FRDM-MCXW71

✅ Hubble Compatible - This board is fully compatible with Hubble Network

Overview

The FRDM-MCXW71 is a compact and scalable development board for rapid prototyping of the MCX W71 wireless MCU. It offers easy evaluation of the MCX W71’s multiprotocol wireless support for Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter. The board features an independent radio subsystem with a dedicated core and memory that offloads the main CPU.

Quick Specifications

Specification	Details
Manufacturer	NXP Semiconductors
SoC	MCX W716C
CPU	ARM Cortex-M33 @ 96 MHz
Radio Core	ARM Cortex-M3 (NBU)
RAM	128 KB
Flash	1 MB
Bluetooth	BLE 5.3
Other Protocols	Matter, Thread, Zigbee
Zephyr Board ID	`frdm_mcxw71/mcxw716c`

Key Features

Multiprotocol Wireless: BLE 5.3, Matter, Thread, Zigbee support
Dual-Core Architecture: Dedicated radio subsystem offloads main CPU
EdgeLock Secure Enclave: Advanced security for IoT applications
On-board MCU-Link debugger with CMSIS-DAP
8 MB SPI Flash (MX25R6435FM2IL0) for data storage
Arduino headers for shield compatibility
mikroBUS connector for Click boards
Pmod interface (not populated)
FXLS8964AF 3-axis accelerometer
ALS-PT19 ambient light sensor
RGB LED and user buttons (Reset, ISP, Wakeup)

Getting Started with Hubble

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

FRDM-MCXW71 board
USB Type-C cable
Zephyr development environment installed
Hubble Network account

Fetch Binary Blobs

BLE functionality requires fetching binary blobs for the NBU (radio) core:

west blobs fetch hal_nxp

Build and Flash

Follow the Hubble Zephyr Quick Start Guide to integrate Hubble Network into your project.

Once your environment is configured, build and flash the Hubble BLE Network sample:

# Build for FRDM-MCXW71
cd ~/hubblenetwork-workspace/
west build -p -b frdm_mcxw71/mcxw716c modules/lib/hubblenetwork-sdk/samples/zephyr/ble-network

# Flash to board
west flash

Verify Connection

Connect to the serial console to verify your board is communicating with Hubble:

# Linux/macOS
minicom -D /dev/ttyACM0 -b 115200

# Windows (use PuTTY or similar)
# Connect to COMx at 115200 baud

NBU Firmware Flashing

The MCXW71 is a three-core platform with a dedicated Narrow Band Unit (NBU) for BLE. To update NBU firmware:

Install blhost from NXP’s website
Enter ISP mode:
- Disconnect all power from the board
- Hold SW3 (ISP) button while connecting USB to host
- Release SW3 button
Flash NBU firmware using blhost

Two images must be written: one for the host (CM33) and one for the NBU (CM3). See Zephyr documentation for detailed NBU flashing instructions.