When the I²C bus drives SDA2 low, SDA1 follows after a certain delay in the receive path. The output low is the buffered output of V_OL1 = 0.65 V, which is sufficiently low to be detected by Schmitt-trigger inputs with a minimum input-low voltage of V_IL = 0.9 V at 3 V supply levels.

When SDA2 is released, its voltage potential increases towards VCC2 following the time-constant formed by R_PU2 and C_bus. After the receive delay, SDA1 is released and also rises towards VCC1, following the time-constant R_PU1 × C_node. Because of the significant lower time-constant, SDA1 may reach VCC1 before SDA2 reaches VCC2 potential.