEMFAULT_NCS_POST_INITIAL_HEARTBEAT_ON_NETWORK_CONNECTED Kconfig option to control whether an initial heartbeat is sent when the device connects to a network This shows the device status and initial metrics in the Memfault dashboard soon after boot.

AVSystem integration

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

nRF Cloud integration

Updated by enabling a transform request for topic prefix and pairing during connection initialization to nRF Cloud in the MQTT finite state machine (FSM).

CoreMark integration

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

DULT integration

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

The MCUboot fork in nRF Connect SDK (sdk-mcuboot) contains all commits from the upstream MCUboot repository up to and including 8d14eebfe0b7402ebdf77ce1b99ba1a3793670e9, with some nRF Connect SDK specific additions.

The code for integrating MCUboot into nRF Connect SDK is located in the ncs/nrf/modules/mcuboot folder.

The following list summarizes both the main changes inherited from upstream MCUboot and the main changes applied to the nRF Connect SDK specific additions:

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Zephyr 

The Zephyr fork in nRF Connect SDK (sdk-zephyr) contains all commits from the upstream Zephyr repository up to and including 93b5f19f994b9a9376985299c1427a1630f6950e, with some nRF Connect SDK specific additions.

For the list of upstream Zephyr commits (not including cherry-picked commits) incorporated into nRF Connect SDK since the most recent release, run the following command from the ncs/zephyr repository (after running west update):

git log --oneline 93b5f19f99 ^911b3da139

For the list of nRF Connect SDK specific commits, including commits cherry-picked from upstream, run:

git log --oneline manifest-rev ^93b5f19f99

The current nRF Connect SDK main branch is based on revision 93b5f19f99 of Zephyr.

Note

For possible breaking changes and changes between the latest Zephyr release and the current Zephyr version, refer to the Zephyr release notes.

Additions specific to nRF Connect SDK

No changes since the latest nRF Connect SDK release.

Removed references to JITP in different areas of the documentation.