Getting started

RE: Getting started

cmag — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 13:52:44 GMT

iBasis says:

"We intend to have NB IoT within a month or two working in roaming mode as well."

So Italy is not currently supported by their SIM.

As for Vodafone, they confirmed today that their normal M2M SIMs do not support NB-IoT.

They can sell us NB-IoT SIMs in lots of 250 pieces.

I will try to ask other operators.

RE: Getting started

cmag — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 11:22:00 GMT

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../2019_2D00_07_2D00_12T10_5F00_58_5F00_22.484Z_2D00_log.txt

This is the full dump. After the initial blue part (boot?) I typed:

AT
OK
AT
OK
AT+CFUN=1
OK
AT+CFUN?
+CFUN: 1
OK

Then it started to do everything by itself and UART/MODEM/UICC/PDN became green; LTE was yellow (Using iBasis).

I retried with Vodafone SIM and LTE stays gray. Signal is also weaker (2 marks instead of 3) so maybe iBasis is based on a different network.

In this case the answer is:

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

Which makes me think that Vodafone lied when they said that any M2M SIM supports NB-IoT.

RE: Getting started

Øyvind — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 10:54:55 GMT

Is this all you get in the LTE Link Monitor output? You seem to be missing SPM. Have you flashed the correct .hex file: merged.hex. What version of SES are you using? Please ensure that you are using SES v4.18 and that Project zephyr/merged.hex is set to Active Project.

RE: Getting started

cmag — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 08:51:40 GMT

AT%XSYSTEMMODE?
%XSYSTEMMODE: 0,1,0,0

After startup, sometimes, after the usual blue dump ending with:

:***** Booting Zephyr OS v1.14.99-ncs2 *****
Application started
LTE LC config ...

I Get:

AT+CESQ
LTE LC config ...
+CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,255
OK
AT+CESQ
+CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,255
OK
AT+CESQ
+CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,69
OK
AT+CESQ
+CESQ: 99,99,255,255,255,69
OK
nrf_cloud_connect failed: 22
AT+CESQ

And then:

***** Booting Zephyr OS v1.14.99-ncs2 *****
Flash region Domain Permissions

And it starts all over again

There also is some sign of life (see attached image) with the iBasis SIM.

Since we only have NB-IoT and not LTE, I do not know what should happen next.

RE: Getting started

Øyvind — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 08:22:39 GMT

[quote user="cmag"][/quote]

I also tried a command copied from the Asset Tracker:

AT%XSYSTEMMODE=0,1,0,0

What does it return if you issue the command:

AT%XSYSTEMMODE?

[quote user="cmag"]AT+CLAC[/quote]

I can confirm that this does not work. It is a known bug.

Were you able to issue the AT+CFUN? command?

RE: Getting started

cmag — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 07:56:48 GMT

I have programmed mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip and then run Asset Tracker.

I have to press the RESET button on the board, then I get some output from the board, ending:

***** Booting Zephyr OS v1.14.99-ncs2 *****
Application started
LTE LC config ...

I get an OK answer to AT, so it seems alive; yet some other command do not work; e.g

AT+CLAC
ERROR

I also tried a command copied from the Asset Tracker:

AT%XSYSTEMMODE=0,1,0,0
ERROR

Because in Italy we only have NB-IoT

Concerning the failure I get when programming the Segger utility (which is a little more verbose than the SES) blocks when trying to erase the first sector. As I said, using nRF Connect to reprogram mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip unblocks the device; cycling power both on PC and device does not.

RE: Getting started

Øyvind — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 11:37:28 GMT

[quote user="cmag"]I installed everything yesterday for the first time, so I think it is up to date.[/quote]

Yes, that should give you the latest version.

[quote user="cmag"]I would like to test the board with LTE Link Monitor; is there some additional step after programming mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip: I just get timeouts when issuing AT commands.[/quote]

Programming mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip is a one-time thing, this updates the modem FW. With the latest version of Asset Tracker, you should be able to issue AT commands, but if you are not able to do so, please program AT_client sample and issue the AT+CFUN? command

[quote user="cmag"]Also, from time to time SES starts failing to program the device; at this point also Segger tools fail and the only way to recover is revriting mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip with nRF Connect; happened a couple of times this morning.[/quote]

What kind of failure do you get? Can you describe the steps you use to program the device when it fails?

RE: Getting started

cmag — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 11:16:07 GMT

I installed everything yesterday for the first time, so I think it is up to date.

Today I no longer get the message about not being registered for Segger Embedded Studio.

I changed the board to the ns version and I could compile; I also changed .config file as follows:

# CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_MODE_LTE_M is not set
CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_MODE_NBIOT=y

The single LED now blinks forever, so the application seems to be running; I also tried a SIM from Vodafone (they say that their M2M SIMs are enabled for NB-IOT, also I would not take what Vodafone sales representatives say at face value), with the same result.

I would like to test the board with LTE Link Monitor; is there some additional step after programming mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip: I just get timeouts when issuing AT commands.

I am doing everything with the PROG/DEBUG switch to nRF91.

Also, from time to time SES starts failing to program the device; at this point also Segger tools fail and the only way to recover is revriting mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip with nRF Connect; happened a couple of times this morning.

RE: Getting started

Øyvind — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 08:28:10 GMT

Hello,

First of all, please ensure that you have the latest version of NCS v1.0.0. Following the latest version of Getting Started Assistant should yield the correct version.

[quote user=""]I get an error that asset_tracker.emProject is invalid. When i exit the window, an error marker is on the message(FATAL_ERROR... line:[/quote]

Please change board from nrf9160_pca10090 to nrf9160_pca10090ns. This should solve the issue when building the project.

Kind regards,
Øyvind

RE: Getting started

cmag — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 08:24:55 GMT

I have already downloaded and installed mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip with nRF connect and got "Modem DFU completed successfully!", but I suspect that at this point I should reload the application; this is why I downloaded the development chain, but then I got stuck with the Nordic version of SES not recognizing the license, even after trying to get a new registration for a couple of times.

If I try to use nRF Connect, all I get is: Error: 'AT+CFUN=1 ' timed out

I do not understand if mfw_nrf9160_1.0.0.zip is a sort of BIOS, after which I should have to add an application, or it already contains a modem application.

RE: Getting started

octvargas — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 21:09:14 GMT

Have you tried flashing over the newest firmware for the modem?

Maybe take a look at this thread and see if that helps

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/49264/unable-to-update-firmware-on-nrf9160