Arduino Portenta C33

The Portenta C33, paired with the Portenta Mid Carrier and Pro 4G Module, is an official Arduino development kit that delivers high-performance cellular connectivity for professional IoT and embedded applications. Leveraging LTE Cat 4 for fast and reliable 4G communications, this kit offers seamless integration with the Arduino ecosystem, secure cloud connectivity, and hardware expansion through the Mid Carrier interface. It is ideal for industrial automation, edge computing, and remote monitoring, combining flexibility, ease of development, and robust performance.

Prerequisites

• Portenta C33 boars

• Portenta Mid Carrier

• Pro 4G Module

• Monogoto Cellular SIM

• Arduino IDE (Version 2.3.6 or later)

• Arduino Cellular library

• ModemTerminal Arduino sketch files

Hardware Connection Instructions

• Ensure proper wiring between Serial1 (J17) and mini PCIe Breakout (J16) as per Arduino’s pin mapping:

  • J17 RX → J16 CK_N

  • J17 TX → J16 CK_P

  • J17 RTS → J16 RX_N

  • J17 CTS → J16 RX_P

  • J17 mPCIE_GPIO_RST → J16 mPCIE_RST

• Connect the Portenta C33 to the Portenta Mid Carrier kit.

• Connect the Quectel EG25 module to the Portenta Mid Carrier kit.

• Connect the LTE (Main) antenna and the GPS antenna to the Quectel EG25 module

• Power the board via USB-C.

Connect your PC to the Portenta Mid Carrier EVB

Use the USB-C to USB cable to connect your computer to the Portenta C33 port in the EVB

Run the Arduino IDE 2.3.6 to open the Serial Monitor.

Connect the EG25 to Monogoto

Request the product type, hardware and firmware version:

ATI

Request the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity):

AT+CIMI

Request the ICCID (Integrated Circuit Card ID), which is the identification number of the SIM card

AT+CCID

Network Configuration

It is possible to let the modem select the network automatically, or to manually define a network to connect with.

Option 1: Automatic Network Selection

To set the modem to automatic network selection enter the command:

AT+COPS=0

Check the network and cellular technology the modem is currently using:

AT+COPS? 

Expected response: +COPS: 0,0,"<name of operator>",X. The last digit indicates the cellular technology: 0 indicates GSM 2 indicates 3G 7 indicates LTE

Option 2: Manual Network Selection

Start with searching for available networks:

AT+COPS=?

The modem responds with the names and the MCCMNC codes of the available networks. It also shows the cellular technologies the networks support:

+COPS: (1,"vodafone NL","voda NL","20404",8),(1,"NL KPN","NL KPN","20408",0),(1,"vodafone NL","voda NL","20404",9),(1,"T-Mobile NL","TMO NL","20416",0),(1,"NL KPN","NL KPN","20408",8),(1,"vodafone NL","voda NL","20404",0),(1,"T-Mobile NL","TMO NL","20416",8),(1,"T-Mobile NL","TMO NL","20416",9),,(0,1,2,3,4),(0,1,2)

OK

To find which of the networks Monogoto has roaming agreements with, review the Coverage lists.

Check the network and cellular technology the modem is currently using:

AT+COPS? 

Expected response: +COPS: 0,0,"<name of operator>",X. The last digit indicates the cellular technology.

Manually set the network and the cellular technology:

AT+COPS=1,2,"XXXXX",7

Replace XXXXX with the MCCMNC code of your operator, for example"20404" for Vodafone NL. Use 7 for LTE.

Check the radio signal strength and signal quality:

AT+CSQ

Query Network information

This command returns the Radio Access Technology (RAT), MCCMNC operator code, and LTE band currently in use.

AT+QNWINFO

Example response: +QNWINFO: "FDD LTE","20408","LTE BAND 3",1800.

Network Activation

Set the APN to data.mono:

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","data.mono"

Validate if the APN is set correctly:

AT+CGDCONT?

Expected response: +CGDCONT: 1,"IP","data.mono","0.0.0.0",0,0,0,0,0,0

Activate the PDP (packet data protocol) context:

AT+CGACT=1,1

Test if the PDP context is activated:

AT+CGACT?

Expected response: +CGACT: 1,1

Validate if your device received an IP address:

AT+CGPADDR

Expected response: +CGPADDR: 1,XX.XXX.XX.XXX

Test the connection by sending a PING

A PING test can be performed to test if the modem has an active data connection with a mobile network.

Send 3 PINGs to IP address 8.8.8.8:

AT+QPING=1,"8.8.8.8",3

Example response:

+QPING: 0,"8.8.8.8",32,543,255
+QPING: 0,"8.8.8.8",32,396,255
+QPING: 0,"8.8.8.8",32,262,255

Useful Links

• Portenta Mid Carrier User Manual

• Portenta Mid Carrier

• Portenta C33

• Pro 4G Module