Set Cellular Access Point Name (APN)

[jmarcelino]

@bali
We'll have APN and other settings soon. The modem itself is certified with AT&T certified but that's not enough, AT&T in particular requires PTCRB and AT&T approval of the device too. These are in progress.

We're working with Verizon first.

[bali]

@jmarcelino Can you please be a little bit more specific what "soon" means? Days, weeks? Thanks.

[jmarcelino]

@bali
Days. It's not just the APN we're working on other things. Thanks for your patience.

May I know which network you're looking to connect to?

[bali]

@jmarcelino

I'm planning on connecting to AT&T. I already have hundreds of devices on AT&T's network through LTE CAT 1 modems, but need better building propagation for remote monitoring assets deep inside buildings. Thanks

[camdenkrupala]

I'm in a similar situation to @bali. Excited to see the addition of APN coming so soon!

[bali]

@jmarcelino

Any updates on the release?

[fkoran]

Also very interested in a configurable APN. In the US, intending to use the FiPy with hologram. io

[ahaw021]

@jmarcelino could you please let us know how to do this? I am happy to talk to the module directly and set up sockets at the modem end as needed

@benstr - do you have a hologram LTE-M sim card? I thought they currently were only doing 2G/3G sim cards only

Andrei

[benstr]

@ahaw021 all of our SIM cards are global 2G/3G/4G/Cat-M1 (and soon to be NB). If you’re having troubles connecting to an M1 network you may have an older SIM that requires manual upgrade. You can keep the SIM and request the upgrade by contacting success@hologram.io

Again, this is pretty rare and nearly all of our SIMs are automatically upgraded as new service partners and cellular technology is released. This is one of the cool advantages of our software-defined network. 😀

[ahaw021]

@benstr thanks for clarifying that our for me

Do you have any Australian NB-IOT providers?

[benstr]

@ahaw021 Looks like we provide access to Optus and Telstra networks. Not sure if either have NB. I’m currently mobile and only have access to a partial list.

More than happy to dig further if need be - when I’m in the office tomorrow.

[rskoniec]

@benstr Do you have any info about Cat-M1/NB providers in Poland? I already have one of your DevSIM card but still waiting for my FiPy.

[benstr]

@rskoniec in Poland our 4G networks include T-Mobile, Orange, and Play. I’m told once they turn on M1/NB our sim will have access.

[rskoniec]

@benstr said in Set Cellular Access Point Name (APN):

@rskoniec in Poland our 4G networks include T-Mobile, Orange, and Play. I’m told once they turn on M1/NB our sim will have access.

Thank you for your respond. I wonder when do they turn on M1/NB, because so far I couldn't find any timelines (which month or 2018Qx).

[lewis]

@jmarcelino even if the modem is not PTCRB certified in its final release you can still use it on ATT as part of their developer program, which is where I am right now. Is there any movement on letting me set my APN so I can test it? Thanks!

[brotherdust]

@benstr I too have a hologram SIM, so I changed the hard-coded name in the C stack and re-compiled. No dice.

Would love to get my hands on test firmware.

[michaelhobo]

@jmarcelino any update on this? If there are other things that are pushing this feature out for much longer, can we get a custom build to set the APN? I think quite a few people have hologram.io sims burning holes in their pockets.

[brotherdust]

@michaelhobo I was able to make the hologram SIM work for me: it wasn't the APN setting. As far as I can tell, APN is irrelevant. The problem is that the 3GPP stack won't connect unless the SIM is on a home network.

If you're feeling ambitious, read on and I'll show how I did it.

First, the documentation. If you haven't already, download https://github.com/pycom/pycom-documentation/blob/master/chapter/datasheets/downloads/Monarch_4G-EZ_LR5110_ATCommands_ReferenceManual_Rev3_NOCONFIDENTIAL.pdf

Go to the beginning of Table 3-3 on page 85. What you'll see is a list of stat codes that the LTE modem returns after the 3GPP stack initializes and turns the radio on. What the stack is looking for is stat code 1: which means it's registered on a home network. Here it is in the 3GPP source code:
https://github.com/pycom/pycom-micropython-sigfox/blob/81f0934f48361403b3b638c150ba8ad026056884/esp32/3gpp/lib3GPP.c#L173

Problem: Hologram isn't a home network. It's a roaming network: stat code 5 (you've still got Table 3-3 up right?)

If you enable the debug mode in the 3GPP stack (and re-compile and flash the firmware, of course), you'll see that, after the radio turns on, it starts with stat code 0, then stat code 4 (usually a couple of times), then settles on stat code 5.

Solution? Change the 1 to a 5:
No: .cmdResponseOnOk = "+CEREG: 2,1",
Yes: .cmdResponseOnOk = "+CEREG: 2,5",

Compile, flash, problem solved. No APN change necessary.

[michaelhobo]

@brotherdust I need to try this today! Thanks for the detailed explanation. Time to pull down the pycom source...

[brotherdust]

@michaelhobo Good luck! One more thing: the documentation doesn’t explicitly mention it, but if you’re using the FiPy or GPy with the Expansion Board, you need to disable the RTS and CTS pins on the board (see Expansion Board 2.0 datasheet: https://docs.pycom.io/chapter/datasheets/boards/expansion.html). This is because the pins for RTS/CTS function on the FTDI USB to UART chip on the Expansion Board overlap with the LTE pins on the FiPy (and possibly GPy, I’m too lazy to look right now).