The Bluetooth Mate 4.0 is the next evolution in our line of serial Bluetooth modules. This board is equipped with an HM-13 module, which supports both SPP (Serial Port Profile) and BLE (Bluetooth low-energy) Bluetooth profiles via Bluetooth 4.0.

This board’s HM-13 Bluetooth module supports both SPP (Serial Port Profile) and BLE (Bluetooth low-energy) Bluetooth profiles via Bluetooth 4.0. The HM-13’s support for BLE means it’s compatible with any smartphone. Or you can connect it to a computer via the old standard – SPP – and use it as a transparent Bluetooth data gateway. You can even use it in dual-mode, connected to a pair of devices simultaneously!

This board includes all of the voltage regulating and level shifting you need to interface either 5V or 3.3V microcontrollers with the Bluetooth module. Communication with the HM-13 is performed through a serial UART, and an AT-command structure is used to configure it.

In addition to the power-indicator LED, there is a green “CON” LED. When the module is disconnected, this LED will blink at 1Hz; when it’s connected, the LED will be solidly on.

Check out our HM-13 Arduino library for help developing Bluetooth app of your own! There are a handful of SoftwareSerial and HardwareSerial examples, which demonstrate how to set up a simple serial passthrough, how to adjust some of the module settings, and even set it up as an iBeacon.