Thingy:91 X: Hello nRF Cloud

Oncommit:

Nightly:

This project is based on the NCS Example Application.

Getting started

Before getting started, make sure you have a proper nRF Connect SDK development environment. Follow the official Getting started guide.

Initialization

Before initializing start the toolchain environment:

nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --shell

The first step is to initialize the workspace folder (hello-nrfcloud) where the firmware project and all nRF Connect SDK modules will be cloned. Run the following command:

# initialize hello-nrfcloud workspace
west init -m https://github.com/hello-nrfcloud/firmware --mr main hello-nrfcloud

cd hello-nrfcloud

# enable Bosch environmental sensor driver
west config manifest.group-filter +bsec

# update nRF Connect SDK modules
west update

# use sysbuild by default
west config build.sysbuild True

Building and running

First change folder:

cd project

To build the application, run the following command:

west build -b thingy91x/nrf9151/ns app

When using the serial bootloader, you can update using this command:

west thingy91x-dfu

When using an external debugger, you can flash using this command:

west flash --erase

Experimental: You can also use pyOCD to flash the nRF9151 using the CMSIS-DAP interface provided by the Connectivity Bridge firmware.

Note: Don't use pyOCD with JLink probes, use nrfutil-device or the west runner in that case. pyOCD seems to be unmaintained at the moment, so this might not be fixed.

Another note: Sometimes, the nRF9151 is detected as protected and is mass-erased automatically. In that case, simply flash the bootloader as well.

To flash just the app:

pyocd flash build/app/zephyr/zephyr.signed.hex

To flash the bootloader (included in releases):

pyocd flash nrf91-bl-v2.hex

To erase the chip including UICR:

pyocd erase --mass

Experimental: You can update the modem firmware using pyOCD. A simple way to do this is to use the included nrf91_flasher script:

python3 scripts/nrf91_flasher.py -m mfw_nrf91x1_2.0.1.zip

LED pattern

LED effect	Color	Meaning	Duration (seconds)
Blinking	Yellow	Device is (re-)connecting to the LTE network	NA
Blinking	Green	Location searching	NA
Blinking slow	Blue	Device is actively polling cloud	10 minutes after last config update or button press
Solid	Configured	Device has received a LED configuration	NA
Blinking rapid	Red	Fatal error, the device will reboot	NA
Blinking slow	Red	Irrecoverable Fatal error	NA

Architecture

Documentation on the overall architecture of the firmware can be found in the document Architecture.

Troubleshooting

The following section contains guidelines on how to troubleshoot issues with the device.

Modem Traces

Modem traces are enabled by default on the Thingy:91 X and continously stored to external flash. These traces can be output to UART for analysis using the nRF Connect for Desktop Cellular Monitor application.

Steps to Capture and Dump Modem Traces:

1. Connect to a Serial Terminal

   • Connect your Thingy:91 X to a serial terminal on UART 0. This will allow you to interact with the device's shell commands. You might need to push Button 1 to wake the UART up.

2. Set Up Cellular Monitor Application

   • Open the Cellular Monitor Application.
   • Connect the Thingy:91 X to the application, select UART 1 as the trace output, and click Start Traces to begin capturing modem activity.

3. Dump Traces via UART

   • Ensure that the error scenario has been captured. Note that older traces will be overwritten by new ones when the flash buffer is full, so ensure that the issue you want to troubleshoot has occured relatively recent to dumping of the traces over UART.
   • Use the following shell commands in the connected serial terminal to manage and dump the modem traces on UART 1:

   modem_trace stop         # Stop modem tracing if running
   modem_trace size         # Check the size of stored traces
   modem_trace dump_uart    # Dump traces to UART 1 for analysis
   

Known issues

• Serial DFU for nRF91 stops working after using GNU screen
  • Will be fixed with the next release (nrfconnect/sdk-nrf#19024)
  • Workaround: use a different serial terminal application like Nordic's Serial Terminal or tio, power cycle device if needed.

Interactive BOM

Explore the board online at this page: Interactive BOM PCA20065 1.0.0.