WFA Certification and Testing Guide

[中文]

Overview

This section provides guidance on obtaining Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) certification for products based on Espressif chips. It focuses on the QuickTrack process to help you efficiently achieve WFA certification.

Required tools and firmware:

Introduction to WFA Certification

Certification Process

The WFA certification typically follows these steps:

../../_images/wfa_certification_process.png

Standard Process

  1. Submit the certification application and choose an Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL), which receives the Certification ID (CID).

  2. Send the device to ATL for testing.

  3. ATL conducts the necessary test.

  4. ATL provides the test results.

  5. WFA issues the certification.

Certification Types

  1. New Certification

    Choose this option if the product has not been Wi-Fi certified before.

  2. Additional Certification

    Choose this option if the product is already certified but needs to test new features.

  3. Re-Certification

    If there are changes to the firmware or software that affect Wi-Fi functionality, re-certification is needed, This includes:

    • Small hardware changes or updates to device software (e.g., operating system or drivers)

    • Firmware changes or minor software modifications that affect Wi-Fi operation (even small updates or bug fixes)

    • Changes that don’t affect Wi-Fi functionality must be reviewed by ATL to determine if testing is required

  4. Derivative Certification

    This applies to derivative products based on a source certification. The derivative product must be functionally consistent with the source product, and technical details must be provided to verify eligibility.

Note

WFA certification primarily targets products operating in Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n modes, typically using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio frequency bands. This includes devices like wireless routers, smartphones, home appliances, computers, network infrastructure, and consumer electronics.

Espressif Product Certification Process

Certification Method

  • Espressif Modules: Generally, these follow the New Certification path.

  • Products based on Espressif Chips: QuickTrack path is recommended.

The relationship between the two is as follows:

../../_images/new_certification_and_quicktrack_en.png

New Certification and QuickTrack

Once an Espressif module completes a new certification, Espressif stores the test data and generates a Qualified Solution. You can leverage this solution to streamline your certification process.

New Certification

The test items for Espressif modules are shown in the figure below.

../../_images/full_test_items.png

Full-test Test Items

The WFA testing includes two parts: WTS (Sigma Tool Test Items) and QTT (QuickTrack Test Items). While some test items are same, the test cases differ between the two.

QuickTrack

QuickTrack is a streamlined Wi-Fi certification method aimed at reducing testing and certification costs while speeding up the process. This method is designed for products built using a Qualified Solution.

To achieve QuickTrack:

  1. Select components or solutions from a list of Qualified Solutions that meet your product requirements.

  2. Perform consistency tests to ensure the components or solutions meet the Qualified Solution criteria.

  3. Complete testing using tools provided by WFA, either in-house or through ATL.

  4. Submit the test results for review by WFA.

  5. Once the test results are approved by WFA, the product will receive Wi-Fi certification.

../../_images/quicktrack_process_en.png

Quick Certification Process

Advantages of QuickTrack

QuickTrack reduces costs and testing time, helping you achieve WFA certification faster. For example, the ESP32-C2 module’s full certification test takes about 7.5 days.

../../_images/fulltest_time_en.png

Full-test Testing Time

If you choose QuickTrack, you must first confirm the product information below:

../../_images/product_information.png

Product Information

  • Using QuickTrack, you need only 1.5 days for QTT testing if your product differs from ESP32-C2.

  • If no changes are made, certification can be obtained without further testing by simply paying the certification fee.

The comparison between QuickTrack and the ordinary certification method is as follows:

../../_images/normal_scheme_quicktrack_comparison_en.png

Comparison Between Ordinary Certification and QuickTrack

Note

The test items mentioned refer only to the testing portion of the certification process. The full WFA certification process, including submission and approval, can take up to 40 days for standard certification. QuickTrack reduces this to approximately 10 days, saving around 70% of the time.

Current QuickTrack Status for Espressif Chips

Currently, both ESP32-C2 and ESP32-C6 have completed QuickTrack Qualified Solution certification.

WFA Testing

1. Submit CID Information

You can fill in CID information according to requirements by referring to Wi-Fi Alliance CID Filling Guide and Espressif Module Filling Method.

2. Flash Firmware

Flashing on Windows

  • Open the flash_download_tool_3.9.2.exe application.

  • Set chipType to the corresponding chip name and workMode to develop, then click OK.

  • Choose the firmware and specify the flashing address. Select the port number, set baud to 115200, and click START to begin flashing.

  • Once flashing is complete, finish will be displayed.

../../_images/flash_configuration.png

Flash Configuration

Flash the following firmware to the corresponding address:

  • bootloader.bin  0x1000

  • espsigma.bin    0x10000

  • partition.bin   0x8000

../../_images/flash_firmware.png

Flash Firmware

Flashing on Ubuntu

  • Install Python 3.7

    cd espsigma_qt/espsigma
    ./tools/setup/setup_pyenv_python.sh
    source ~/.pyenv/activate
    
  • Install the flash tool

    pip install esptool
    
  • Start flashing

    esptool.py -p /dev/ttyUSB0 --chip=auto write_flash 0x1000 bootloader.bin 0x8000 partition-table.bin 0x10000 espsigma.bin
    

3. Set Up the Test Environment

  • Use Ubuntu 16.04 or higher

  • Install Python 3.7

    cd espsigma_qt/espsigma
    ./tools/setup/setup_pyenv_python.sh
    source ~/.pyenv/activate
    

After installation, you can verify the Python version with python -v.

Note

When flashing firmware on a computer with an Ubuntu OS, the Python environment is already installed in the step of flashing firmware, so no further installation is needed. Only computers running Windows require this step to install the Python environment.

Note

The Python version must be 3.7 or higher. If the version displayed in the terminal is incorrect, please the above command.

4. Start Testing

Test the WTS Part

  • Open a terminal and navigate to the Sigma test tool directory

    cd /espsigma_qt/espsigma/esp_sigma_ca
    
  • Start the test

    python espsigma.py --dut /dev/ttyUSB*
    

Note

* refers to the serial port number.

../../_images/wts_test.png

WTS Test

Test the QuickTrack Part

  • Open a terminal and navigate to the Sigma test tool directory

    cd /espsigma_qt/espsigma/esp_sigma_ca
    
  • Start the test

    python espsigma.py --quicktrack --dut/dev/ttyUSB *
    

    Note

    * refers to the serial port number.

../../_images/quicktrack_test_1.png

QuickTrack Test-1

  • Open another terminal and navigate to the control app directory

    cd /espsigma_qt/controlappc-2.0.0.9
    
  • Start the control app

    ./app -p *
    

    Note

    * refers to the QuickTrack Test (QTT) port, e.g., 9005.

../../_images/quicktrack_test_2.png

QuickTrack Test-2

Please refer to the pictures for Quicktrack page settings

../../_images/quicktrack_configuration_1.png

QuickTrack Settings-1

../../_images/quicktrack_configuration_2.png

QuickTrack Settings-2

../../_images/quicktrack_configuration_3.png

QuickTrack Settings-3

../../_images/quicktrack_configuration_4.png

QuickTrack Settings-4

../../_images/quicktrack_configuration_5.png

QuickTrack Settings-5