Why did the 9160 fail to resolve the domain name?

I developed a product on 9160 using the ncs1.9.0 SDK and the 1.3.2 modem firmware. When debugging, I found a problem. That is, when connecting to a domain name, the modem returned the error of domain name resolution failure. However, using the same hardware device, running the ncs1.2.0 SDK can connect to this address, that is, there is no problem with the network and the background domain name, Then why is there an error on ncs1.9.0? This is the modem trace I captured.

trace-2023-01-28T09-43-24.379Z.bin

This is my conf file and overlay file:

#
# Copyright (c) 2019 Nordic Semiconductor ASA
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: LicenseRef-BSD-5-Clause-Nordic
#
# General config
CONFIG_NEWLIB_LIBC=y
CONFIG_NEWLIB_LIBC_FLOAT_PRINTF=y
CONFIG_ASSERT=y
CONFIG_REBOOT=y
CONFIG_GPIO=y
CONFIG_TRUSTED_EXECUTION_NONSECURE=y

# Log
CONFIG_LOG=y
CONFIG_USE_SEGGER_RTT=y
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_RTT=y
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_UART=n
CONFIG_LOG_DEFAULT_LEVEL=4
CONFIG_LOG_MODE_OVERFLOW=y
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_RTT_MODE_DROP=y
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_SHOW_COLOR=n
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_FORMAT_TIMESTAMP=n

# watch dog
CONFIG_WATCHDOG=y
CONFIG_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_MSEC=10000

# Modem info
CONFIG_MODEM_INFO=y

# Modem library
CONFIG_NRF_MODEM_LIB=y
CONFIG_NRF_MODEM_LIB_SYS_INIT=n
CONFIG_NRF_MODEM_LIB_TRACE_ENABLED=y

# BSD library
#CONFIG_BSD_LIBRARY=y
#CONFIG_BSD_LIBRARY_TRACE_ENABLED=n

# NVS
CONFIG_FLASH=y
CONFIG_FLASH_PAGE_LAYOUT=y
CONFIG_NVS=y
CONFIG_NVS_LOG_LEVEL_DBG=y
CONFIG_MPU_ALLOW_FLASH_WRITE=y

# GPS
# Enable to use an external GNSS antenna
CONFIG_GNSS_SAMPLE_ANTENNA_EXTERNAL=y
# Enable to use nRF Cloud A-GPS
CONFIG_GNSS_SAMPLE_ASSISTANCE_NRF_CLOUD=n
# Secure User-Plane Location (SUPL) client library (https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/libraries/others/supl_os_client.html)
CONFIG_GNSS_SAMPLE_ASSISTANCE_SUPL=y

# AT_CMD
#CONFIG_AT_HOST_LIBRARY=y
#CONFIG_UART_INTERRUPT_DRIVEN=y

# Console
CONFIG_CONSOLE_SUBSYS=n
CONFIG_CONSOLE_HANDLER=n
CONFIG_CONSOLE_GETCHAR=n
CONFIG_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_RTT_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_UART_CONSOLE=n

# Network
CONFIG_NETWORKING=y
CONFIG_NET_NATIVE=n
CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_OFFLOAD=y
CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS=y
CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_POSIX_NAMES=y

# LTE link control
CONFIG_LTE_LINK_CONTROL=y
CONFIG_LTE_AUTO_INIT_AND_CONNECT=n
CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_USE_FALLBACK=y
CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_TIMEOUT=180
CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_MODE_LTE_M_GPS=n
CONFIG_LTE_NETWORK_MODE_NBIOT_GPS=y

# PSM
CONFIG_MODEM_AUTO_REQUEST_POWER_SAVING_FEATURES=y
# Set Periodic-TAU timer to 1 hour and Active-Time to 10 seconds.
CONFIG_LTE_PSM_REQ_RPTAU="01000110"
CONFIG_LTE_PSM_REQ_RAT="00000101"

# MQTT
CONFIG_MQTT_LIB=y
CONFIG_MQTT_LIB_TLS=n
CONFIG_MQTT_KEEPALIVE=300
CONFIG_MQTT_PUB_TOPIC="device/e2/pushdata"
CONFIG_MQTT_SUB_TOPIC="device/e2/"
CONFIG_MQTT_CLIENT_ID="my-client-id"
CONFIG_MQTT_USER_NAME="admin123"
CONFIG_MQTT_PASSWORD="admin123"
CONFIG_MQTT_DOMESTIC_BROKER_HOSTNAME="47.107.51.89"
CONFIG_MQTT_DOMESTIC_BROKER_PORT=1883
CONFIG_MQTT_FOREIGN_BROKER_HOSTNAME="18.135.53.53"
CONFIG_MQTT_FOREIGN_BROKER_PORT=1883
CONFIG_MQTT_MESSAGE_BUFFER_SIZE=512
CONFIG_MQTT_PAYLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE=512

# Library for buttons and LEDs
CONFIG_DK_LIBRARY=y
CONFIG_DK_LIBRARY_INVERT_LEDS=n

# Heap and stacks
CONFIG_HEAP_MEM_POOL_SIZE=16384
CONFIG_MAIN_STACK_SIZE=8192
CONFIG_SYSTEM_WORKQUEUE_STACK_SIZE=2048
CONFIG_HW_STACK_PROTECTION=y

# SPI
CONFIG_SPI=y

# I2C
CONFIG_I2C=y

# UART
CONFIG_SERIAL=y
CONFIG_UART_INTERRUPT_DRIVEN=y

# ANIMATION
CONFIG_ANIMATION_SUPPORT=y

# PPG
CONFIG_PPG_SUPPORT=n

# IMU
CONFIG_IMU_SUPPORT=n
CONFIG_STEP_SUPPORT=n
CONFIG_SLEEP_SUPPORT=n
CONFIG_FALL_DETECT_SUPPORT=n

# WIFI
CONFIG_WIFI_SUPPORT=n

# TP
CONFIG_TOUCH_SUPPORT=y

# AUDIO
CONFIG_AUDIO_SUPPORT=n

# Data Sync
CONFIG_SYNC_SUPPORT=y

# Temperature
CONFIG_TEMP_SUPPORT=n

# CRC Check
CONFIG_CRC_SUPPORT=y

# DEVICE POWER MANAGEMENT
CONFIG_PM_DEVICE=y

# Download client
CONFIG_DOWNLOAD_CLIENT=y
CONFIG_DOWNLOAD_CLIENT_MAX_HOSTNAME_SIZE=192
CONFIG_DOWNLOAD_CLIENT_MAX_FILENAME_SIZE=64
CONFIG_DOWNLOAD_CLIENT_STACK_SIZE=4096

# DATA UPDATE
CONFIG_DATA_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT=y
CONFIG_DATA_DOWNLOAD_HOST_HK="aug-fm-files-hk.oss-cn-hongkong.aliyuncs.com"
CONFIG_DATA_DOWNLOAD_HOST_CN="aug-fm-files-cn.oss-cn-shenzhen.aliyuncs.com"
# IMG
CONFIG_IMG_DATA_UPDATE=y
CONFIG_IMG_DATA_DOWNLOAD_FILE="e2_img.bin"
# FONT
CONFIG_FONT_DATA_UPDATE=y
CONFIG_FONT_DATA_DOWNLOAD_FILE="e2_font.bin"
# PPG
CONFIG_PPG_DATA_UPDATE=y
CONFIG_PPG_DATA_DOWNLOAD_FILE="e2_ppg.bin"

# fota download
CONFIG_FOTA_DOWNLOAD=y
CONFIG_FOTA_DOWNLOAD_PROGRESS_EVT=y
CONFIG_FOTA_DOWNLOAD_HOST_HK="aug-fm-files-hk.oss-cn-hongkong.aliyuncs.com"
CONFIG_FOTA_DOWNLOAD_HOST_CN="aug-fm-files-cn.oss-cn-shenzhen.aliyuncs.com"
CONFIG_FOTA_DOWNLOAD_FILE="e2_update.bin"

# Image manager
CONFIG_IMG_MANAGER=y
CONFIG_FLASH=y
CONFIG_IMG_ERASE_PROGRESSIVELY=y

# DFU Target
CONFIG_DFU_TARGET=y

# Modem key management
CONFIG_MODEM_KEY_MGMT=y

# Application Upgrade support
CONFIG_BOOTLOADER_MCUBOOT=y

&spi2{
	compatible = "nordic,nrf-spim";
	status = "disabled";
	sck-pin = <3>;
	mosi-pin = <4>;
	miso-pin = <5>;
};

&spi3{
	compatible = "nordic,nrf-spim";
	status = "okay";
	sck-pin = <22>;
	mosi-pin = <20>;
	miso-pin = <5>;
};

&i2c1{
	compatible = "nordic,nrf-twim";
	status = "disabled";
	sda-pin = <30>;
	scl-pin = <31>;
	clock-frequency = <I2C_BITRATE_FAST>;
};

&i2c2{
	compatible = "nordic,nrf-twim";
	status = "disabled";
};

&uart0 {
	status = "disabled";
	current-speed = <115200>;
	tx-pin = <12>;
	rx-pin = <11>;
	/* delete rts-pin&cts-pin to release the related 2 pins for other uses */
	/delete-property/ rts-pin;
	/delete-property/ cts-pin;	
};

&uart1{
	status = "okay";
	current-speed = <115200>;
	tx-pin = <12>;
	rx-pin = <11>;
	/* delete rts-pin&cts-pin to release the related 2 pins for other uses */
	/delete-property/ rts-pin;
	/delete-property/ cts-pin;	
};

&uart2{
	status = "okay";
	current-speed = <115200>;
	tx-pin = <18>;
	rx-pin = <19>;
	/* delete rts-pin&cts-pin to release the related 2 pins for other uses */
	/delete-property/ rts-pin;
	/delete-property/ cts-pin;
};

  • HI Charlie

    Thank you for your reply. I used the AT command to query the version of the terminal. Its reply is:% HWVERSION: nRF9160 SICA B1A, that is, Revision 2 SiP version, and the terminal is currently running in NCS1.9.0+MFW1.3.2, including testing ncs1.2.0, fw or 1.3.2 of the modem. So what should I do next to solve this problem?

  • Hi Biao,

    OK, let's narrow down our focus and continue with the debugging.

    At the current time, you have several MFW1.3.2+NCS1.9.0+nRF9160 SiP Revision 2 custom devices, only one has no problem, but others report resolve problems.

    1) How many problem devices you have tested by far?

    2) Have you requested an HW review for those devices? if yes, please provide the case link.

    3) Do you have a chance to test with nRF9160DK?

    4) Since I did not find DNS packages inside the previous modem trace, can you please redo a full recording with the issue device and share it again? 

    Best regards,

    Charlie

  • Hi Charlie

    1)We have a total of 10 terminals, of which 7 are in the United Kingdom (LTE-M) and 3 are in China (NB-IOT). At present, 7 terminals in the United Kingdom have not had this problem (perhaps because of the use of lte-m network)

    2)Which hardware documents do you want to view? Is the schematic OK?

    3)I have an nRF9160DK, but it is very old (0.8.5). When I run ncs1.9.0+1.3.2 modem FW on it, it often restarts without reason, so it is not used for debugging later.

    4)I grabbed the modem trace again, which recorded the whole process of the terminal from power-on to power-off. Our firmware process about the network is as follows: After the terminal is powered on, it will register to the NB network, and then connect to our background through the MQTT protocol (it uses the IP address). After obtaining some necessary information, it will start the FOTA function, At this time, the terminal will connect to another server (he uses the domain name, which is the address that cannot be resolved now). When the terminal is finally turned off manually, it will send relevant information to our background.

    The attachment is the hardware schematic diagram of the terminal and the retrieved modem trace file.

    main board schematic.pdf

    E2_ V3_MB_layout.xlsx

    trace-2023-02-01T01-44-14.571Z.bin

  • Hi Biao,

    1) so 2 out of 3 custom devices have this problem with local NB-IoT, and one device has no problem, correct?

    2) Customers will request a free HW review when they finish the schematic design and PCB layout. There is normally one dedicated private case for HW review. I will check the modem trace first, and come back to HW design to check if this is needed.

    4) If there is one device working as expected, can you also provide the modem trace of this normal device?

    Best regards,

    Charlie

  • Hi Shuai Ge,

    Adding two configs to your prj.conf and it will work:

    CONFIG_PDN=y
    CONFIG_PDN_LEGACY_PCO=y

    Regards,

    William.

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