Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 09:22:39 GMT

I go the information that Vodafone is restructuring their IoT business and at the moment no new contracts are available. Alternatively Deutsche Telekom may offer IoT-SIM cards. I'll let you know.

By the way: I tried to use AT commands to connect directly to carriers. But it was not possible. Could you please check the default settings of the firmware. Perhaps there is an issue in the settings (e.g. APN).

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

Martin Lesund — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 13:41:55 GMT

Please update me when you get a Vodafone SIM or 1nce SIM and flashed the nb-IoT FW to the Thingy:91.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 11:19:20 GMT

Hi Martin,

you are right. The map was not the correct one. I've also done some research too and found out that Vodafone ist the preferred carrier for Germany. Some friends have very good experience with them. NB-IoT and LTE-M should work here as Hologram or your service sets up on one of these carriers. There is no detailed information about the coverage available. But the sender will most likely be placed at one of the LTE stations. NB-IoT has a better reach than LTE-M so it should connect to something. I can see some data coming in. But it is not enough to establish a connection.

Best regards

Marcus

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

Martin Lesund — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:57:27 GMT

Hi Marcus,

It has come to my attention that the Map you shared with regards to coverage is for LTE, not for LTE-M (CAT M1) or NB-IoT (CAT-NB1).
So there has been a misunderstanding between the technologies here.

nRF9160 is using the low power/low bandwidth technology for LTE, as shown in the Figure.

So the coverage map is not valid for CAT-M1 or CAT-NB1.

None of the network providers shown in the coverage map supports LTE-M, except Telefonica and they tend to have limited coverage (at this moment) and you can only connect to their network using their SIM card. You can purchase it from their IoT Division.

I talked to someone who is using the nRF9160 in Germany, which has had good experience using the "1nce SIM" (Deutsche Telekom) running on the NB-IoT network.

(If you want you can get in contact with the RSM in Germany if you need some additional information about this, just send me a personal message on Devzone)

Best regards,
Martin L.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 23:22:03 GMT

I flashed the device three times. First with the legacy, then the with ePCO and the legacy again. The device was put outside each time it was flashed to establish a connection. In each attempt the SIM card was also changed between Hologram and your provider. After these unsuccessful attempts the device was active the whole night on NB-IoT but did not manage to get a connection. So all in all there is not much left to tryout.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 12:33:34 GMT

I will flash the board to NB-IoT and give an update as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your help so far.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 12:22:43 GMT

In the middle of these circles is my position. I have two other LTE-M devices (development boards). At the moment they are not running. This shows what I get from the homepage of Hologram. Vodafone is much better than Telekom at the moment. But Hologram uses all main carriers. That's why I choose them. I do not know about your provider.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

Martin Lesund — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 12:21:04 GMT

So please flash the NB-IoT version and you should get a connection.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 12:15:14 GMT

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

Martin Lesund — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 12:06:34 GMT

Hi Marcus,

From this list you can see which carrier in your country support the different networks:
https://www.gsma.com/iot/deployment-map/#DE

The iBasis SIM card states that they have "Limited coverage" in Germany.
The issue is most likely not with the device, but with the SIM + and which network you are trying to connect to.

The "green light" represents that the device is ready for pairing with an nrf cloud account and the "dark blue" light represents that you have a connection with your nrf cloud account.

(user guide)

Please state what you are actually seeing from the Thingy:91 when it comes to the LED indicator.
How do you know that you have coverage in your area with LTE-M and/or nb-IoT?
Have you verified this in some way?

From what I can see from the official list from GSMA and the Hologram coverage site:

I would assume that you could get a connection by using the Hologram SIM and running the nb-IoT version of the Thingy:91 FW.
You can download that here.

Then you follow the guidelines presented in the previous post and flash the "thingy91_nbiot_legacy_pco_v0.2.2" version.
(Legacy PCO means that you are not enabling ePCO in the modem, since from experience the eNB (basestations) in your area supports legacy PCO)

Best regards,
Martin L.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

timabra — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 11:19:33 GMT

Thank you very much for the explanation and reply.

- Here in Hamburg there should not be an issue with a connection (LTE-M / NB-IoT)

- In the documentation the blinking blue LED is descirbed as a sign for connection

- In your video it is told that there should be a green light.

- Also in your video it is told that the registration comes first and then the device is connected

So which way around?

I also tried a different SIM from Hologram. It does also not work properly. No Connection.

Sorry, but there seems to be an issue with the device.

I would like to return this one and get a new one.

RE: Impossible to connect device (Thingy:91) NO WAY TO ENTER HARDWARE (IMEI, PIN).

Martin Lesund — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 11:02:34 GMT

Hi Marcus,

The HWID is related to the nRF91DK.
When working with the Thingy:91 you should use the IMEI + PIN code.

The Thingy:91 needs to be connected to the network to be able to be paired with your cloud account.
The default application running on the Thingy tries to connect to the LTE-M network, so if you are in an area where you only have nb-IoT you need to flash the nb-iot version of the application.

When connecting to the nb-iot network you most likely have to use a local SIM from the carrier provider since the iBasis has limited support on the nB-IoT network.

If you do not have an nrf91DK or an external j-link with a 10-pin cable to connect to the Thingy:91 you can switch out the Firmware by following this guide: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/cellular-iot-guides/b/getting-started-cellular/posts/thingy91_2d00_fw_2d00_update_2d00_mcuboot

Best regards,

Martin L.