Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 User manual

Digi XBee3® Cellular LTE Cat 1
Smart Modem
User Guide

Revision history—90002253
Revision Date Description
AJanuary
2018
Initial release of the document.
B February
2018
Added instructions for sending an SCI request to Remote Manager. Added
details on SPI operation. Added antenna keepout area for Bluetooth. Updated
specifications for Bluetooth.
C June
2018
0B software release. Added file system and TLS sections, ATcommands and
related changes.
Trademarks and copyright
Digi, Digi International, and the Digi logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United
States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2018 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Send comments
Documentation feedback: To provide feedback on this document, send your comments to
[e-mail].
Customer support
Digi Technical Support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages to help our
customers get the most out of their Digi product. For information on Technical Support plans and
pricing, contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 2

Contents
Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide
Applicable firmware and hardware 10
SIM cards 10
Getting started with the XBee Smart Modem Development Kit
Identify the kit contents 12
Connect the hardware 13
XBIB-U-DEV reference 15
Cellular service 16
Configure the device using XCTU 17
Add a device 17
Check for cellular registration and connection 18
Update to the latest firmware 18
Send an SMS message to a phone 20
Debugging 21
Connect to the ELIZA server 22
Debugging 23
Connect to the Echo server 24
Debugging 25
Connect to the Daytime server 26
Debugging 27
More examples 27
Perform a (GET) HTTP request 28
Get started with CoAP 30
Connect to a TCP/IP address 34
Get started with MQTT 36
Get started with MicroPython 45
About MicroPython 45
MicroPython on the XBee Smart Modem 45
Use XCTU to enter the MicroPython environment 46
Use the MicroPython Terminal in XCTU 46
Example: hello world 47
Example: turn on an LED 47
Example: code a request help button 48
Exit MicroPython mode 52
Other terminal programs 52
Use picocom in Linux 54
Software libraries 55
Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 3

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 4
Technical specifications
Interface and hardware specifications 57
RF characteristics 57
Networking specifications 57
Power requirements 57
Power consumption 58
Electrical specifications 58
Regulatory approvals 59
Hardware
Mechanical drawings 61
Pin signals 61
Pin connection recommendations 62
RSSI PWM 63
SIM card 63
The Associate LED 63
Antenna recommendations
Antenna connections 66
Keepout area 67
Through-hole keepout 68
Antenna placement 68
Design recommendations
Cellular component firmware updates 70
USB Direct design 70
Power supply considerations 70
Recommended application circuit 71
Heat considerations and testing 71
Heat sink guidelines 72
Add a fan to provide active cooling 73
Cellular connection process
Connecting 75
Cellular network 75
Data network connection 75
Data communication with remote servers (TCP/UDP) 75
Disconnecting 75
SMS encoding 76
Modes
Select an operating mode 78
Transparent operating mode 79
API operating mode 79
Bypass operating mode 79
Enter Bypass operating mode 80

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 5
Leave Bypass operating mode 80
Restore cellular settings to default in Bypass operating mode 80
USB direct mode 80
Enable USB direct mode 80
MicroPython mode 80
Sleep modes
About sleep modes 82
Normal mode 82
Pin sleep mode 82
Cyclic sleep mode 82
Cyclic sleep with pin wake up mode 82
Connected sleep mode 82
The sleep timer 83
MicroPython sleep behavior 83
Power saving features
Airplane mode 85
Serial communication
Serial interface 87
Serial data 87
UART data flow 87
Serial buffers 87
CTS flow control 88
RTS flow control 88
Enable UART or SPI ports 88
SPI operation
SPI communications 90
Full duplex operation 91
Low power operation 92
Select the SPI port 92
Force UART operation 93
Data format 93
File system
Overview of the file system 95
Directory structure 95
Paths 95
Secure files 95
XCTU interface 96
Encrypt files 96
Socket behavior
Supported sockets 98

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 6
Socket timeouts 98
Socket limits in API mode 98
Enable incoming TCP connections 98
API mode behavior for outgoing TCP and SSL connections 99
API mode behavior for outgoing UDP data 99
API mode behavior for incoming TCP connections 99
API mode behavior for incoming UDP data 100
Transparent mode behavior for outgoing TCP and SSL connections 100
Transparent mode behavior for outgoing UDP data 101
Transparent mode behavior for incoming TCP connections 101
Transparent mode behavior for incoming UDP connections 101
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
TLS AT commands 103
Transparent mode and TLS 104
API mode and TLS 104
Key formats 104
Certificate formats 104
Certificate limitations 104
Cipher suites 105
Server Name Indication (SNI) 105
AT commands
Special commands 107
AC (Apply Changes) 107
FR (Force Reset) 107
RE command 107
WR (Write) 107
Cellular commands 108
PH (Phone Number) 108
S# (ICCID) 108
IM (IMEI) 108
MN (Operator) 108
MV (Modem Firmware Version) 109
DB (Cellular Signal Strength) 109
AN (Access Point Name) 109
CP (Carrier Profile) 109
OA (Operating APN) 110
AM (Airplane Mode) 110
DV (Antenna Diversity) 110
Network commands 111
IP (IP Protocol) 111
TL (SSL/TLS Protocol Version) 111
$0 (SSL/TLS Profile 0) 112
$1 (SSL/TLS Profile 1) 112
$2 (SSL/TLS Profile 2) 112
TM (IP Client Connection Timeout) 113
TS (IP Server Connection Timeout) 113
DO (Device Options) 113
EQ (Remote Manager FQDN) 114
Addressing commands 114
SH (Serial Number High) 114

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 7
SL (Serial Number Low) 114
MY (Module IP Address) 114
P# (Destination Phone Number) 115
N1 (DNS Address) 115
N2 (DNS Address) 115
DL (Destination Address) 115
OD (Operating Destination Address) 116
DE (Destination Port) 116
C0 (Source Port) 116
LA (Lookup IP Address of FQDN) 116
Serial interfacing commands 117
BD (Baud Rate) 117
NB (Parity) 117
SB (Stop Bits) 118
RO (Packetization Timeout) 118
TD (Text Delimiter) 118
FT (Flow Control Threshold) 119
AP (API Enable) 119
I/O settings commands 119
D0 (DIO0/AD0) 119
D1 (DIO1/AD1) 120
D2 (DIO2/AD2) 120
D3 (DIO3/AD3) 121
D4 (DIO4) 121
D5 (DIO5/ASSOCIATED_INDICATOR) 122
D6 (DIO6/RTS) 122
D7 (DIO7/CTS) 123
D8 (DIO8/SLEEP_REQUEST) 123
P0 (DIO10/PWM0 Configuration) 124
P1 (DIO11/PWM1 Configuration) 124
P2 (DIO12 Configuration) 125
P3 (DIO13/DOUT) 125
P4 (DIO14/DIN) 126
PD (Pull Direction) 126
PR (Pull-up/down Resistor Enable) 126
M0 (PWM0 Duty Cycle) 127
I/O sampling commands 127
TP (Temperature) 128
IS (Force Sample) 128
Sleep commands 129
SM (Sleep Mode) 129
SP (Sleep Period) 129
ST (Wake Time) 129
SO (Sleep Options) 130
Command mode options 130
CC (Command Sequence Character) 130
CT (Command Mode Timeout) 130
CN (Exit Command mode) 131
GT (Guard Times) 131
MicroPython commands 131
PS (Python Startup) 131
PY (MicroPython Command) 132
Firmware version/information commands 132
VR (Firmware Version) 133
VL (Verbose Firmware Version) 133

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 8
HV (Hardware Version) 133
AI (Association Indication) 133
HS (Hardware Series) 134
CK (Configuration CRC) 134
Diagnostic interface commands 134
DI (Remote Manager Indicator) 134
CI (Protocol/Connection Indication) 135
Execution commands 137
NR (Network Reset) 137
!R (Modem Reset) 137
File system commands 137
Error responses 138
ATFS (File System) 138
ATFS PWD 138
ATFS CDdirectory 138
ATFS MDdirectory 139
ATFS LS [directory] 139
ATFS PUTfilename 139
ATFS XPUTfilename 139
ATFS HASHfilename 139
ATFS GETfilename 139
ATFS MVsource_pathdest_path 139
ATFS RMfile_or_directory 140
ATFS INFO 140
ATFSFORMAT confirm 140
Operate in API mode
API mode overview 142
Use the AP command to set the operation mode 142
API frame format 142
API operation (AP parameter = 1) 142
API operation with escaped characters (AP parameter = 2) 143
API frames
AT Command - 0x08 147
Transmit (TX) SMS - 0x1F 148
Transmit (TX) Request: IPv4 - 0x20 149
Tx Request with TLS Profile - 0x23 151
AT Command Response - 0x88 153
Transmit (TX) Status - 0x89 154
Modem Status - 0x8A 156
Receive (RX) Packet: SMS - 0x9F 157
Receive (RX) Packet: IPv4 - 0xB0 158
Configure the XBee Smart Modem using Digi Remote Manager
Create a Remote Manager account 160
Get the XBee Smart Modem IMEI number 160
Add a XBee Smart Modem to Remote Manager 160
Update the firmware 161
Update the firmware using web services 161

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 9
Example: update the XBee firmware synchronously with Python 3.0 161
Example: use the device's firmware image to update the XBee firmware synchronously 162
Troubleshooting
Cannot find the serial port for the device 165
Condition 165
Solution 165
Other possible issues 166
Enable Virtual COM port (VCP) on the driver 166
Correct a macOS Java error 167
Condition 167
Solution 167
Unresponsive cellular component in Bypass mode 168
Condition 168
Solution 168
Not on expected network after APN change 169
Condition 169
Solution 169
Syntax error at line 1 169
Solution 169
Error Failed to send SMS 169
Solution 169
Regulatory information
Modification statement 171
Interference statement 171
FCC Class B digital device notice 171
RF exposure 172
FCC-approved antennas 172
Bluetooth antennas 172
Dipole antennas 172
Flex PCB antennas 172
Cellular antennas 173
Labeling requirements for the host device 173

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User
Guide
The XBee Smart Modem contains a u-blox R410M-02B module that also supports NB-IoT. Digi has not
released support for the NB-IoT feature. Contact your sales representative if you would like more
information about our roadmap to support NB-IoT.
The XBee Smart Modem is an embedded Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Category 1 cellular module that
provides original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with a simple way to integrate cellular
connectivity into their devices.
The XBee Smart Modem enables OEMs to quickly integrate cutting edge 4G cellular technology into
their devices and applications without dealing with the painful, time-consuming, and expensive FCC
and carrier end-device certifications.
With the full suite of standard XBee API frames and AT commands, existing XBee customers can
seamlessly transition to this new device with only minor software adjustments. When OEMs add the
XBee Smart Modem to their product, they create a future-proof design with flexibility to switch
between wireless protocols or frequencies as needed.
You can read some frequently asked questions here.
Applicable firmware and hardware
This manual supports the following firmware:
n310xx
It supports the following hardware:
nXB3-C-A1-UT-xxx
SIM cards
The XBee Smart Modem requires a 4FF (Nano) size SIM card. The SIM interface supports both 1.8 V
and 3 V SIM types.
Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE Cat 1 Smart Modem User Guide 10