
March 28, 2005 S25FL004A_00_A1
S25FL Family (Serial Peripheral Interface) S25FL004A
19
A d v a n c e  I n f o r m a t i o n
Table 5. Protection Modes 
Note: 
As defined by the values in the Block Protect (BP2, BP1, BP0) bits of the Status Register, as shown in 
Table 2, on page 11
.
The device protection features are summarized in 
Table 5
.
When the Status Register Write Disable (SRWD) bit is 0 (its initial delivery state), 
it is possible to write to the Status Register provided that the Write Enable Latch 
(WEL) bit has previously been set by a Write Enable (WREN) instruction, regard-
less of whether Write Protect (W#) is driven High or Low.
When the Status Register Write Disable (SRWD) bit is set to 1, two cases need to 
be considered, depending on the state of Write Protect (W#):
 If Write Protect (W#) is driven High, it is possible to write to the Status Reg-
ister provided that the Write Enable Latch (WEL) bit has previously been set 
by a Write Enable (WREN) instruction.
 If Write Protect (W#) is driven Low, it is not possible to write to the Status 
Register even if the Write Enable Latch (WEL) bit has previously been set by 
a Write Enable (WREN) instruction. (Attempts to write to the Status Register 
are rejected, and are not accepted for execution). As a consequence, all the 
data bytes in the memory area that are software protected (SPM) by the 
Block Protect (BP1, BP0) bits of the Status Register, are also hardware pro-
tected against data modification.
Regardless of the two events order, the Hardware Protected Mode (HPM) can be 
entered:
 By setting the Status Register Write Disable (SRWD) bit after driving Write 
Protect (W#) Low
or
 By driving Write Protect (W#) Low after setting the Status Register Write Dis-
able (SRWD) bit.
The only way to exit the Hardware Protected Mode (HPM) once entered is to pull 
Write Protect (W#) High.
If Write Protect (W#) is permanently tied High, the Hardware Protected Mode 
(HPM) can never be activated, and only the Software Protected Mode (SPM), 
using the Status Register’s Block Protect (BP2, BP1, BP0) bits, can be used.
Read Data Bytes (READ)
The READ instruction reads the memory at the specified SCK frequency (f
SCK
) 
with a maximum speed of 33 MHz.
W# Signal
SRWD Bit
Mode 
Status Register Write 
Protection 
Protected Area 
(See Note)
Unprotected Area 
(See Note)
1
1
Software 
Protected 
(SPM)
Status Register is Writable (if the 
WREN instruction sets the WEL bit)
The values in the SRWD, BP2, BP1 
and BP0 bits can be changed
Protected against Page 
Program and Erase 
(SE, BE)
Ready to accept Page 
Program and Sector 
Erase Instructions
1
0
0
0
0
1
Hardware 
Protected 
(HPM)
Status Register is Hardware write 
protected
The values in the SRWD, BP2, BP1 
and BP0 bits cannot be changed
Protected against Page 
Program and Erase 
(SE, BE)
Ready to accept Page 
Program and Sector 
Erase Instructions