nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Yusuke — Sat, 11 May 2019 01:46:33 GMT

Thanks a lot for giving this info!

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Fri, 10 May 2019 21:40:35 GMT

Good news! The nRF9160 is now able to connect in Japan (tested in Tokyo). If you have a board purchased before March / April you will need to update modem firmware which you can find here:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-Tools/Development-Kits/nRF9160-DK/Download#infotabs

I tested on 0.7.0-15.alpha. You can see that more bands have been activated (likely due to certification). Happy hacking!

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 08:15:52 GMT

Hi calexr,

That is great news! Thanks for keeping this thread updated and helping others find this information!

Cheers,

Håkon

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 09:24:41 GMT

Hi Yusuke,

I was able to get in touch with a Nordic representative in Japan. We should be able to connect to the LTE network by summer if not a bit earlier. I will post here again once I have tested and verified.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 06:52:29 GMT

I happened to have a business trip to Thailand and so tested the device there. I can confirm the device and sim work properly. So, this confirms my thought that the problem is with certification. I have contacted the sales rep here but haven't received a response yet.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Håkon Alseth — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 12:41:16 GMT

Hi,

According to our certification page, the approval for bands 1 and 8 is ongoing:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-Cellular-IoT/nRF9160-Certifications

I cannot say when this will be finished, or when a modem released with these bands enabled will be available, as I do not have these timelines available.

If you contact your regional sales manager, he should be able to provide more details on this matter. If you do not have the details for your RSM, please send me a direct message and i'll provide you the details.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 11:44:20 GMT

Hi Håkon,

After a fair amount of research I'm pretty sure in order to use the nrf9160 in Japan it needs to support B1 / B8.

I can also confirm KDDI only allows approved devices on their network.

Do you have any idea when TELEC approval for B1 / B8 will come through? (summer, next year, etc.)

Thanks!

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 11:40:32 GMT

I don't think the problem is with the eSIM: I can't see any towers on band 3.

I think LTE-M only functions on band 1 and band 8 in Japan. Can you confirm?

NTT Docomo does operate on band 3, but it is for high speed LTE and I am not sure, but I am thinking it does not support LTE-M.

I tested another LTE-M device and confirmed I can see NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank towers from the location I am currently testing (on B1/B8).

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Yusuke — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 03:16:47 GMT

I can't connect to LTE with nRF9160 DK too. I also want to know how to solve this. I live in Tokyo.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

iBasis Tech Support — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 23:34:18 GMT

Hi Calexr,

Nordic has replied that band 31 is not supported at this time. We apologize the confusion. Please try the following using band 3:

Make sure you see

UART green
Modem Green
UICC Green
Then
LTE and PDN, or PDN and LTE

Restart nRF9x Link Monitor
Unplug/plug SIM card
Check signal Strength

And slowly …

Let me know if this works.

Regards,

iBasis Tech Support

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:17:27 GMT

Hi,

Yes, as I wrote above I am aware only bands 3, 4, 13 and 20 are supported.

Does this mean the device should or should not work in Japan?

I am happy to wait, but I am getting conflicting requests from you (Nordic) and iBasis.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 09:07:37 GMT

Hi,

To get the supported bands you can issue this AT command:

AT%XCBAND=?

31 is not a supported band at this time.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 02:20:49 GMT

As a follow up, I see here:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-Cellular-IoT/nRF9160-Certifications

you are seeking certifications for Telec (Japan) on bands 1 and 8. Should I be using one of these?

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 22:25:31 GMT

According to the documentation: "The modem can only operate on four certified bands: 3, 4, 13, and 20. The application cannot override this restriction."

I tried with

AT%XBANDLOCK=2,"1000000000000000000000000000000"

but it threw an error. I'd be happy to try, but not sure it's possible with my access on the board. Could someone from Nordic advise on whether this is possible? (And if so, how to do so)

Thanks.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

iBasis Tech Support — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 14:06:13 GMT

Hi Calexr,

Try using Band 31. Please let me know what is the result.

Regards,

iBasis Tech Support

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:05:59 GMT

Thank you for getting back to me.

By default the device should be scanning band's 3, 4, 13 and 20. Regardless I set the device to band 3:

AT%XBANDLOCK=2,"100"
OK

verified here:

AT%XCBAND=?
%XCBAND: (3)
OK

Regretfully, the device still sees no towers. Should I try an antenna (a recommended part # would be appreciated)? Other ideas?

Thanks.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

iBasis Tech Support — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:15:30 GMT

Hi Calexr,

Please try Band 3. It should connect with NTT Docomo and Softbank.

Regards,

iBasis Tech Support

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

iBasis Tech Support — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 21:53:27 GMT

Hi,

Yes, we have seen connectivity over Softbank and NTT DoCoMo in Japan. We will investigate what is going on with your IMSI and get back to you as soon as possible.

Kind Regards,

iBasis Tech Support

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 12:38:29 GMT

Hi Håkon,

Here is what I did:

- reinstalled asset_tracker

- logged in on nrfcloud.com and reregistered the eSim (it stated as Activated Successfully)

- waited, but only led 3 blinking

- installed at_client, no change

So regretfully adding the SIM again did not help.

Other ideas? Has anyone from Nordic Japan successfully tested?

Thank you!

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 15:06:43 GMT

Hi,

There's been a couple of issues with the iBasis SIMs in the past days.

Could you try to add the SIM again on nrfcloud.com? When trying to add a LTE device, the SIM registration should pop up again.

You can cancel the process after re-registering the SIM-card.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

calexr — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 14:43:05 GMT

Thanks for the response.

I updated the firmware and regretfully no improvement.

RE: nRF9160-DK unable to connect to LTE-M network in Tokyo

Håkon Alseth — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 07:35:42 GMT

Hi,

[quote user=""]mfw-m1_nrf9160_0.6.6-46.prealpha[/quote]

There is an update available for the modem, which you can find on this page: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-Tools/Development-Kits/nRF9160-DK/Download#infotabs

The modem dfu tool can be installed via python pip:

pip install nrf9160_mdm_dfu-0.10.0+dev-py3-none-any.whl

Then run the modem update function in the folder you have the new modem firmware:

cd path\to\modem\firmware && nrf9160_mdm_dfu --update

Could you check if the connection issues still remain after the modem update?

Kind regards,

Håkon