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nRF9160 DK Connecting problems with nRF Cloud

Hello, I tried to set up my nRF9160 with this tutorial and there is a problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZQcmU3KIMY&t=216s

According to the tutorial, LED 3 and the LED 4 should be blinking after 3 minutes, what means that the board is connected to the nRF Cloud.
However on my nRF9160, the LED 4  never starts blinking, even if I wait 10 minutes longer than required.
I tried to push the reset button a few times, I turned the nRF9160 on and off a few times and I also started the "Add LTE Device" on nRF Cloud a few times.

But LED 4 still remains dark.

There were 2 things different compared to the tutorial video:


1) The Sim Card Registration worked fine, but when I came to the window in the picture below, I had an IMEI, but I found no PIN. So, I tried the option without a pin (Red mark in the picture).

Maybe I need a PIN, but where do I get it? I tried to insert every possible number I found on my nRF9160, but none of them worked. 

I have already installed the latest firmware update for the nRF9160 successfully. So what did I do wrong? Or how can I finally connect the nRF9160 to the nRF Cloud?

- Thanks for your answers

- Bergmann

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  • Hi Bergmann, 

    I have already installed the latest firmware update for the nRF9160 successfully

    You have updated the modem firmware to the latest version that is found here?

    I assume that you are using a iBasis SIM, since you activated it through the nRF Cloud site. Where are you based? Have you verified that you have LTE-M coverage in your area(see this page)?

    Best regards

    Bjørn

  • Ok, the country where I am based isn't in that list.
    So I might need a Sim Card of local provider. :)

    Thanks for your answer!

  • Yes, you were right. I reinstalled everything with the correct branches and all worked fine. Thanks for that!

    However, LED 4 still remains dark. I am located in Austria and now I have a SIM Chard from my local provider (Magenta T-Mobile Austria). The code on the SIM Card is to long for the ICCID for the textbox and there is no PUK, so I chose "Already have an active SIM? Skip this step". Is this the right way to do it or do I have enter the SIM Card in another way in the nRF Connect for Cloud?

    I also didn't find a PIN, so I clicked on the "Have an old devkit without a PIN?"

    Can I connect to nRF Cloud with a SIM Card that is not from iBasis?

  • Hi! 

    You can connect to nRF Cloud with a SIM Card not from iBasis, on the condition that the SIM card has support for either NB-IoT or LTE-M.

    And you are correct in skipping the first step, and selecting the option without a PIN as the nRF9160 does not have a PIN. 

    Best regards,

    Heidi

     

  • Hello I couldn't set up the connection yet (so that LED 4 blinks), but I noticed something:

    In the meantime I got access to a Nordic Thingy91 and I inserted the Sim Card there and the Thingy91 couldn't connect either. So probably the problem has to do with the Sim Card itself. There is another local provider for NB-IoT or LTE-M and I might try it with a SIM Card from them.

    One question more:

    I opened the Thingy91 in the LTE Monitor and I saw that the LTE Panel in the top right was blinking yellow:

    That means, that the Thingy91 is searching an LTE Tower.

    However when I open the nRF9160 in the LTE Monitor, the Searching LTE Panel remains grey, what means that the device is closed:

    Should that be grey or does this mean, that the nRF9160 isn't even trying to search a LTE Tower?

    Thanks for your answers.

  • Hi! 

    The grey means the nRF9160 can't find a signal. You can also see this from the response to +CEREG and +CESQ

    +CEREG: 2,4, "FFFE", "FFFFFFFF", 7

    The status value 4 means "Unknown", most likely because the device is out of a coverage area (e.g can't find a signal). 

    +CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,255

    The rsrp value 255 (the last number) indicates the RSRP is either not known or not detectable.

    Try letting it run for up to an hour (sometimes it takes that long) and see if it finds a signal. You can also turn on a periodic signal quality request in LTE Link Monitor to follow the progress, see image below. If the last value changes from 255, you know it has found a signal. 

    Let me know if this works!

    Best regards,

    Heidi

  • I let the periodic signal run for 2 hours on the nRF9160 and then on the Thingy91 twice, but the CESQ stayed at 

    +CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,255

    So it has to be the Sim Card that is not working or that is the cause of the problem.

    I have the SIM Card form T-Mobile Austria (Deutsche Telekom) . Maybe I should contact them again about the problem or I should try it with a SIM Card from A1. What do you think? According to the 

    https://www.gsma.com/iot/deployment-map/#AT 

    map, it would be the second local provider for NB-IoT SIM Cards.

    Thanks for your answers. Slight smile

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