Migrating nRF9160 app to nRF54 using Serial LTE Modem module

[soutys]

Hi,

I'm working on an app that currently uses Thingy91 as a main board (nRF9160 as main MCU for LTE nRF Cloud Connectivity and nRF52840 for BLE connectivity via HCI UART). Currently for various reasons I'm still working on NCS v2.8.0.

For second generation of the app I would like to migrate the whole nRF9160 application to nRF54 MCU and use nRF9151/nRF9160 via UART as a Serial LTE Modem only. I've tried the Serial Modem App on nRF9160 +  SLM Shell sample on NRF54 and I was able to run AT commands on nRF54 using UART shell.

My question is: is it possible (on v2.8.0 or newer NCS versions if needed) to migrate the nRF Cloud application from nRF9160 to nRF54 by changing the configuration of the project? The JITP configuration and keys are managed by a modem. In the code I use both nRF Cloud API (e.g. nrf_cloud_rest_alert_send()) and nRF Modem Lib API (e.g. nrf_modem_lib_init()).

I will appreciate any help.

[Simon D-M]

Hi,

We moved from the Serial LTE Modem (SLM) application to the Serial Modem Add-on application (SM) recently. We remade the SLM application into a new application because the SLM was just not very maintainable.

So if you are ok with porting your project to a more recent nRF Connect SDK, I would recommend you to wait (if your schedule allows it) for the Serial Modem Add-on V2.0.0, as this version will fully support nRF Cloud provisioning. You can see its GitHub Wiki some scheduled release date (not set in stone) and some key features that the v2.0.0 will support.

The v2.0.0 also comes with a new serial modem host, so you will also need to update the nRF54L software to match the SM NCS version.

However, there is no official support for the nRF9160. If you can, I would also recommend you to use the nRF9151 instead of the nRF9160. This chip is the recommended chip for all new (cellular) designs. It will most likely also work with the nRF9160, but we just don't test the application on it. So if you want to try and port the SM to use on the nRF9160 you are also welcome.

So to summaries my response to your question:

My question is: is it possible (on v2.8.0 or newer NCS versions if needed) to migrate the nRF Cloud application from nRF9160 to nRF54 by changing the configuration of the project? The JITP configuration and keys are managed by a modem. In the code I use both nRF Cloud API (e.g. nrf_cloud_rest_alert_send()) and nRF Modem Lib API (e.g. nrf_modem_lib_init()).

Yes, it is absolutely possible to migrate, but I would recommend using the Serial Modem Add-on v2.0.0 when released with a nRF9151.

Yes, The SM v2.0.0 will be capable to use the nRF Cloud API (see link).

If you have more questions, or need more information on the SM, feel free to ask!

Best regards,

Simon D-M