nRF24L01+ — 2.4 GHz Single-Chip RF Transceiver

Overview

The nRF24L01+ (revision 2.0) is Nordic Semiconductor's current, upgraded revision of the nRF24L01 transceiver IC. It integrates a 2.4 GHz RF synthesizer, power amplifier, crystal oscillator, demodulator, and the proprietary Enhanced ShockBurst™ hardware protocol engine.

Compared to the legacy nRF24L01 (v1.0), the nRF24L01+ adds a 250 kbps air data rate mode for significantly extended RF range (-94 dBm sensitivity), dynamic payload length capability, Received Power Detector (RPD), and an increased SPI bus clock speed up to 10 MHz.

Quick reference


Frequency band	2.400 GHz – 2.525 GHz (125 channels)
Operating voltage	1.9 V – 3.6 V (5 V tolerant I/O pins)
Data rates	250 kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps
Max output power	0 dBm (1 mW)
RX sensitivity	-94 dBm @ 250 kbps / -85 dBm @ 1 Mbps / -82 dBm @ 2 Mbps
Current draw (TX @ 0dBm)	11.3 mA
Current draw (RX @ 2Mbps)	13.5 mA
Interface	SPI (up to 10 MHz) + CE & IRQ

Pinout

Standard 8-pin module header

Pin	Name	Type	Description
1	`GND`	Power	Ground (0 V)
2	`VCC`	Power	Supply voltage (1.9 V – 3.6 V max)
3	`CE`	Digital Input	Chip Enable (activates RX or TX mode when active HIGH)
4	`CSN`	Digital Input	SPI Chip Select (Active LOW)
5	`SCK`	Digital Input	SPI Clock (up to 10 MHz)
6	`MOSI`	Digital Input	SPI Master Out Slave In
7	`MISO`	Digital Output	SPI Master In Slave Out
8	`IRQ`	Digital Output	Interrupt Request pin (Active LOW, optional)

Specifications

Parameter	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Supply voltage	1.9	3.0	3.6	V	Operating range
Input High voltage	2.0	—	5.25	V	5V-tolerant control pins
Output power	-18	0	0	dBm	Programmable (0, -6, -12, -18 dBm)
RX sensitivity	—	-94	-82	dBm	At 250 kbps (-94 dBm), 2 Mbps (-82 dBm)
Power-down current	—	900	—	nA	PWR_UP = 0
Standby-I current	—	26	—	µA	PWR_UP = 1, CE = 0

Register map

Address	Register	Access	Reset	Description
`0x00`	`CONFIG`	R/W	`0x08`	Configuration (CRC, PWR_UP, PRIM_RX)
`0x01`	`EN_AA`	R/W	`0x3F`	Enable Auto Acknowledgment on pipes 0–5
`0x02`	`EN_RXADDR`	R/W	`0x03`	Enable RX data pipes (P0, P1 by default)
`0x03`	`SETUP_AW`	R/W	`0x03`	Setup of Address Widths (3, 4, or 5 bytes)
`0x04`	`SETUP_RETR`	R/W	`0x03`	Setup of Automatic Retransmission
`0x05`	`RF_CH`	R/W	`0x02`	RF Channel (2400 + channel MHz)
`0x06`	`RF_SETUP`	R/W	`0x0E`	RF Setup (Data rate, RF output power)
`0x07`	`STATUS`	R/W	`0x0E`	Status register (RX_DR, TX_DS, MAX_RT)
`0x09`	`RPD`	R	`0x00`	Received Power Detector (> -64 dBm)
`0x1C`	`DYNPD`	R/W	`0x00`	Enable dynamic payload length per pipe
`0x1D`	`FEATURE`	R/W	`0x00`	Feature register (Dynamic payload, ACK payload)

Wiring

nRF24L01+ Module	→	Microcontroller (e.g. Arduino / ESP32)
`VCC`		3.3 V (Do NOT connect to 5V!)
`GND`		GND
`CE`		Digital GPIO (e.g., D9 / GPIO 4)
`CSN`		Digital GPIO (e.g., D10 / GPIO 5)
`SCK`		SPI SCK (e.g., D13 / GPIO 18)
`MOSI`		SPI MOSI (e.g., D11 / GPIO 23)
`MISO`		SPI MISO (e.g., D12 / GPIO 19)

Warning

Connecting VCC to a 5 V supply will destroy the nRF24L01+ IC. While data pins (CSN, SCK, MOSI, CE) are 5 V tolerant, VCC must strictly be between 1.9 V and 3.6 V.

Common mistakes

Power supply noise / insufficient decoupling: The nRF24L01+ is sensitive to supply noise and power dips during RF transmission. Always solder a 10 µF electrolytic or tantalum capacitor directly across VCC and GND on the module header.
Connecting VCC to 5V: The chip requires 3.3V power.
Mismatched RF channel or data rate: Both transmitter and receiver must use identical RF channels (RF_CH) and data rates (RF_SETUP).

Revision history

v2.0 / nRF24L01+ (Current): Upgraded silicon revision adding 250 kbps long-range mode (-94 dBm sensitivity), 10 MHz SPI clock, RPD register (0x09), and dynamic payload support (DYNPD / FEATURE registers).
v1.0 (Deprecated): Original nRF24L01 silicon release — supports 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps rates only. See revision 1.0.