Network coverage in Germany?

Question

Hello, 
 after I could not use the nRF9160 DK I bought almost a year ago in Germany due to the missing nb-iot coverage I was very curious about the Thingy91 and I assumed that coverage in Germany, Berlin is possible now? Unfortunately, I can't get an LTE connection in the middle of Berlin. A screenshot of the nRF Connect Tool is attached. During a network search, I always get the following error "Network search failed: Error: 'AT+COPS=? timed out" 
 Can you confirm that the Thingy91 works in Germany, Berlin? 
 Kind regards Jakob

Martin Lesund · Answer

Hi Jakob, I have personally have had success connecting to the NB-IoT network when I was visiting Munchen last year in December. (I tested with a "1NCE" SIM) 
 The solution here is to use a local SIM card that supports NB-IoT in your area on the Thingy:91. ( iBasis SIM card has limited support in Germany as for now ) I would recommend you to get a SIM card from one of the operators in this list that support NB-IoT or LTE-M . 
 So the first step is to get a local SIM card to be able to connect to the network. 
 I would also recommend that you update the modem firmware version to the latest one (now it's 1.1.0) for the best experience. 
 If you are going to just play around with AT commands I would recommend running the standard AT-Client sample: thingy91_at_client_2019-11-29_d3130d77.hex 
 And for the asset_tracker sample, I would recommend that you use thingy91_nbiot_legacy_pco_2019-11-29_d3130d77.hex and turn OFF "Automatic requests" in the LTE link monitor so you do not accidentally send AT commands when it's not suited. 
 
 Another thing to note, you cannot find the network operators in your area unless you are already attached to a network. e.g. Here is a test I did at my location with iBasis SIM card, Telia SIM and Telenor SIM on both LTE-M network and on the NB-IoT network: 
 
 As you can see we do not get any networks up when using the iBasis SIM on the NB-IoT network since it's not attached to a network. 
 (The reason it is not attached to the network is that the network does not allow roaming SIMs on their NB-IoT network yet ) 
 
 Best regards, 
 Martin L.

Network coverage in Germany?

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