The Arduino MKR1000 is designed to offer a practical and economical solution for users who want to add Wi-Fi connectivity to their projects with minimal prior networking experience. It is based on the Atmel ATSAMW25 SoC, part of the Atmel SmartConnect family of wireless devices, specifically designed for IoT projects and devices.

The ATSAMW25 consists of three main blocks:

• SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32bit low power ARM MCU
• WINC1500 low power 2.4GHz IEEE® 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• ECC508 CryptoAuthentication

The ATSAMW25 also includes a single PCB 1x1 antenna.

The design includes a Li-Po charging circuit that allows powering the Arduino/Genuino MKR1000 via battery or an external 5V source, charging the Li-Po battery while operating on external power. Switching between sources is automatic. The MKR1000 features good computational power of 32 bits similar to the Zero board, a wealth of I/O interfaces, low-consumption Wi-Fi with a Cryptochip for secure communication, and ease of use of the Arduino software (IDE) for coding development and programming. All these features make this board the preferred choice for emerging battery-powered IoT projects in a compact form.

The USB port can be used to power the board (5V). The Arduino MKR1000 can operate with or without the connected Li-Po battery and has limited power consumption.

The MKR1000 Wi-Fi module supports SHA-256 certificate.

Warning: Unlike most Arduino and Genuino boards, the MKR1000 runs at 3.3V. The maximum voltage the I/O pins can tolerate is 3.3V. Applying voltages higher than 3.3V to any I/O pin can damage the board. While output to 5V digital devices is possible, bidirectional communication with 5V devices requires proper level shifting.