No IMEI available in modem

[Jonas R.]

We developed a custom board with an nRF9161. During board bringup I want to test if the modem can connect via Cellular. I flashed the modem_shell firmware. The modem reports "Modem domain event: No IMEI" and a connection is not established:

*** Booting nRF Connect SDK v3.5.99-ncs1-3-gff2154892f8e ***

Reset reason: PIN reset

MOSH version:       v2.6.0-6-g0b9d380becf6
MOSH build id:      custom
MOSH build variant: dev



mosh:~$ 
Modem domain event: No IMEI
Network registration status: searching
Currently active system mode: LTE-M
LTE cell changed: ID: 23236886, Tracking area: 59630
mosh:~$ at AT+CGSN
ERROR

mosh:~$ at AT+CGMR
mfw_nrf91x1_2.0.0
OK

I tested with modem firmware v2.0.0 as well as v2.0.1 with the same result. If I run the same firmware on the nRF9161dk board, it connects to the cellular network as expected.

I know that the nRF9161 supports writing the IMEI, however, I would like to use the default IMEI. Is there a documentation which explains this feature in detail?

[Jonas R.]

Thanks for the link! I checked this resource before. The nRF9161 DK Board has an IMEI assigned and even printed on the sticker. But how is this handled in a custom hardware with the nRF9161 SiP populated? Usually mobile equipment should have a unique IMEI pre-assigned. This was the case with the nRF9160, which I have used with an earlier version.

• Device ID: the device ID is composed of nrf- and the 15-digit International Mobile (Station) Equipment Identity (IMEI) number that is printed on the label of your nRF9161 DK. For example, nrf-123456789012345.