Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 14:24:51 GMT

Hi,

You can capture modem traces using RTT and save capture file in .bin format. You can read more about capturing and viewing modem traces over RTT in the documentation.

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 09:07:27 GMT

Hi Dejarn,

We use nRF as slave for SLM app, we have a master MCU that talk with nRF over UART only (TX and RX) and we are no able to connect JTAG to nRF.

We are able to program nRF with the DK but we can not see logs over RTT
I tried to change console to UART and not RTT but with no success with the collector, it doesn't recognize our product.

If you have insight on this and can help get the modem trace it would be very helpful with other problems we have, that we are not sure if it is hardware or software.

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 08:45:39 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for additional information.

[quote user="Ofir_A"]It is not possible for us to collect traces at our product[/quote]

Modem traces would be useful for further assistance. Could you provide information on why this is not possible for you?

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 06:28:12 GMT

Hi Dejans

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447236"]Network change cannot be seen from your table. Apart from band change, does change of the network happen sometimes as well? [/quote]

No, this is what I want to happen, I want it to change network as well and not only bands

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447236"]At which point in your provided sequence of commands do you use %CONEVAL? Do you use it at the same point in each of your sequences or is it used arbitrarily in each of the sequences? If it is used at some specific point, could you please specify that moment?[/quote]

I'm doing it just before the publish command every time

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447236"]For getting more information, we would need modem log. Please have a look at capturing traces using Trace Collector v2 or Cellular Monitor.[/quote]

It is not possible for us to collect traces at our product

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:23:27 GMT

Hi,

Network change cannot be seen from your table. Apart from band change, does change of the network happen sometimes as well?

At which point in your provided sequence of commands do you use %CONEVAL? Do you use it at the same point in each of your sequences or is it used arbitrarily in each of the sequences? If it is used at some specific point, could you please specify that moment?

For getting more information, we would need modem log. Please have a look at capturing traces using Trace Collector v2 or Cellular Monitor.

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 08:42:53 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for providing additional information.

[quote user="Ofir_A"]

I want to focus on the question I was asking because we on tight timeline

Is there an AT command that tells the modem to research the best network (provider and band)?

If I can tell the modem to search other provider that solve the problem.

[/quote]

I have made internal inquiry. I will get back to you till the end of next week.

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 09:39:21 GMT

Hi Dejan,

I want to focus on the question I was asking because we on tight timeline

Is there an AT command that tells the modem to research the best network (provider and band)?

If I can tell the modem to search other provider that solve the problem.

To eliminate the band change I can just lock band but there is still the issue that the modem chose Pelephone provider over Cellcom provider even though Cellcom has batter antenna coverage.

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447007"]Is your table showing the change from band 28 to band 3 (which would be expected as band 3 provides better connectivity)? If this is the case, could you provide similar table with the same parameters when band is changed from 3 to 28? I am interested in seeing the values of parameters from the table when this happens. [/quote]

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447007"]How often your device wakes up from sleep?[/quote]

Depend on the mode of operation (can be from 2 minutes to few hours) the table I provide shows 2 minutes cycle

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/447007"]Is only waking up from sleep that triggers band change?[/quote]

Every time we wake up the modem connect to network (end of cycle we close the modem, start of cycle we open it) so it should choose the best network

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 09:11:14 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for additional information.

Is your table showing the change from band 28 to band 3 (which would be expected as band 3 provides better connectivity)? If this is the case, could you provide similar table with the same parameters when band is changed from 3 to 28? I am interested in seeing the values of parameters from the table when this happens.

Is only waking up from sleep that triggers band change?

How often your device wakes up from sleep?

Have you seen that all combinations of band changing happen, for example band 3 to 28, 3 to 3 (staying the same), 28 to 3 and 28 to 28?

Does it always happen that initially your device connects on band 3?

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 11:54:54 GMT

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446825"]In which country did you perform your tests?[/quote]

Israel

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446825"]Does your product use LTE-M or NB-IoT?[/quote]

LTE-M

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 10:17:39 GMT

Hi,

In which country did you perform your tests?

Does your product use LTE-M or NB-IoT?

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:22:40 GMT

We experience the same with SDK 2.1.2 MFW 1.3.3 (at costumer) and SDK 2.4.0 MFW 1.3.5 (at lab)

SLM app

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446794"]Could you provide more information about your test setup and devices used in your testing?[/quote]

There is no test setup, this is our final product that is outside

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446794"]What exactly is shown on the image which you provided? From which device is the picture taken?[/quote]

What you see at the image is the data from our devices that we show on a dashboard, you can see there: 1. The provider (which is Pelephone - although Cellcom has better coverage there so I don't know why it choose Pelephone over Cellcom)

2.The band it transmit

3. RSSI of the message

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446794"]Did you observe any pattern how bands are changed?[/quote]

No, there is no pattern. That's what I'm trying to understand, how does it choose on which provider and band to transmit.

If there is a command that tells the modem to search again it could solve our problem

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:08:43 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for providing the steps that you perform in each cycle.

Could you provide more information about your test setup and devices used in your testing?

What exactly is shown on the image which you provided? From which device is the picture taken?

Did you observe any pattern how bands are changed?

Please note that if you want to share any sensitive information that should not be publicly available/visible, please let me know and I can make this case private.

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:53:20 GMT

[quote userid="111786" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/103911/is-there-any-at-command-to-make-the-modem-search-for-better-provider-reception/446689"]How does the change from band 3 to band 28 happen? Do you test some specific scenario in the lab? Could you provide more information about your test setup? Have you done any testing outside of the lab?[/quote]

Hi Dejans and thanks for answer

This is exactly my question, why the modem moved between bands?

I didn't do anything, just collecting data

It happen to our beta testers and even costumers

what is the logic behind that? how can I overcome this? how can I force the modem to look again for a batter network?

I'll give you the logic:

each cycle we do this:

WAKEUP

CEREG=5

CFUN=1

MQTTCON=1

MQTTPUB

MQTTCON=0

CFUN=0

SLEEP=2

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

dejans — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 13:50:01 GMT

Hi,

%CONEVAL AT command is used for the estimation of connection parameters. This AT command requests information about the cell, radio link quality and energy estimation necessary for efficient transmission. You can read more about energy estimation in the documentation and in this white paper.

Results from your table show that band 3 is recognized as the one with normal conditions, while band 28 has bad conditions.
How does the change from band 3 to band 28 happen? Do you test some specific scenario in the lab? Could you provide more information about your test setup? Have you done any testing outside of the lab?

Please note that energy estimation is just an estimation where real values depend also on the network as some parameters are set by the network. This is especially important to consider when you change network operators.

Best regards,
Dejan

RE: Is there any AT command to make the modem search for better provider/reception

Ofir_A — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 11:57:02 GMT

I'll illustrate an example of bad modem selection:

a product at the lab, transmit every 2 minutes

at the end of transmition we send CFUN=0 and SLEEP=2

The product changed bands from 3 to 28 (our antenna is tuned for band 3 and not for band 28)

now look at the %CONEVAL:

result	RRC state	energy estimate	rsrp	rsrp dBm	rsrq	rsrq dBm	snr	snr dB	cell id	plmn	physical cell id	earfcn	band	tau	ce	RSSI	tx power	tx repetitions	rx repitition	dl-pathloss
0	1	5	24	-116	2	-18.5	18	-6	0006340D	42503	87	9260	28	0	0	-89.7184875	22	1	4	132
0	1	5	23	-117	2	-18.5	17	-7	0006340D	42503	87	9260	28	0	1	-90.7184875	22	1	4	132
0	1	5	23	-117	5	-17	18	-6	0006340D	42503	87	9260	28	0	1	-92.2184875	22	1	4	132
0	1	5	23	-117	2	-18.5	17	-7	0006340D	42503	87	9260	28	0	0	-90.7184875	23	1	4	133
0	1	5	23	-117	6	-16.5	18	-6	0006340D	42503	87	9260	28	0	0	-92.7184875	22	1	4	133
0	1	5	21	-119	-4	-21.5	15	-9	0006340C	42503	79	9260	28	0	1	-89.7184875	23	16	8	135
0	1	7	43	-97	12	-13.5	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-75.7184875	16	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	14	-12.5	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-77.7184875	16	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	19	-10	31	7	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-80.2184875	17	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	18	-10.5	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-79.7184875	18	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	16	-11.5	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-78.7184875	21	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	19	-10	29	5	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-80.2184875	17	1	4	112
0	1	7	41	-99	19	-10	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-81.2184875	17	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	13	-13	29	5	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-77.2184875	17	1	4	112
0	1	7	41	-99	12	-13.5	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-77.7184875	18	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	13	-13	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-77.2184875	19	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	11	-14	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	17	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	11	-14	29	5	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	16	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	11	-14	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	19	1	4	113
0	1	7	43	-97	13	-13	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	17	1	4	112
0	1	7	41	-99	12	-13.5	27	3	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-77.7184875	15	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	11	-14	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	16	1	4	113
0	1	7	41	-99	19	-10	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-81.2184875	15	1	4	114
0	1	7	41	-99	17	-11	27	3	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-80.2184875	16	1	4	114
0	1	7	40	-100	17	-11	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-81.2184875	16	1	4	114
0	1	7	41	-99	17	-11	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-80.2184875	14	1	4	113
0	1	7	43	-97	20	-9.5	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-79.7184875	13	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	16	-11.5	30	6	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-78.7184875	14	1	4	112
0	1	7	42	-98	11	-14	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-76.2184875	17	1	4	113
0	1	7	42	-98	20	-9.5	28	4	48801	42503	388	1800	3	0	0	-80.7184875	13	1	4	112

Leading to higher TX power and higher battery consumption

How can I optimize it?