Rockchip LTE module unstable on RK3399 (OrangePi 4b)

Emrius

Hi,
I'm trying to make Rockchip LTE module (RM310) work with the RK3399. I tried with the Debian and Ubuntu releases available for download at OrangePis downloads section. The behavious I faced was pretty much the same on both distributions.

The module is not auto-detected. It needs to be reset by pressing the grey reset button on the PCIe module. After that the device shows up after about 10 seconds:

1. root@orangepi4:~# mmcli -M
   
2. No modems were found
   
3. (+) /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/1 [ASR] Nezha_MIFI

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It seems like it's being enabled:

1. <div>root@orangepi4:~# sudo mmcli -m 3 -w
   
2. d    /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/3: Initial state, 'enabling'</div>

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But what is actually happening is it is dropping the connection:

1. root@orangepi4:~# sudo mmcli -L
   
2. No modems were found

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Here are a few outputs from the journalctl that might help debugging the problem for more experienced users:

1. Aug 15 11:47:31 orangepi4 ModemManager[330]: <info>  [device /sys/devices/platform/fe380000.usb/usb7/7-1] creating modem with plugin 'Generic' and '4' ports
   
2. Aug 15 11:47:31 orangepi4 ModemManager[330]: <warn>  Could not grab port (tty/ttyUSB0): 'Cannot add port 'tty/ttyUSB0', unhandled serial type'
   
3. Aug 15 11:47:31 orangepi4 ModemManager[330]: <info>  Modem for device '/sys/devices/platform/fe380000.usb/usb7/7-1' successfully created
   
4. Aug 15 11:47:31 orangepi4 ModemManager[330]: <warn>  couldn't load Supported Modes: 'Couldn't retrieve supported modes'
   
5. Aug 15 11:47:31 orangepi4 ModemManager[330]: <warn>  Parse error in step 0: Could not recognize +CSIM response '+CSIM:4,63C3'.

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Also, it doen't help if I enable the modem with `-e`. It just drops the interface. Do I need to load some firmware? If yes, which? A little more documentation from the OrangePi crew would be very much appreciated.

Regards


(Note that the `-m X` modem selector changes a couple of times above which is because I have to reset the modem repeatedly).

Emrius

A little update: I checked the list of suppoted modules for Modem Manager here and found that Huawai seems to have pretty good support coverage.
I tried a mPCIe module carrying a Huawai ME909s-120 LTE module and it seems to work out of the box. It gets detected automatically, I can enable it, set the pin and it finally enters state 'connected'.
This, I would not recommend using the rm310 for now unless you really know what you are doing. Still, I would be very, very interested in finding out how to make the rm310 work! Thus, @OrangePi-Team please tell us how you managed to get this module working? BTW.: I also recompiled a few linux kernels availble at rockchip-linux. Unfortunately, there are plenty of trees, so that it's not clear to me which would be the most appropriate to use. Any hints are highly welcome!   

nis

For your reference.
I tried the Sierra MC7700.
However, the sim could not be detected.

mmcli -L
        /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/1 [Sierra Wireless, Incorporated] MC7700
mmcli -m 1
      --------------------------
      General  |      dbus path: /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/1
               |      device id: 109ce34f8d590055bb50f9deb022234f6e3b0412
      --------------------------
      Hardware |   manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
               |          model: MC7700
               |       revision: SWI9200X_03.05.29.03ap r6485 CNSHZ-ED-XP0031 2014/12/02 17:53:15
               |   h/w revision: 1.0
               |      supported: gsm-umts, lte
               |        current: gsm-umts, lte
               |   equipment id: 0128xxxxxxxxxxx
      --------------------------
      System   |         device: /sys/devices/platform/fe380000.usb/usb7/7-1
               |        drivers: qmi_wwan, qcserial
               |         plugin: Sierra
               |   primary port: cdc-wdm0
               |          ports: ttyUSB0 (qcdm), ttyUSB2 (at), cdc-wdm0 (qmi), wwan0 (net)
      --------------------------
      Status   |          state: failed
               |  failed reason: sim-missing
               |    power state: on
               | signal quality: 0% (cached)
      --------------------------
      Modes    |      supported: allowed: 2g; preferred: none


If you convert nimiPCIe to USB and attach it to OrangePi 4B, SIM will be detected. If SIM is detected, you can use it normally.

mmcli -L
            /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/0 [Sierra Wireless, Incorporated] MC7700

mmcli -m 0
          --------------------------------
          General  |            dbus path: /org/freedesktop/ModemManager1/Modem/0
                   |            device id: 109ce34f8d590055bb50f9deb022234f6e3b0412
          --------------------------------
          Hardware |         manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
                   |                model: MC7700
                   |             revision: SWI9200X_03.05.29.03ap r6485 CNSHZ-ED-XP0031        2014/12/02 17:53:15
                   |         h/w revision: 1.0
                   |            supported: gsm-umts, lte
                   |              current: gsm-umts, lte
                   |         equipment id: 0128xxxxxxxxxxx
          --------------------------------
          System   |               device: /sys/devices/platform/usb1/fe900000.dwc3/xhci-hcd.8.auto/usb5/5-1/5-1.4
                   |              drivers: qcserial, qmi_wwan
                   |               plugin: Sierra
                   |         primary port: cdc-wdm0
                   |                ports: ttyUSB0 (qcdm), ttyUSB2 (at), cdc-wdm0 (qmi), wwan0 (net)
          --------------------------------
          Numbers  |                  own: 080xxxxxxxx
          --------------------------------
          Status   |                 lock: sim-pin2
                   |       unlock retries: sim-pin (3), sim-pin2 (3), sim-puk (10), sim-puk2 (10)
                   |                state: registered
                   |          power state: on
                   |          access tech: lte
                   |       signal quality: 62% (recent)

I couldn't tell whether it was a hardware problem or a software problem, so I stopped using PCIE-SOCKET-OPI4-4B with the LTE module.
In my possession, the miniPCIe module has an Edge TPU in addition to LTE. As a test, I was able to build a driver for kernel 4.4.213-rk3399 and infer it via PCIE-SOCKET-OPI4-4B.

nis

If possible, it may be a good idea to get firmware that uses the QMI modem protocol from the module chip manufacturer. If it is the latest firmware, it may be supported.

Armbian kernel 5.8.12-rockchip64 did not require kernel recompilation.
Via USB, but with kernel 4.4.179, it worked if I recompiled the kernel.

1. diff arch/arm64/configs/4_linux_defconfig.org  arch/arm64/configs/4_linux_defconfig
   
2. 1484c1484,1485
   
3. < # CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_QUALCOMM is not set
   
4. ---
   
5. > CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_QUALCOMM=y
   
6. > CONFIG_QCA7000=m
   
7. 1582c1583
   
8. < # CONFIG_USB_NET_QMI_WWAN is not set
   
9. ---
   
10. > CONFIG_USB_NET_QMI_WWAN=m
    

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"CONFIG_QCA7000 = m" may not be needed.
"CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_QUALCOMM = y" could not be made into a module due to a dependency.

cat /proc/version
Linux version 4.4.179-gaa7c4263-dirty (root@ASUS-1080n) (gcc version 6.3.1 20170404 (Linaro GCC 6.3-2017.05) ) #1 SMP Wed Sep 30 14:34:52 JST 2020

1. lsmod
   
2. Module                  Size  Used by
   
3. qmi_wwan               24576  0
   
4. zram                   24576  6
   
5. bcmdhd               1224704  0
   
6. sg                     45056  0
   

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It worked easily if I set the APN, username and password from NetworkManager.
I didn't try via PCIE-SOCKET-OPI4-4B because I attached Edge TPU as shown in the picture, but it probably doesn't recognize SIM.

c:\TPU.jpg