Quectel BG950S-GL

The Quectel BG950S-GL module supports LTE Cat M1 and Cat NB2 technologies with integrated GNSS, offering ultra-low power consumption. It complies with 3GPP Release 14 standards, making it ideal for power-sensitive and location-aware IoT applications.

Prerequisites

• Monogoto SIM

• BG950S-GL

Quick Navigation

• Set up EVB Kit

• Useful Links

Set up EVB Kit

Quectel BG950S-GL modem

Set up the EVB Kit

• Connect the LTE antenna

• Insert the Monogoto SIM

Connect your PC to the EVB Kit

Use the USB to UART converter cable to connect your computer to the COM1 MAIN port of the EVB Kit

When using Windows, install the driver using the disk or USB stick provided by Quectel.

Connect to the EVB kit (WCH USB-Serial Ch A) using a terminal program. You can use PuTTY for Windows, or screen, minicom, or miniterm for Mac or Linux.

Once the modem has started, it will report:

RDY
APP RDY

Enter AT, if the connection with the BG950S-GL modem has been established, the board will answer with OK.

Connect the BG950S-GL to Monogoto

Keep the AT Commands manual next to you for more details about the commands. Click here to download the latest version.

Reset the modem to its default configuration:

Restore factory settings:

AT&F1

Set the error reporting to verbose, resulting in more descriptive error messages (optional):

AT+CEREG=2

Check the status of the SIM card. The correct response should be: +CPIN: READY

AT+CPIN?

If you receive an error, the SIM may not be inserted properly or the SIM is protected with a PIN. By default, Monogoto SIMs are not PIN protected.

Query device information

Request the product type, hardware, and firmware version:

AT+QGMR

Example response: BG950SGLAAR02A01_01.001.01.001

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: 7 indicates LTE Cat-M1 8 indicates NB-IoT

Option 2: Manual Network Selection

Start with searching for available networks:

AT+COPS=?

It may take several minutes before the modem responds.

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)

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 Cat-M1.

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","10.X.X.X",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

Query the signal measurement

request a specific network measurement, such as signal strength, noise levels, or other metrics:

AT%MEAS="8"

Example response: %MEAS:Signal Quality:RSRP=-90,RSRQ= -19,SINR= -11,RSSI= -65

Reports the information of serving cells

AT+QENG="servingcell"

Example response:

+QENG: "servingcell","NOCONN","eMTC","FDD",425,02,3,394,1400,3,5,5,322,-92,-19,-62,-10,38

Check the radio signal strength and signal quality:

AT+CSQ

+CSQ returns 2 values separated by a comma. The first value represents the signal strength and provides a value between 0 and 31; higher numbers indicate better signal strength. The second value represents the signal quality indicated by a value between 0 and 7. If AT+CSQ returns 99,99, the signal is undetectable or unknown.

Validate if your device received an IP address:

AT+CGPADDR

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

Do you see an IP address? Congratulations! You’ve successfully connected the Quectel modem to Monogoto 🎉

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.

When cellular modems are idle for a long period of time, cell towers might drop the data connection to save resources. Sending regular PINGs is a good method for testing the data connection, as well as for keeping the connection alive because the operator registers your device as being actively used.

Send 5 PINGs to the IP address 8.8.8.8:

AT%PINGCMD=0,"8.8.8.8",5

Example response:

%PINGCMD:1,"8.8.8.8",698,116
%PINGCMD:2,"8.8.8.8",232,116
%PINGCMD:3,"8.8.8.8",616,116
%PINGCMD:4,"8.8.8.8",220,116
%PINGCMD:5,"8.8.8.8",206,116

Test the connection by sending a UDP payload

A UDP payload test when the modem has an active data connection with a Satellite.

Send UDP Payload to the IP address 18.199.15.247

AT%SOCKETCMD="ALLOCATE",1,"UDP","OPEN","18.199.15.247",1055

response:

%SOCKETCMD:1
OK

Set and Active UDP Socket

AT%SOCKETCMD="SETOPT",1,36000,1
AT%SOCKETCMD="ACTIVATE",1

response:

OK

Send UDP Socket

AT%SOCKETDATA="SEND",1,13,"48656C6C6F2C20776F726C6421"

response:

%SOCKETDATA:1,13

info UDP Socket

AT%SOCKETCMD="INFO",1

response:

%SOCKETCMD:"ACTIVATED","UDP","10.22.243.30","34.192.142.126",12345,7
OK

Close UDP Socket

AT%SOCKETCMD="DELETE",1

response:

OK

Useful Links

• Quectel BG950S-GL product page

• BG950S-GL_User_Guide_V1.0