Xbee + Wifi

Wireless & IoT
1

I know that most everybody will rave because I asked this question but I have to because I have not found a perfectly clear answer. (Becuase… I NEED a clear answer)

The Question:

Will or Will Not the Xbee Pro 900 connect to a wifi router?

yes I have read that the Some Xbee’s are based of of somthing other then the 802.11 and because of that cannot connect to a wifi router. However, I bought a Xbee from Mouser and it says on the packaging:

Xbee-Pro 900 900 Mhz

MaxStream wifi / 802.11 Modules and Development Tool

Here is the link to what I bought:

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Max … pWYsN34%3d

Now why will this not connect to a Wifi router???

Is it because its 900 MHz not 2.4Ghz? I thought that only made it slower.

Or is it because of the firmware? If so can it be reflashed to a version that will connect to a Wifi router?

Thanks and Regards

2

hurdevan:
Will or Will Not the Xbee Pro 900 connect to a wifi router?

Absolutely not.

Now why will this not connect to a Wifi router???

Is it because its 900 MHz not 2.4Ghz? I thought that only made it slower.

Or is it because of the firmware? If so can it be reflashed to a version that will connect to a Wifi router?

There are several reasons why the device you have chosen will not work with a WiFi router

The first is that the device communicates at 900MHz and not 2.4GHz, however, even if you had

chosen the 2.4GHz XBee modules, the XBee cannot talk to WiFi devices.

The reason for this has to do with the protocol used. The XBee modules communicate using

the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for the physical layer. WiFi communicates using the 802.11 standard

for the physical layer.

These two standards may be able to communicate using the same radio band, but they are not

compatible.

To the best of my knowledge, you cannot modify the firmware in an XBee module to make it talk

the 802.11 protocol.

Paul

3

Ok great thanks

Then if it relies on IEEE 802.15.4 they why does it say it uses the 802.11?

Is that a labeling error?

4

hurdevan:
Ok great thanks

Then if it relies on IEEE 802.15.4 they why does it say it uses the 802.11?

Is that a labeling error?

The URL you point to is on Mouser's web site. It is incorrect in saying 802.11.

Of course, you should read the manufacturer’s data sheet.

Digi makes XBee products for 802.15.4 as used on 2.4GHz and the 902-928MHz, and perhaps the EU’s 868MHz.

In 2.4 GHz products, there are Digi Series 1 which do not use the ZigBee mesh routing protocol whereas Series 2 does. Beware.

ZigBee is not 802.15.4 like Ethernet 802.3 is not TCP/IP

5

hurdevan:
Ok great thanks

Then if it relies on IEEE 802.15.4 they why does it say it uses the 802.11?

Is that a labeling error?

In this particular case, I believe Mouser has miss-labeled the device. You don’t see any mention of 802.11 on the Digi website for the XBee modules:

http://www.digi.com/products/wireless/p … p#overview

Paul