ESP Series of Products

CE Certification Guide

Related products
ESP32 series
ESP32-S2 series
ESP32-S3 series
ESP32-C3 series
ESP32-C6 series
ESP32-H2 series
ESP8266 series
ESP8285 series

Version 1.0
Espressif Systems
Copyright © 2021

www.espressif.com
About This Document
This Guide focuses on CE certification tests for the ESP series of products.

Release Notes

Date Version Release Notes

2021.08 v1.0 Initial release.

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Certification
Download certificates for Espressif products from
https://www.espressif.com/en/certificates.
Table of Contents
1. Test Preparation ........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Hardware Preparation ......................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Software Preparation........................................................................................................... 1
1.3. Download the Test Bin ........................................................................................................ 1
1.3.1. Setup Download Environment ................................................................................ 2
1.3.2. Download Test Bin ................................................................................................. 2
2. Fixed Frequency Test................................................................................................................... 7
2.1. Environment Setup .............................................................................................................. 7
2.2. Run the Test Bin .................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.1. Wi-Fi Fixed Frequency Test .................................................................................... 9
2.2.2. Bluetooth Fixed Frequency Test ........................................................................... 11
3. Adaptivity Test ............................................................................................................................ 12
3.1. Environment Setup ............................................................................................................ 12
3.2. Run the Test Bin ................................................................................................................ 12
4. Blocking Test .............................................................................................................................. 14
4.1. Wi-Fi Blocking Tests .......................................................................................................... 14
4.1.1. Environment Setup............................................................................................... 14
4.1.2. Run the Test Bin................................................................................................... 14
4.2. Bluetooth Blocking Test..................................................................................................... 14
4.2.1. Environment Setup............................................................................................... 14
4.2.2. Run the Test Bin................................................................................................... 15
5. FAQ............................................................................................................................................. 18
 1. Test Preparation

1. Test Preparation
1.1. Hardware Preparation
Three hardware devices are needed for CE certification tests: the DUT (device under
test), serial port board, and USB cable as shown in Table 1-1.
Table 1-1. Hardware Description

Item Picture Quantity Description

Products designed based on ESP

DUT N/A 6
chips or modules

Connect the PC with the Dupont

Serial port cables from the DUT. It serves as the
1
board USB-UART converter that allows the
PC to communicate with the DUT.

Connect PC with the serial port

USB cable 1
board.

Note:

1. Only Bluetooth Blocking tests need two serial port boards and two USB cables. The DUT without
Bluetooth functionality only needs one serial port board and one USB cable.

2. It is recommended to buy Espressif’s serial port board via this link to reduce testing interference
and to your convenience.

1.2. Software Preparation

Download the software required for CE certification. Table 1-2 is the software
description.
Table 1-2. Software Description

Item Description

ft232r-usb-uart.zip The driver application for Espressif’s serial port board.

It contains the test bin files and tools for downloading

ESP_RF_test_tool.zip
and running the bin.

BQB For Bluetooth Blocking tests.

1.3. Download the Test Bin

Before you conduct any test, please set up the download environment and then
download the test bin according to this section.

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 1. Test Preparation

1.3.1. Setup Download Environment

Table 1-3. Setup Download Environment

Chip Description

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

• Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP8266 converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP8285 • Pull MTDO (GPIO15) low
• Pull GPIO0 (Boot) low to make DUT enter the downloading
mode

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

ESP32 • Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP32-S2 converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP32-S3 • Pull GPIO0 (Boot) low to make DUT enter the downloading
mode

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

ESP32-C3 • Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP32-C6 converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP32-H2 • Pull GPIO9 (Boot) low and GPIO8 high to make DUT enter the
downloading mode

1.3.2. Download Test Bin

After building the hardware environment, please download the test bin as follows:
1. Switch on the serial port board, and the indicator LED will light up as shown in
Figure 1-1.

USB
Power Switch TX and RX
3V3 and GND

Figure 1-1. Connection with Serial Port Board

2. Unzip and open EspRFTestTool.

• Select the ChipType, COM, BaudRate, and click on Open to open the serial port.
• Select Flash as the download address.
• Select the test bin for your chip.

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 1. Test Preparation

o See Table 1-4 for the non-signaling RF test bin.

See

o Table 1-5 for the Adaptivity and Blocking test bin.

o See Table 1-6 for the BQB test bin.
See

o Table 1-7 for the signaling test bin.

• Click on the Load bin button and SUCC will show once the download succeeds.
Figure 1-2 shows the interface of downloading test bin for ESP32

Figure 1-2. Download Test Bin for ESP32

The default download address of EspRFTestTool is 0x1000. If you need to download a

bin file somewhere else or download multiple bin files at the same time, it is
recommended to use DownloadTool. For example, three bin files are required for
ESP32 Blocking tests: bootloader, partitions, and SSC. Unzip and open EspRFTestTool
on the PC. Click on Tool on the upper left corner to open DownloadTool, and set up the
download configuration. Figure 1-3 displays the interface of downloading three bin files
at the same time. SUCC will show up once the download succeeds. For more details on
how to use DownloadTool, please refer to DownloadTool Instructions under the help
folder.

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 1. Test Preparation

Figure 1-3. Download Bluetooth Test Bins with DownloadTool

Table 1-4. Non-signaling RF Test Bin and the Download Address

Non-signaling RF Test Bin Chip Feature

Chip
Download Wi-Fi Bluetooth
Bin Address

Bluetooth
11b, 11g, 11n-HT20, 11n- &
ESP32 ESP32_RFTest_Bin 0x1000
HT40 Bluetooth
LE 4.2

11b, 11g, 11n-HT20, 11n-

ESP32-S2 ESP32-S2_RFTest_Bin 0x1000 —
HT40

11b, 11g, 11n-HT20, 11n-

ESP32-S3 ESP32-S3_RFTest_Bin 0x0 BLE 5.0
HT40

11b, 11g, 11n-HT20, 11n-

ESP32-C3 ESP32-C3_RFTest_Bin 0x0 BLE 5.0
HT40

11b, 11g, 11n-HT20, 11n-

ESP32-C6 ESP32-C6_RFTest_Bin 0x0 BLE 5.0
HT40

BLE 5.2 &

ESP32-H2 ESP32-H2_RFTest_Bin 0x0 — Zigbee &
Thread

ESP8266
ESP8266_RFTest_Bin 0x0 11b, 11g, 11n-HT20 —
ESP8285

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 1. Test Preparation

Table 1-5. Adaptivity and Blocking Test Bin and the Download Address

Download
Chip Bin Address

ESP32 ESP32_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x1000

ESP32-S2 ESP32-S2_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x1000

ESP32-S3 ESP32-S3_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x0

ESP32-C3 ESP32-C3_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x0

ESP32-C6 ESP32-C6_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x0

ESP8266
ESP8266&ESP8285_Adaptivity&Blocking_Bin 0x0
ESP8285

Table 1-6. BQB Test Bin and the Download Address

Download Bluetooth
Chip Bin Address

bootloader.bin 0x1000
Classic Bluetooth &
ESP32 partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000
Bluetooth LE 4.2
ssc.bin 0x10000

bootloader.bin 0x0

ESP32-C3 partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000 Bluetooth LE 5.0

ssc.bin 0x10000

bootloader.bin 0x0

ESP32-C6 partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000 Bluetooth LE 5.0

ssc.bin 0x10000

bootloader.bin 0x0

ESP32-S3 partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000 Bluetooth LE 5.0

ssc.bin 0x10000

bootloader.bin 0x0

ESP32-H2 partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000 Bluetooth LE 5.2

ssc.bin 0x10000

ESP32-S2 — Not supported

ESP8266
— Not supported
ESP8285

Table 1-7. Wi-Fi Signaling Test Bin and the Download Address

Chip Bin Download Address

ESP32 (phy int bin) 0xF000

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 1. Test Preparation

Chip Bin Download Address

bootloader.bin 0x1000

partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000

ssc.bin 0x10000

(phy int bin) 0xF000

bootloader.bin 0x1000
ESP32-S2
partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000

ssc.bin 0x10000

(phy int bin) 0xF000

bootloader.bin 0x0
ESP32-S3
partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000

ssc.bin 0x10000

(phy int bin) 0xF000

bootloader.bin 0x0
ESP32-C3
partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000

ssc.bin 0x10000

(phy int bin) 0xF000

bootloader.bin 0x0
ESP32-C6
partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000

ssc.bin 0x10000

bootloader.bin 0x0
ESP8266
partitions_singleapp.bin 0x8000
ESP8285
ssc.bin 0x10000

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 2. Test Preparation

2. Fixed Frequency Test

This chapter describes how to run the fixed frequency test bin on the products that are
based on ESP chips or modules.

2.1. Environment Setup

In hardware, the EN pin of ESP chips is usually designed to connect to the 3V3 power
line via an RC delay circuit. Solder Dupont wires to the TXD0, RXD0, Boot, 3V3, and
GND of the ESP module (DUT) and connect them to the corresponding pins of the
serial port board. Connect the serial port board to the PC with a USB cable so that the
PC can communicate with the DUT and power up the serial port board. Figure 2-1
shows a block diagram that illustrates the test environment setup for the DUT.

Figure 2-1. Environment Setup Block Diagram

When testing conduction, RF cable is attached to the back of the ESP RF matching,
and if an antenna is also attached to the back of the Π match, it should be
disconnected. When RF matching is included within a module shield, the RF cable
should be soldered to the outside the shield, as shown in Figure 2-2.
When testing radiation, connect the antenna directly to the back of the RF matching
and ensure that it has no obstruction around.

Figure 2-2. RF Cable Connection for Module Conduction Test

Table 2-1 lists the hardware environment for each chip to run the test bin, which is
slightly different from the environment to download the bin (differences marked in
boldface).

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 2. Test Preparation

Table 2-1. Hardware Setup for Running the Test Bin

Chip Description

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

• Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP8266
converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP8285
• Pull MTDO (GPIO15) low
• Pull GPIO0 high

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

ESP32
• Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP32-S2
converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP32-S3
• Pull GPIO0 high

• Connect 3V3/CH_EN pins to the 3.3 V power supply

ESP32-C3
• Connect RXD/TXD/GND pins to corresponding pins of a serial
ESP32-C6
converter so that PC can communicate with DUT
ESP32-H2
• Pull both GPIO9 and GPIO8 high

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 2. Test Preparation

2.2. Run the Test Bin

2.2.1. Wi-Fi Fixed Frequency Test
• Disconnect IO0 of the DUT, and then toggle the power switch of the serial port
board to power it up.
• In EspRFTestTool, click on WiFi Test, and select TX continues as the Test Mode.

• You can decrease power by setting values in the field of Attenuation(0.25dB).

The unit is 0.25 dB, which means the value 20 represents a decrease of the
maximum power by 20x0.25=5dB. The field defaults to 0, meaning no
attenuation.
• Select other options according to the laboratory test needs. Then click on start to
start the fixed frequency test. The log is displayed in the tool. Figure 2-3 shows
the test interface of ESP32.

Figure 2-3. ESP32 Wi-Fi Fixed Frequency Test

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 2. Test Preparation

• If testing receiving, select RX packet as the Test Mode and other options as
needed. Figure 2-4 shows the ESP32 Wi-Fi Receiving Test interface.

Figure 2-4. ESP32 Wi-Fi Receiving Test Interface

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 2. Test Preparation

2.2.2. Bluetooth Fixed Frequency Test

The bin for the Bluetooth Fixed Frequency test is the same as that for Wi-Fi.
• Open EspRFTestTool, and select the ChipType of the DUT. The ESP8266,
ESP32-S2 series of chips do not have Bluetooth functionality, so there is no
Bluetooth test for them. ESP32-C3 series of chips only support Bluetooth LE.
• Switch to the BT Test tab and configure the parameters: In general, set Power
Level to 4 and other parameters according to the actual needs. Figure 2-5 shows
the ESP32 Bluetooth Fixed Frequency Test interface.

Figure 2-5. Bluetooth Test Interface

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 3. Test Preparation

3. Adaptivity Test
This chapter describes how to perform adaptivity tests required by CE certification on
the products that are based on ESP chips or modules.

3.1. Environment Setup

The hardware environment for this test is the same as that for the Fixed Frequency
Tests, so please refer to 2.1 Environment Setup.

3.2. Run the Test Bin

• After downloading the bin, connect the RF cable from the DUT to the coaxial line
of the test equipment.
• In EspRFTestTool, set BaudRate to 115200.
• Disconnect IO0 of the DUT, and then toggle the power switch of the serial port
board to power it up.
• For the DUT working in the Wi-Fi Station Mode, switch to the WiFi Adaptivity tab
in EspRFTestTool, click on the STA on the left, enter the AP ssid and password,
click on Connect AP, and the connection log will be displayed in the Log
Information panel in EspRFTestTool. Note that the AP ssid and name should be
as simple as possible. Upon a successful connection, change packet num to
900000 for a long time running, set packet delay to 1, select socket ID of your
chip, and then click on Send Data to start the adaptivity test. Figure 3-1 is the
ESP32 test interface and Figure 3-2 the ESP32-C3 test interface.
o Socket ID for ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3: 54
o Socket ID for ESP8266 and ESP8285: 0
• For the DUT working in the Wi-Fi AP Mode, switch to the WiFi Adaptivity tab in
EspRFTestTool, click on the AP on the left, enter the AP ssid, password, channel,
and mode, click on create, and then the laboratory’s STA will connect to the
newly created AP. Upon a successful connection, configure the running as that in
the Wi-Fi Station Mode above.

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 3. Test Preparation

Figure 3-1. ESP32 Adaptivity Test Interface

Figure 3-2. ESP32-C3 Adaptivity Test Interface

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 4. Test Preparation

4. Blocking Test
This chapter describes how to perform Blocking Tests required by CE certification on
the products that are based on ESP chips or modules. The Blocking Test is divided into
two parts: Wi-Fi Blocking Test and Bluetooth Blocking Test, which uses BQB test bin.
The ESP32-S2 and ESP8266 series of chips do not have Bluetooth functionality, so
there is no need to perform Bluetooth Blocking Tests on them.

4.1. Wi-Fi Blocking Tests

4.1.1. Environment Setup
The hardware environment for this test is the same as that for the Fixed Frequency
Tests, so please refer to 2.1 Environment Setup.
Blocking tests are usually conduction signaling tests. The RF cable of the DUT needs to
be connected to the test equipment in a certification laboratory, such as CMW500.

4.1.2. Run the Test Bin

• After downloading the bin, connect the RF cable from the DUT to the coaxial line
of the test equipment.
• Open EspRFTestTool and select BaudRate:
o ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3: 115200;
o ESP8266 and ESP8285: 74880.
• Disconnect IO0 of the DUT, and then toggle the power switch of the serial port
board to power it up.
• For the DUT working in the Wi-Fi Station Mode, switch to the WiFi Adaptivity tab
in EspRFTestTool, click on the STA on the left, enter the AP ssid and password of
the laboratory’s test equipment, click on Connect AP, and the connection log will
be displayed in the Log Information panel in EspRFTestTool. Note that the AP
ssid and name should be as simple as possible. Once connected successfully,
the test equipment can control the DUT to perform receiving tests.
• For the DUT working in the Wi-Fi AP Mode, switch to the WiFi Adaptivity tab in
EspRFTestTool, click on the AP on the left, enter the AP ssid, password, channel,
and mode, click on create, then the laboratory’s STA will connect to the AP, and
you can start testing.

4.2. Bluetooth Blocking Test

This section describes how to test Bluetooth Blocking with BQB test bin files.

4.2.1. Environment Setup

Bluetooth Blocking tests require two serial port boards. See Figure 4-1 for the hardware
connection environment for the DUT. Connect TXD0 and RXD0 to TXD0 and RXD0
pins of the ESP module, and TXD1 and RXD1 to IO5 and IO18 pins of the ESP module.

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 4. Test Preparation

Attach the RF cable to the back of the RF matching of the ESP module. If a PCB
antenna is also attached to the back, please disconnect it.

Figure 4-1. Bluetooth Blocking Test Environment

Note on setting up UART1:

You can assign the pins for UART1 yourself and do not use the default pins(i.e. IO5, IO18, IO19,
IO23). You need to configure the pins used via UART0 commands.

For example, if you want to use IO21, IO22, IO19 and IO5 for UART1 TXD, RXD, RTS, CTS pins,
You need to do the following settings:

connect IO21 to the USB serial port RXD

connect IO22 to the USB serial port TXD

connect IO19 to the USB serial port CTS

connect IO5 to the USB serial port RTS

After power up, type the following command via UART0:

bqb -z set_uart_pin -t 21 -r 22 -q 19 -c 5

See BQB_test_tool_user_guide.pdf in the BQB folder for details.

4.2.2. Run the Test Bin

4.2.2.1. Run Classic Bluetooth Blocking Test Bin
• After downloading the bin, connect the RF cable from the DUT to the coaxial line
of the test equipment.
• Disconnect IO0 of the ESP module.
• Open a serial port tool on the PC, select the COM of ESP’s serial port board 1,
and set BaudRate to 115200.
• Re-power up the ESP module.
• Enter the following commands in the serial tool. Figure 4-2 shows the log.

bqb -z set_ble_tx_power -i 4 // Set BLE TX power; range of i is [0~7].

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 4. Test Preparation

bqb -z set_power_class -i 3 -a 4 // Set Classic Power Class; i is Min_powe_level_index, range is [0~7];

a is [Max_power_level_index], range is [0-7].

bqb -z set_pll_track -e 0 // Turn off the PLL track function.

bqb -z init // Initialize Bluetooth controller dual mode.

Figure 4-2. UART0 Serial Port Configuration

• Set UART1. In /tools/HCI_host/config/dev0.conf, change the UART_PORT to the

com value of the serial port board 2.
• Open tinyBH.exe in /tools/HCI_host/, and enter the following instructions. The log
should be as Figure 4-3 shows.

hci reset // Initialize all Bluetooth controllers.

hci set_evt_mask // Set the legacy event mask.
hci set_name ESPRESSIF // Set the name of the subject to be tested.
hci dut// Set Bluetooth into Under test mode.
hci dut// Set Bluetooth into scan status.

• At this time, you can find the Bluetooth ESPRESSIF and connect to the signaling
test equipment to perform Classic Bluetooth Blocking tests.

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 4. Test Preparation

Figure 4-3. UART1 Configuration Log

4.2.2.2. Run Bluetooth LE Blocking Test Bin

As for the Bluetooth LE Blocking Test instructions, please refer to the first five steps of
the Classic Bluetooth Blocking Test, then connect the USB cable from the serial port
board 2 to the test equipment, such as CMW500, and set the equipment to Bluetooth
LE mode. After the connection is established, you can start a signaling test.

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 5. Test Preparation

5. FAQ
Q: How do I update the power parameters of a certification test to the application
firmware?
A: Please refer to the ESP32-Series_PowerLimitTool_Instructions_EN documentation.

Q: The second, third, and fourth harmonics of fixed frequency test radiation exceed the
standard.
A: 1. For ESP chip-based products, please check the RF layout, matching, and PA
power supply. You can suppress harmonics by adjusting the RF matching and PA
power line filtering network.
2. For ESP module-based products, place the backplane under the module, which is
usually the PCB board of the product.
3. Enter a value in the attenuation field of the fixed frequency test tool to reduce the
power.

Q: PSD and power exceed the standard.

A: 1. Make sure the RF matching is tuned correctly.
2. Enter a value in the attenuation field of the fixed frequency test tool to reduce the
power.

Q: Adaptivity Tests failed.

A: 1. Confirm the test method is correct. Set up according to the Adaptivity Test
chapter, and then the spectrum meter should display the normal flow.
2. Repeat testing to check laboratory environmental stability.

Q: The radiation spurious emissions exceed the standard below 1 GHz.

A: 1. Check peripheral communication, UART, SPI, IIC, etc.
2. Check the serial port board, UART cable, and USB cable.

Q: The UART1 log is abnormal during the Bluetooth Blocking Test.

A: 1. Check whether the hardware is set up correctly.
2. Swap TX and RX of UART1.

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