Comprehensive nRF Sniffer Installation Guide: Step-by-Step Setup with Wireshark

1. Install Python

After installation, open the terminal and enter the following command. If the display matches what’s shown, the nRF Sniffer installation was successful.

2. Install the pyserial library

Input the command. If you see “Successfully”, it means the installation is complete.

3. Install Wireshark

Key step screenshots are as follows. Other steps just click “Next” to install successfully.

4. Download the nRF-Sniffer-for-Bluetooth-LE Tool

Download link: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-tools/nRF-Sniffer-for-Bluetooth-LE/Download#infotabs The latest version is v4.x.x

After extraction, it looks like this:

The extcap folder is used for the Wireshark plugin.

5. Add the nRF Sniffer Plugin to Wireshark

Open Wireshark and select “Help”, then “About Wireshark(A)”, as shown below:

Select “Folders” and then “Global Extcap path” as shown:

Copy everything from the extcap folder extracted from nRF-Sniffer-for-Bluetooth-LE in step 4 to this path, as shown:

Insert the Nordic Sniffer dongle into the computer, then restart Wireshark to see the nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE COM3 plugin tool, as shown below:

Click nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE COM3 to capture Bluetooth data.