NB-IoT SIM options for nRF9160 in India

[purush123]

Hi all,

I'm deploying an nRF9160-based device in India and hitting the familiar "which SIM actually works here" wall. Looking for current (2026) experiences, since older threads are out of date and the operator landscape keeps shifting.

What I've tried:
- Airtel M2M NB-IoT SIM — provisioned fine, but NB-IoT coverage at my location( Bangalore ) was poor and unreliable. Device couldn't get a stable attach.

Where I'm stuck — questions:
1. For anyone running nRF9160 in India in 2025–2026: which operator's NB-IoT are you actually getting a reliable attach and data on? Jio keeps coming up as the main NB-IoT operator — can anyone confirm current nRF9160 experience?
2. Jio NB-IoT is reportedly Non-IP (data tunneled via their server rather than standard IP sockets). For those using it — how are you handling this on the nRF9160 side? NIDD, or is there an IP APN available now?
3. Has anyone sourced a small-quantity NB-IoT SIM (R&D, under 10 SIMs) without the 100-SIM enterprise minimum?

Any band-lock (%XBANDLOCK) or APN config that made the difference would be a huge help.

Thanks!

[Nishant Gaurav]

Hi,

I’ve been using Jio NB-IoT with the nRF9151 since last year and my experience has been quite stable overall. I’ve tested it across 7–8 states in India, including Bangalore and Chennai, and the device was able to attach and exchange data reliably in most locations.

From my setup, Jio is working in standard APN/IP mode — I’m not using NIDD. My configuration uses an APN-based connection (in my case jionpiot). You should confirm the exact APN and provisioning details with your local Jio distributor/M2M contact because they sometimes provision different profiles depending on the SIM type and region.

A few things that helped in my case:

• Band lock made a noticeable difference in some areas.

• Keeping the modem restricted to NB-IoT only improved attach stability.

• Verifying that the SIM is actually provisioned for NB-IoT data (not just LTE-M/general M2M) is important.

For small quantities, I was able to get development quantities through a distributor rather than going through the full enterprise onboarding path directly.

Overall, compared to Airtel, Jio has been much more reliable for NB-IoT in my testing so far.

thanks and regards 

Nishant

[purush123]

Hi Nishant,

Thank you — this is really helpful and reassuring to hear, especially given our struggles getting Airtel to attach reliably.

We've gone ahead and ordered a Jio SIM through an IndiaMart seller, so a couple of follow-ups if you don't mind:

1. Provisioning contact: For getting the SIM correctly set up — NB-IoT data enablement, the right APN, IP mode — who did you actually deal with? Did your distributor handle all of that, or did you need a direct Jio M2M contact for the profile-level settings? Trying to work out whether the IndiaMart seller can sort everything or whether we should line up a Jio M2M point of contact in parallel.

2. IPv4 / Azure: We're connecting to Azure IoT Hub, which needs outbound IPv4 to public endpoints over TLS 1.2. The IndiaMart seller says the SIM supports IPv4 — in your setup, did the standard APN/IP mode give you public-internet IPv4 routing that could actually reach external cloud endpoints? Or did you need a special data profile / static IP to get there? You mentioned you're on standard APN/IP mode (not NIDD), which sounds like exactly what we need, so just trying to confirm the routing piece.

And if you're willing to share: the exact APN you used (jionbiot?) and your band lock + NB-IoT-only config would save us a lot of trial and error.

We're on the nRF9160 (you're on the 9151, I think), so I'll account for any modem firmware differences on our end.

Thanks again for taking the time.

[Nishant Gaurav]

Hi purush

For provisioning and activation, if you have either a test SIM or a production SIM, I can connect you with the person who handles Jio NB-IoT provisioning. Feel free to message me privately, and I'll share his contact details.

Regarding IPv4/IPv6 connectivity, my setup currently uses IPv6. I'm using the standard APN jionpiot, and I have whitelisted my device IP and the required ports.

From my experience:

• If you're using a test SIM, you generally do not need to whitelist your SIM, IP addresses, or ports.

• If you're using a production/actual SIM, you will need to provide Jio with your SIM details along with the IP addresses and ports that need to be accessible. These must be whitelisted, and the APN must be configured correctly on the device.

Once the SIM provisioning and whitelisting are completed, the connection works reliably over the Jio NB-IoT network.

yes, if you're on the nRF9160 with v1.x.y firmware, the AT commands and Socket/GNSS APIs will differ from what applies to the nRF9151 on v2.x.y. Be sure to reference the nRF9160 AT Commands Reference Guide rather than the nRF91x1 guide when developing for the nRF9160. [nRF9160 AT Commands]

[purush123]

Hi Nishant, We received JIO Test SIM's , I'm not sure how to reach you privately in nrf devzone.

[Nishant Gaurav]

connect me on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishantgaurav45

[JDDER]

Hi Nishant,

We are using an Airtel M2M SIM for our gateway device. The gateway was originally configured for a Soracom SIM, but since Soracom is not working in India, we purchased an Airtel M2M SIM and updated the device configuration to use NB-IoT mode.

However, the gateway is still unable to register on the network and continues searching for a network connection.

As part of our troubleshooting, we have:

• Installed and activated the Airtel M2M SIM.
• Configured the device for NB-IoT mode.
• Configured the APN as iot.com.
• Configured the required hostname on the M2M SIM as requested by the provider.
• Verified that the configured hostname is reachable from another device on the same network.

Despite these steps, the gateway is still not registering on the network.

Could you please advise if there are any additional device configurations, modem settings, APN settings, firmware changes, or network requirements that we may be missing? If there are any specific logs or diagnostic commands you would like us to provide, please let us know.

Device Log:

00> [00:00:01.349,304] <inf> nw_manager: NW Manager init started
00> [00:00:01.349,609] <inf> app_thread_ota: The OTA process use the external bitmap
00> 
00> [00:00:01.350,708] <inf> nw_manager: Bringing network interface up and connecting to the network
00> [00:00:01.584,625] <inf> nw_manager: Network interface is up
00> [00:00:01.612,365] <inf> nw_manager: Network interface is connecting
00> FSM NW Manager | New state: Net Disconnected | Event: 1 
00> [00:00:01.862,976] <inf> nw_manager: ====== Cell Network Info ======
00> [00:00:01.863,494] <wrn> modem_info: No valid RSRP
00> [00:00:01.863,525] <inf> nw_manager: Signal strength (RSRP): 255 dBm
00> [00:00:01.863,983] <inf> nw_manager: Current LTE band: 0
00> [00:00:01.864,501] <inf> nw_manager: Supported LTE bands: (1,2,3,4,5,8,12,13,17,19,20,25,26,28,66)
00> [00:00:01.864,959] <inf> nw_manager: Tracking area code: 
00> [00:00:01.865,386] <inf> nw_manager: Current UE mode (0=LTE-M, 1=NB-IoT): 0
00> [00:00:01.865,844] <inf> nw_manager: Current operator name: 
00> [00:00:01.866,302] <inf> nw_manager: Cell ID: 
00> [00:00:01.866,821] <inf> nw_manager: IP address: 
00> [00:00:01.867,248] <inf> nw_manager: Modem firmware version: mfw_nrf9160_1.3.7
00> [00:00:01.867,797] <inf> nw_manager: LTE-M support (1=active): 0
00> [00:00:01.868,377] <inf> nw_manager: NB-IoT support (1=active): 1
00> [00:00:01.868,957] <inf> nw_manager: GPS support mode: 0
00> [00:00:01.869,445] <inf> nw_manager: Network time/date: 
00> [00:00:01.869,934] <inf> nw_manager: System mode config: %XSYSTEMMODE: 0,1,0,0
00> OK
00> 
00> [00:00:01.870,300] <inf> nw_manager: Network registration: +CEREG: 5,4
00> OK
00> 
00> [00:00:01.870,758] <inf> nw_manager: PDP contexts (APN): +CGDCONT: 0,"IPV4V6","iot.com","",0,0
00> OK
00> 
00> [00:00:01.871,154] <inf> nw_manager: Signal quality (CESQ): +CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,255
00> OK
00> 
00> [00:00:01.871,154] <inf> nw_manager: ===============================
00> FSM NW Manager | New state: Net Connected | Event: 2 
00> [00:00:05.259,246] <inf> protocol_thread: UART TX: 0
00> [00:01:08.867,828] <inf> nw_manager: [LTE] Modem event: 0
00> [00:02:07.135,620] <inf> nw_manager: [LTE] Modem event: 1
00> [00:02:07.217,681] <inf> nw_manager: [LTE] Searching for network...
00> [00:02:07.217,712] <inf> nw_manager: [LTE] Cell update: Cell ID=0xFFFFFFFF  TAC=0xFFFFFFFF