BMP280 — Digital Barometric Pressure and Temperature Sensor

Overview

The BMP280 is an absolute barometric pressure sensor designed specifically for mobile applications by Bosch Sensortec. It succeeds the BMP180 and offers higher accuracy, lower power consumption, and smaller footprint dimensions (2.0 mm × 2.5 mm × 0.95 mm LGA package).

The sensor integrates piezo-resistive pressure and temperature sensing elements, an analog-to-digital converter, and digital control circuitry supporting both I2C and 3-/4-wire SPI serial interfaces.

Quick reference


Operating voltage (`VDD`)	1.71 V – 3.6 V
Pressure range	300 hPa – 1100 hPa (+9000 m to -500 m relative to sea level)
Temperature range	-40 °C to +85 °C
Absolute pressure accuracy	±1.0 hPa (0 °C to 65 °C)
Relative pressure accuracy	±0.12 hPa (equivalent to ±1 m altitude)
I2C addresses	`0x76` (SDO to GND) / `0x77` (SDO to VDD)
Current draw	2.7 µA @ 1 Hz sampling / 0.1 µA sleep mode

Pinout

Standard 6-Pin Breakout Module

Pin	Name	Type	Description
1	`VCC`	Power	Supply voltage (1.8 V to 3.3 V; 5V if module has onboard 3.3V LDO)
2	`GND`	Power	Ground (0 V)
3	`SCL` / `SCK`	Digital Input	I2C Clock / SPI Serial Clock
4	`SDA` / `SDI`	Digital I/O	I2C Data / SPI Serial Data In
5	`CSB`	Digital Input	Chip Select (High = I2C mode; Low = SPI mode)
6	`SDO`	Digital Output	I2C Address Select (`GND`: 0x76, `VDD`: 0x77) / SPI Data Out

Specifications

Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Operating Voltage	`VDD`	1.71	1.8 / 3.3	3.6	V	IC supply
Peak Current	`IIDD`	—	720	1120	µA	During pressure measurement
Standby Current	`IDDSB`	—	0.2	0.5	µA	Standby mode
Temperature Resolution	`T_res`	—	0.01	—	°C	16–20 bit output
Pressure Resolution	`P_res`	—	0.016	—	hPa	Ultra-high resolution mode

Register map

Address	Register	Access	Reset	Description
`0x88` – `0xA1`	`calib00..calib25`	R	Factory	Trimming parameter coefficients ( $dig\_T_1..T_3, dig\_P_1..P_9$ )
`0xD0`	`id`	R	`0x58`	Chip ID register (reads `0x58` for BMP280)
`0xE0`	`reset`	W	`0x00`	Write `0xB6` to initiate soft reset
`0xF3`	`status`	R	`0x00`	Bit 3: `measuring`, Bit 0: `im_update`
`0xF4`	`ctrl_meas`	R/W	`0x00`	Temp/Pressure oversampling & power mode
`0xF5`	`config`	R/W	`0x00`	Standby time, IIR filter coefficient, 3-wire SPI
`0xF7` – `0xF9`	`press_msb..xlsb`	R	`0x80000`	20-bit raw pressure data
`0xFA` – `0xFC`	`temp_msb..xlsb`	R	`0x80000`	20-bit raw temperature data

Wiring (I2C Mode)

BMP280 Breakout	→	Microcontroller (Arduino / ESP32)
`VCC`		3.3 V
`GND`		GND
`SCL`		I2C SCL
`SDA`		I2C SDA
`CSB`		VCC (Pulls HIGH to select I2C mode)
`SDO`		GND (Selects default address `0x76`)

Common mistakes

Confusing BMP280 with BME280: The BMP280 measures Pressure and Temperature only. The BME280 adds Humidity sensing (chip ID 0x60). Drivers expecting humidity reading will fail or return zero on BMP280 (0x58).
Ignoring calibration registers: Raw 20-bit pressure and temperature values from registers 0xF7–0xFC must be processed using the factory calibration coefficients stored in registers 0x88–0xA1 via Bosch's polynomial compensation math.
Powering 3.3V-only breakouts with 5V: Unregulated BMP280 modules lacking a 3.3V LDO will be damaged if connected directly to a 5V supply pin.

Notes

Altitude calculation: Relative altitude can be estimated using the hypsometric formula:

h = 44330 \times \left(1 - \left(\frac{P}{P_0}\right)^{\frac{1}{5.255}}\right)

where $P_0$ is sea level pressure (1013.25 hPa).

Interface	I2C, SPI
Supply	1.71–3.6 V
Package	8-pin LGA