53.6 Unused or Unconnected Pins

Unused or unconnected pins (unless marked as NC where applicable) should not be left unconnected and floating. Floating pins will add to the overall power consumption of the device. To prevent this one should always draw the pin voltage towards a given level, either VDD or GND, through a pull up/down resistor. External or internal pull up/down resistors can be used, e.g. the pins can be configured in pull-up or pull-down mode eliminating the need for external components. There are no obvious benefit in choosing external vs. internal pull resistors.