EC25-E can't register on any network

Hi,

I Have A raspberry PI4 with debian Buster using a Sixfab Base Hat with Quectel EC25-E.
I’m trying to get a ppp connection running from France.
I ran the ./ppp_install_standalone.sh
Choose 6 as it’s a base Hat, then enter my APN correctly. I chose ttyS0 as I want it to work without USB connected (I did enable I2C, disable serial port login shell and enable serial port prior to it).
I checked my SIM card for the datas, disabled pincode, and the simcard is working when I use it on other devices.

I also checked with another working SIM card from another operator but nothing works !

When I run “sudo systemctl status ppp_connection_manager.service” the service is running but I get some errors :

● ppp_connection_manager.service - PPP Connection Manager
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/ppp_connection_manager.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Thu 2021-06-24 10:13:28 CEST; 16min ago
 Main PID: 511 (bash)
    Tasks: 4 (limit: 3860)
   CGroup: /system.slice/ppp_connection_manager.service
           ├─ 511 /bin/bash ppp_connection_manager.sh
           ├─ 968 bash ppp_reconnect.sh
           ├─2444 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/atcom AT+CPIN?
           └─2445 grep CPIN:

juin 24 10:27:47 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:27:10  SIM Status: 2021/06/24->10:27:30  Network Registration Status:
juin 24 10:27:47 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:27:47  Retrying network registration...
juin 24 10:28:20 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:27:49  SIM Status: 2021/06/24->10:28:10  Network Registration Status:
juin 24 10:28:20 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:28:20  Retrying network registration...
juin 24 10:28:52 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:28:22  SIM Status: 2021/06/24->10:28:42  Network Registration Status:
juin 24 10:28:52 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:28:52  Retrying network registration...

Prior to that, I had :

juin 24 10:13:28 visiolapse0005 systemd[1]: Started PPP Connection Manager.
juin 24 10:13:29 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: configure_modem.sh: ligne 48: [[: configure_modem.sh : erreur de syntaxe : opérateur arithmétique non valable (l
juin 24 10:13:29 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:13:29  Power up is not required.
juin 24 10:13:29 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:13:29  Checking APN and Modem Modem...
juin 24 10:13:50 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: [ERR]   Timeout, couldn't get response
juin 24 10:13:50 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:13:50  APN is updated.
juin 24 10:13:50 visiolapse0005 bash[511]: 2021/06/24->10:13:50  The cellular module couldn't be detected!

It looks like there is some syntax error in your script “configure_modem.sh”…

I didn’t find anything about these errors on your troubleshooting.

I’m stuck with this for more than 48h now… I’m running out of time !

Can you help me please ?

If found the complete line :

juin 24 11:07:38 visiolapse0005 bash[4500]: configure_modem.sh: ligne 48: [[: configure_modem.sh : erreur de syntaxe : opérateur arithmétique non valable (le symbole erroné est « .sh »)

Thus I don’t know if the “configure_modem.sh” is causing it or if it is in the way that the Connection Manager is calling it ?

I found out that my APN name might cause an error (may be related to my problem) because it’s got a dot in it’s name “mmsbouygtel.com”… the syntax that I get in configure_modem.sh is :

APN=${mmsbouygtel.com:-super}

…and this syntax is wrong as far as I know.

Stop the reconnect service first.

sudo systemctl stop ppp_connection_manager.service

then try to establish PPP connection using sudo pon
Are you able to establish the connection this way?

I have exactly the same issue… What is the solution? When entering sudo pon, I’ve got connection failed and timeouts…

Months later :slight_smile:

I still do not have a clear solution to this problem but I advise you who might be facing the same issue to :

  1. When you use the script ppp_install_standalone.sh, be sure that you use double quotes around the APN name if there’s a dot in it ! :grimacing: I had to manualy rewrite one of my system’s ppp script (generated by ppp_install_standalone.sh) because my APN was “bouygtel.com” and refused to work without double quotes although I tested it with another APN wich was “orange” and had worked perfectly well !

  2. Be sure to plug ALL THE ANTENNAS, not only the “main” one. :open_mouth: It seems that, in some cases, it wont work if the card has no antenna plugged on the “div” port, neither it’s Quectel nor Telit ! Worse : It sometimes works well with only the main antenna, but once you’ve moved, replaced or restarted your Pi, it wont work anymore ! :astonished: Even if you just try to reuse the ppp_install_standalone.sh script the exact same way you did the first time ! And even if you flushed any service related to your existing ppp connection before trying to reinstall one !!! :exploding_head:

I never found anything in the docs to confirm my hypothesis and my solutions… I just happen to use now more than 12 4g systems based on sixfab and 4 differents APN names.

If I’m wrong on my deductions do not hesitate to correct me ! You’ll be more than welcome. :wink: