A local device is any XBee module connected to your computer through a USB or serial port, or any XBee border router accessible through your IP network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi). A local device acts as the entry point between XBee Studio and the XBee network. It can discover other XBee devices in the same network, if their protocol is Zigbee, DigiMesh, 802.15.4, or Wi-SUN.

A remote device is any XBee RF module not physically connected to your computer, or not directly connected as a local border router, that belongs to the same wireless network as a local device.

Communication between XBee Studio and a remote device occurs in two stages:

  1. Communication between XBee Studio and the local device, via serial port or IP network.

  2. Wireless communication between the local device and the remote device.

XBee Studio sends messages intended for the remote device, along with the necessary transmission parameters, to the local device. The local device then forwards the message wirelessly to the remote device.

If the local device is an XBee module configured in AT (Transparent) mode, you cannot configure its remote devices due to protocol limitations. Remote configuration is only supported when the local device operates in API mode.

Since remote devices are not physically connected to your computer, some features available to local devices are not supported.