Arduino mkrNB 1500 send sms not working

[web-10]

My new MKR NB 1500 cannot send SMS.

I use the library's "SendSMS" example.

Additional context

Receiving SMS works fine using the "ReceiveSMS" example.

---

If an SMS has previously been received from number, then sending an SMS to that number works.

I tested this by adding the following code to the "ReceiveSMS" example:

sms.beginSMS(senderNumber);
sms.print(txtMsg);
sms.endSMS();

It seems that the MKR NB 1500 remembers the path or so to send an SMS if it previously has received one from the sender.

[CptHolzschnauz]

Do a firmware upgrade.

[lavignema]

I also had issues with the Ublox modem not functioning properly. Initially the problems were numerous but an upgrade of the FW on the modem solved those issues. My remaining problem is that when I use the ReceiveSMS.ino sketch provided by Arduino my received texts are truncated at character #40 which is the first character of the time stamp. My sketch never actually sees the text body and therefore cannot react to instructions sent via SMS. I've documented this to Arduino technical support in emails back in February of this year.

[CptHolzschnauz]

Try with dezimals (ascii encoding)
Example for "S":

 smspeek = sms.peek();
      Serial.println(smspeek);
      if (smspeek == 83)
      {Serial. print("it's a S!");}

[lavignema]

Not sure what you mean Cpt. I’m using the ReceiveSMS.ino library sketch provided by Arduino. In it there is a command AT+CSCS? Which queries the modem for the character set in use. It always returns +CSCS: “IRA” for the international reference alphabet. (default) Are you saying I should forego using text mode and instead use PDU mode? If so the library sketch will fail to parse the message as it is programmed for ascii and not hex values. As I indicated in my post, the message I receive is printed to the serial interface without problem when initiated manually with AT+CMGL=”REC UNREAD”. If I use the Arduino sketch I can see in debug mode the command AT+CMGL=”REC UNREAD” is sent to the modem and that the message is truncated after the 40th character prints to the serial interface. Is this not what you are getting? I sent screenshots to John Joyal at Arduino back in Feb. of this year and he concurred that he got the same results from the Arduino sketch.

[CptHolzschnauz]

No, i had the same issue with the mkrnb lib after a firmware update.

Keep IRA.
Don't trust the serial monitor with the AT console(in general), sometimes you see not everything even when it's in the buffer.
I think you want to identify a sms like they do in the sketch you mentioned.

Give it a try. With the call it's:

 if (sms.available())
{
smspeek = sms.peek();
      Serial.println(smspeek);
      if (smspeek == 83)
      {Serial. print("it's a S!");}
}

When you want to read out the sms, use:

while ((c = sms.read()) != -1) {
          Received_SMS += char(c);
        }
Serial.print(Received_SMS);

[lavignema]

Yes, that would read the whole thing out but my goal is to get Arduino engineers to fix this sketch. I still have to load the library in order to use SMS.read function so the memory payload is the same. If I have to parse the messages myself like you say then I have additional code lines to inject. Is it really that much extra code? No but… My sketch is like 20,000 lines long right now and I am running out of programming memory. I had this thing working in the 1400 but they discontinued support for 3G in the US so I had to port the code to another platform. I had really hoped a friend of mine could swap the SARA-U201 for the newer SARA-R510M8S since they share the same fingerprint. Unfortunately that was months ago and I haven’t heard him say he was successful. Too bad Arduino doesn’t offer that modem on the board. There’s another problem I’m seeing which is that after I receive a single SMS the modem fails to poll the provider for any more messages. Sure the sketch sends the AT+CMGL=”REC UNREAD” command but the modem never actually receives it. I had to use commands AT+CFUN=0, pause a few seconds, and send AT+CFUN=1 to reconnect. After the reconnect I get another single SMS message. I’m not sure if this is a bug in the modem or what. If so then Ublox still has issues with their product and Arduino simply made a poor choice when they decided on the SARA-R410M.

[CptHolzschnauz]

We are talking about MKRNB thus SARA410, right? With the 1400 it's complete different.
I had the same issue here with mkr1500 (just one sms download from the net per start) but this was fixed with the new modem firmware.
It's not a Arduino or lib issue, nobody will fix something because there is nothing to fix, it's the modem which is a seperate MCU you can only communicate to over a serial AT console. The AT commands from the lib are correct.
Ergo:

• Update to the latest modem firmware (You have to solder a USB cable to the MKR1500)
• Try again. It works here with me so it must somehow with you.

[lavignema]

I beg to differ. Yes I am talking about the NB1500 vs the GSM1400. If you look at the SARA fingerprint on both boards they are identical. If you look at the actual board schematic with Autodesk Eagle or similar, the differences in circuitry between the 1400 and the 1500 are minimal. The actual differences are the omission of a few components, most notably the Schottky diode D3 in the charging circuit of the NB1500. You can actually unsolder the Ublox modem from either board and replace it with one of the SARA-R500 series modems. This is what I was referring to in my last email to you. The R410M modem is strictly for use as NB/IoT whereas the R500 series are full blown cellular telephone modems with NB/IoT capability. The R510M8S version even has a GPS built in so all you have to do is connect a GPS antenna to it and there is no need for a separate GPS board. As far as the FW upgrade to the SARA modem you do not have to solder anything onto the board and I caution anyone not to do so. There is a simple command that allows the modem to update over serial which is: AT+UFWUPD=3. After the modem responds with: +UFWUPD: ONGOING you choose X-modem-1k transfer from file transfer menu. Of course you cannot do this from the Arduino IDE but instead use ExtraPuTTy or even HyperTerminal. I used ExtraPuTTy to do mine and my firmware is now at level: L0.0.00.00.05.08.A.02.04 This did solve the memory corruption issue and corrected multiple inconsistencies of operation. It did not solve the single received SMS per connection issue. That issue, I thought, would be addressed by Ublox but I have not seen another FW update for the R410M since. I made John Joyal aware of my findings and emailed him a procedure to replicate my findings back in February. He received them and did replicate my issue in their lab but have not updated the library since then. Are you saying that the issue of only getting a single SMS text per connection is no longer an issue for you since your FW upgrade? What version of FW are you running, and if different from what I’ve reported here, can you forward those files to me? It is possible that you have a newer FW version that I have and it could solve all of my problems or only the SMS receive from the cellular provider issue. Either way, I can always implement your fix and parse my own SMS messages if necessary.

[CptHolzschnauz]

This is what I was referring to in my last email to you.

Ok, got it cool. Have you done that with success?

That issue, I thought, would be addressed by Ublox but I have not seen another FW update for the R410M since.

There is. 05.12_A2.19. Check out https://forum.arduino.cc/t/firmware-upgrade-for-ublox-sara-r410m-02b-on-the-mkr-nb-1500-2/699292/25
From .08 to .12 you have to solder the USB cable.

That update solved the sms issue.

Are you saying that the issue of only getting a single SMS text per connection is no longer an issue for you since your FW upgrade?

.12 solved it

What version of FW are you running, and if different from what I’ve reported here, can you forward those files to me?

I think i'm not allowed. Check the post (see above) and you find it....

Either way, I can always implement your fix and parse my own SMS messages if necessary.

Update the firmware, solves other problems with AT&T in the U.S.

[CptHolzschnauz]

PS: I suggested several time on https://forum.arduino.cc/t/mkr-1600-with-atsamd51-and-5g-alex-r5/898604
to bring out a MKR1600 with a SAMD51 and a R500 or Alex modem.

Soldering a R500 makes only sense when the I2S is connected, so only on a MKR1400.

Question: Have you ever soldered successfully a R500 on a MKR1400?

[lavignema]

Yea, you’re right, they did disconnect the I2S on the NB1500. It was just short of worthless on the GSM1400 since it was only one-way sound anyhow. I just emailed my friend in Oregon who was going to attempt the swap for me. Its been a pretty long time since I mailed him the parts too. Not a good sign so I’m betting it didn’t work. BTW, why doesn’t the ExtraPuTTy and serial update work for this FW rev?

[CptHolzschnauz]

I asked the same (i'm instrarep) and here's the answer:

https://forum.arduino.cc/t/firmware-upgrade-for-ublox-sara-r410m-02b-on-the-mkr-nb-1500-2/699292/4?u=intstarep

[lavignema]

I noticed you left a link to the FW update file: https://xs.u-blox.com/sbha/SARA-R410M-02B-03-L0.0.00.00.05.12_A2.19_IP.zip Unfortunately it is asking me for a userid and password. Got one handy? 😉

[CptHolzschnauz]

Hint: You may say to a friend visiting you in your house: Be my … !
You … software to your computer from the internet.
I'm pretty sure you get it ;=)

[lavignema]

I do get it and did get it. Thanks Cpt.