VL53L0X with Nordic nRF52840 DK

Wiring for the VL53L0X time-of-flight distance on the Nordic nRF52840 DK (nRF52840-QIAA, 3.3 V logic), chosen with the same pin rules BoardPilot uses: default buses first, and no pins that are used for flash, USB, the debugger or booting.

Wiring

VL53L0X pin	Role	Nordic nRF52840 DK pin	Notes
VIN	Power	5V
GND	Ground	GND
SCL	I2C clock (SCL)	P0.27
SDA	I2C data (SDA)	P0.26
XSHUT	Input to the part	P1.03	Shutdown, active LOW. Optional; needed to use several sensors
GPIO1	Interrupt	P1.04	Interrupt output, optional

Check before you power it on

Supply: 5 V from the 5V pin.
I2C uses the board’s default pins P0.26 (SDA) and P0.27 (SCL). Most modules include pull-up resistors; if the part is not found, check them and swap-test SDA/SCL.
To make sure it is the real chip, read register 0xC0: a genuine part answers 0xEE.

Test code (Arduino)

#include <Wire.h>

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Wire.begin();  // SDA = P0.26, SCL = P0.27 (the board's default I2C pins)
  Wire.beginTransmission(0x29);
  bool found = Wire.endTransmission() == 0;
  Serial.println(found ? "VL53L0X time-of-flight distance found at 0x29" : "Not found: check power, GND and SDA/SCL");
}

void loop() {}

Arduino board: adafruit:nrf52:pca10056. Plug USB into the port on the short edge (interface MCU, J2) and set the power switch to ON; before the first Arduino sketch, burn the Adafruit bootloader and SoftDevice once.

Questions

Which Nordic nRF52840 DK pins do I use for the VL53L0X?

VIN → 5V, GND → GND, SCL → P0.27, SDA → P0.26, XSHUT → P1.03, GPIO1 → P1.04.

Does the VL53L0X work with the Nordic nRF52840 DK at 3.3 V?

Yes: the VL53L0X runs at 3.3-5 V and the Nordic nRF52840 DK uses 3.3 V signals, so no level shifting is needed.

What is the I2C address of the VL53L0X?

0x29. An I2C scan (BoardPilot does it for you) shows which one your module uses.

BoardPilot checks this wiring in 3D as you build it, and finds crossed or missing wires on the real board.

Download BoardPilot

Full Nordic nRF52840 DK pinout · VL53L0X time-of-flight distance: all pins and data

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