nRF9160 trying to connect to the local cell network.

[RickCol]

I'm trying to connect to my local LTE network but I can't pass the yellow and blinking LTE step. I couldn't also run the Asset Tracker project. Please tell me if you are covering Bogota/Colombia to connect to the local cell area.

Thanks.

[Didrik Rokhaug]

Hi.

Are you using the iBasis SIM card that came with the DK, or are you using a local SIM card?

Have you activated the iBasis SIM card?

Looking at the GSMA CIoT coverage map, and iBasis coverage list, it does not look like there is an NB-IoT or LTE-M network in Colombia.

There might be several reasons for why the asset_tracker never gets past the "LED3 blinking stage". To know which is your problem, I would need the log the asset_tracker prints over the serial port.

Best regards,

Didrik

[RickCol]

Hi Didrik,

Would you please tell me the procedure to send you the log?.

It seems that we need special sim cards to access my and lte-m. I'm asking the local telcos. But I'm just wondering, if the can't handshake with the standard LTE means that it can't work?. Or could I program the modem to handshake with the standard cell network?.

Thanks.

[Didrik Rokhaug]

You can get the log from the Link Monitor application in nRF Connect for Desktop, or any other serial terminal.

When debugging connectivity issues, the at_client application is very useful.

A guide on how to use the Link Monitor can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5V4Vo_Xemk

However, if you have confirmed that you need a local SIM card, then the log is not needed.

The nRF9160 can only connect to NB-IoT and LTE-M networks, not regular 2G/3G/4G networks.

However, the same modem firmware version can be used for both NB-IoT and LTE-M.

The asset_tracker application uses LTE-M by default, but you can change to NB-IoT by setting LTE_NETWORK_MODE_NBIOT=y in the prj.conf file.

If your local network does not support ePCO, you can change to legacy PCO by adding CONFIG_LTE_LEGACY_PCO_MODE=y.