EM9291 Unable to Connect to n79

I am trying to connect my EM9291 module to our OAI gNB that is broadcasting on n79. I have gone through this process about a year ago getting the module to connect on n78, but I cannot seem to get the same results with n79. Any help would be appreciated please let me know what you need from me.

Are you talking about 5G SA or ENDC?

BTW, what is the return of the following?


AT!entercnd="A710"
ati3
AT!impref?
AT!selrat?
AT!band?
at!sdpref?
AT!gstatus?
AT!lteinfo?
at!nrinfo?

I’m talking about 5G SA - apologies. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Here are the returns:

AT!entercnd="A710"
OK
ati3
Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
Model: EM9291
Revision: SWIX65C_02.16.05.00 08f8d1 jenkins 2024/04/18 20:55:06
IMEI: 358186652158432
IMEI SV:  3
FSN: 834084502201B1
+GCAP: +CGSM


OK
at!impref?
!IMPREF: 
 preferred fw version:    02.15.01.00                                           
 preferred carrier name:  GENERIC                                               
 preferred config name:   GENERIC_030.054_000                                   
 preferred subpri index:  000                                                   
 current fw version:      02.16.05.00                                           
 current carrier name:    GENERIC                                               
 current config name:     GENERIC_030.054_000                                   
 current subpri index:    000                                                   
                                                                                
 fw version mismatch                                                            
                                                                                
OK
at!selrat?                                                                      
!SELRAT: 20, NR 5G Only                                                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
OK                                                                              
at!band?                                                                        
Index, Name                                                                     
0C, NR5G ALL,                                                                   
0 - GW:    0000000000000000                                                     
1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                    
3 - NRNSA: 000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                    
4 - NRSA:  000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                    
                                                                                
OK 
at!sdpref?                                                                      
RATs : WCDMA,LTE,NR5G                                                           
GWC  : B1,B2,B4,B5,B6,B8,B19                                                    
LTE  : B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B7,B8,B12,B13,B14,B17,B18,B19,B20,B25,B26,B28,B29,B30,B321
TDS  :                                                                          
NRSA : n1,n2,n3,n5,n7,n8,n12,n13,n14,n18,n20,n25,n26,n28,n29,n30,n38,n40,n41,n49
NRNSA: n1,n2,n3,n5,n7,n8,n12,n13,n14,n18,n20,n25,n26,n28,n29,n30,n38,n40,n41,n49
                                                                                
OK                                                                              
at!gstatus?                                                                     
!GSTATUS:                                                                       
Current Time:  5282             Temperature: 23                                 
Thermal Mitigation Level: 0                                                     
                                                                                
Reset Counter: 1                Mode:        LOW POWER MODE                     
                                                                                
                                                                                
OK 
at!lteinfo?                                                                     
!LTEINFO: Not Available                                                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
OK                                                                              
at!nrinfo?                                                                      
!NRINFO:                                                                        
Connectivity Mode: ---                                                          
                                                                                
NR5G Cell ID:    ---                                                            
NR5G band:       ---            NR5G Carrier ID: ---                            
NR5G dl bw:      ---            NR5G ul bw:      ---                            
NR5G Tx Power:   ---            NR5G Tx chan:    ---                            
NR5G Rx chan:    ---                                                            
NR5G dl MIMO:    ---            NR5G ul MIMO:    ---                            
NR5G(sub6) Rx0 RSSI (dBm):   ---                NR5G(sub6) Rx1 RSSI (dBm):   ---
NR5G(sub6) Rx2 RSSI (dBm):   ---                NR5G(sub6) Rx3 RSSI (dBm):   ---
NR5G(mmw) Rx0 RSSI (dBm):    ---                NR5G(mmw) Rx1 RSSI (dBm):    ---
                                                                                
NR5G RSRP (dBm): ---            NR5G RSRQ (dB):  ---                            
NR5G SINR (dB):  ---                                                            
                                                                                
                                                                                
OK 

your module is kept in low power mode due to fw mismatch in AT!IMPREF.
BTW, I don’t quite think now your module can connect n78

You might need to download the latest firmware:
https://source.sierrawireless.com/resources/airprime/software/em929x/em92-approved-fw-packages/#sthash.HdU4SQ9q.gIgr83zJ.dpbs

Okay, I have updated the firmware. Here is what I see when running AT!GSTATUS? now.

AT!GSTATUS?                                                                                               
!GSTATUS:                                                                                                 
Current Time:  247              Temperature: 24                                                           
                                                                                                          
Reset Counter: 2                Mode:        ONLINE                                                       
System mode:   LTE              PS state:    Not attached                                                 
LTE band:      B66              LTE bw:      20 MHz                                                       
LTE Rx chan:   66786            LTE Tx chan: 132322                                                       
EMM state:     Deregistered     Attach Needed                                                             
RRC state:     RRC Idle                                                                                   
IMS reg state: NOT REGISTERED   IMS mode:    Normal                                                       
IMS Srv State: UNKNOWN SMS,UNKNOWN VoIP                                                                   
                                                                                                          
PCC Rx0 RSSI:  -79.4            PCC Rx0 RSRP:  -118.2                                                     
PCC Rx1 RSSI:  ---              PCC Rx1 RSRP:  ---                                                        
PCC Tx Power:  ---              TAC:         f404 (62468)                                                 
RSRQ (dB):     -19.2            Cell ID:     03BB210C (62595340)                                          
SINR (dB):     -6.4                                                                                       
                                                                                                          
NR5G band:       ---            NR5G bw:         ---                                                      
NR5G Tx Power:   ---            NR5G Tx chan:    ---                                                      
NR5G Rx chan:    ---            NR5G RSRP (dBm): ---                                                      
NR5G RSRQ (dB):  ---            NR5G SINR (dB):  ---                                                      
                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          
OK 

does your network have LTE B66?

BTW, the antenna RSRP is quite bad…

Lastly, have you set correct APN in AT+CGDCONT?

Network only has NR n79. I can see that the RSRP is quite bad… however I am not sure where I am receiving this LTE signal from so that could be the reason.. I have not set correct APN using AT+CGDCONT?.

Here is my output of that command though

AT+CGDCONT?                                                                                               
+CGDCONT: 1,"IPV4V6","","0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0",0,0,0,0,,,,,,,,,"",,,,0                         
+CGDCONT: 2,"IPV4V6","ims","0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0",0,0,0,0,,,,,,,,,"",,,,0                      
                                                                                                          
OK

you can set correct APN first and check the n79 signal

Not sure what I should set APN to, I am using free5gc and the APN is specified as “internet” in my configurations. Here is the return I get from trying to set my APN to internet using that command.

AT+CGDCONT=internet                                                                                       
ERROR                                                                                                     
AT+CGDCONT="internet"                                                                                     
ERROR 

it should be
AT+CGDCONT=1,“IP”,“internet”

So I was able to set that, but am still unable to see anything connected to gNB.

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet"                                                                              
OK 

does it work with real network?

I don’t have any COTS SIM cards, however, OpenAirInterface UE does connect to the gNB just fine through cabling

then you might need to verify if your network is workable or not for both n78 and n79

Is there a way I can set my module to only scan only n79?

here is an example on how to disable n77, you can modify the command and make it only enable n79:

So I modified the command to only enable n79 but still had no luck. Here is the output of AT!NRINFO with all 5G bands enabled. So the modem is able to see some other 5G signal on n5.

AT!NRINFO?
!NRINFO: 
Connectivity Mode: SA

NR5G Cell ID:    957F18016 (40130150422)
NR5G band:       n5                     NR5G Carrier ID: 0
NR5G dl bw:      10 MHz                 NR5G ul bw:      10 MHz    
NR5G Tx Power:   ---                    NR5G Tx chan:    0
NR5G Rx chan:    174908
NR5G dl MIMO:    2                      NR5G ul MIMO:    1
NR5G(sub6) Rx0 RSSI (dBm):   -80.4      NR5G(sub6) Rx1 RSSI (dBm):   -74.8
NR5G(sub6) Rx2 RSSI (dBm):   ---        NR5G(sub6) Rx3 RSSI (dBm):   ---

NR5G RSRP (dBm): -106                   NR5G RSRQ (dB):  -14
NR5G SINR (dB):   0.5


OK

This is also with SELRAT set to Automatic

AT!SELRAT?                                                                                                                  
!SELRAT: 00, Automatic

Here is to show you that I enabled only n79, I believe this should be the correct modification to work but you might have some more insights if I have been mistaken (index 13).

AT!BAND=?                                                                                                                   
Index, Name                                                                                                                 
00, All bands                                                                                                               
     0 - GW:    100200000EC00000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000A7E2BB0F38DF 0000000000000042                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                                                          02, North America 3G                                                                                                        
     0 - GW:    0000000004800000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
06, Europe                                                                                                                  
     0 - GW:    0002000000400000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   00000000000800C5 0000000000000000                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
07, North America                                                                                                           
     0 - GW:    0000000004800000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   000001000301385A 0000000000000042                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
08, WCDMA ALL                                                                                                               
     0 - GW:    100200000EC00000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
09, LTE ALL                                                                                                                 
     0 - GW:    0000000000000000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000A7E2BB0F38DF 0000000000000042                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
0C, NR5G ALL                                                                                                                
     0 - GW:    0000000000000000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  000081A03B0A38D7 0000000000007C62                                                                           
13, n79                                                                                                                     
     0 - GW:    0000000000000000                                                                                            
     1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                           
     3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000004000                                                                           
     4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000004000 

what is the setting of AT!BAND? now?

I set it to 13, here are the returns

AT!BAND=13                                                                                                                  
OK                                                                                                                          
AT!BAND?                                                                                                                    
Index, Name                                                                                                                 
13, n79,                                                                                                                    
0 - GW:    0000000000000000                                                                                                 
1 - LTE:   0000000000000000 0000000000000000                                                                                
3 - NRNSA: 0000000000000000 0000000000004000                                                                                
4 - NRSA:  0000000000000000 0000000000004000                                                                                
                                                                                                                            
OK   

Some more information - I have gotten the connection between OAI gNB and EM9291 to work at n78.

AT!NRINFO?                                                                                                                  
!NRINFO:                                                                                                                    
Connectivity Mode: SA                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            
NR5G Cell ID:    BC614E (12345678)                                                                                          
NR5G band:       n78                    NR5G Carrier ID: 0                                                                  
NR5G dl bw:      10 MHz                 NR5G ul bw:      10 MHz                                                             
NR5G Tx Power:   -30.0                  NR5G Tx chan:    641280                                                             
NR5G Rx chan:    641280                                                                                                     
NR5G dl MIMO:    2                      NR5G ul MIMO:    1                                                                  
NR5G(sub6) Rx0 RSSI (dBm):   -65.8      NR5G(sub6) Rx1 RSSI (dBm):   -75.0                                                  
NR5G(sub6) Rx2 RSSI (dBm):   ---        NR5G(sub6) Rx3 RSSI (dBm):   ---                                                    
                                                                                                                            
NR5G RSRP (dBm): -90                    NR5G RSRQ (dB):  -11                                                                
NR5G SINR (dB):  20.0                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
OK 

I’m not sure if this means I have something configured wrong on gNB side for my n79 configuration, but I will keep investigating this issue on both sides - UE and gNB. I will update here with any progress.