SIM7600 4G GSM with Arduino | AT Commands, Call, SMS

Overview

In this article we will learn how to use SIM7600 GSM GPS 4G LTE Module with Arduino & use AT Commands to make receive call or send receive SMS or Internet Connection.

Earliier we use 2G GSM Module like SIM800/900 and also A9G GSM GPS module. As we know the 2G GSM/GPRS is in the stage of closing in most countries or regions like Australia & Canada. But there are indeed some projects that need remotely GSM wireless communication where WiFi is not available. In such regions, the project requires access to the Internet, such as remote environmental monitoring. Considering the investment/risk, for most cases, the LTE 4G is still a proper solution by now.

One of the most popular GSM GPS 4G LTE Module is SIM7600. The SIM7600 series is the LTE module that supports wireless communication modes of LTE. It also integrates multiple satellite high-accuracy positioning GNSS systems, with multiple built-in network protocols.

One of the readymade customized SIM7600 & Arduino board is designed by Makerfabs. This Maduino Zero 4G LTE module uses the SIMCOM7600(E/A）CAT4 module, to help Makers to achieve the 4G connection easily. Besides, this module can be a fully 4G access to your computer or Raspberry Pi, and also for call or SMS.

SIM7600 GSM GPS 4G LTE Module

The SIM7600 Series is Multi-Band LTE-TDD/LTE-FDD/HSPA+/TD-SCDMA and Dual-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE module solution in a SMT type which supports LTE CAT4 up to 150Mbps for downlink data transfer.

It has strong extension capability with rich interfaces including UART, USB2.0, SPI, I2C, GPIO, etc. With abundant application capabilities like TCP/UDP/FTP/FTPS/HTTP/HTTPS/SMTP/POP3 and MMS, the module provides much flexibility and ease of integration for customers’ applications. To learn more about SIM7600 refer to SIM7600 Datasheet.

General features

Quad-Band TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40/B41
Tri-Band FDD-LTE B1/B3/B8
Dual-Band TD-SCDMA B34/B39
Dual-Band WCDMA/HSDPA/HSPA+ B1/B8
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800 MHz
Control Via AT Commands
GNSS gpsOne Gen 8B; Standalone; Assisted, XTRA;
Data Transfer: LTE CAT4 with Uplink up to 50Mbps & Downlink up to 150Mbps
Interfaces: USB2.0, UART, SIM Card, SPI, I2C, GPIO, ADC, PCM, SDIO

Maduino Zero 4G LTE(SIM7600X) Board

The Maduino Zero 4G LTE integrated two types of the 4G LTE CAT4 module SIM7600A-H or SIM7600E-H. The SIM7600A-H/SIM7600E-H is a complete multi-band LTE-FDD/LTE- TDD/HSPA+/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM module solution in LCC type. It supports LTE CAT4 up to 150Mbps for downlink and 50Mbps for uplink data transfer, much faster and popular than 2G/3G.

You can purchase this board from Maduino Zero 4G LTE(SIM7600X) as it is manufactured by Makerfabs.

Interface

Makerfabs Maduino Zero 4G LTE module is based on ATSAMD21G18A microcontroller, which is Arduino compatible. Hence you can use Arduino IDE to operate and program the SIM7600 Module. The front and back side of the board looks something like this.

On the front side you can connect a 3.7V Lithium-Ion Battery to the battery connector. The switch can be used to turn ON/OFF the module. There are two USB TypeC ports, one for microcontroller and the other for LTE. There are two pushbuttons used for MCU & LTE reset. The stat LED indicates the network connectivity status. You can connect 3 antennas to the board which are the main antenna, auxiliary antenna, and a GPS antenna. A 3.5mm Jack can be used to connect mic or earphones and an audio jack can be used for connecting speakers.

On the backside, there is a micro-sim slot for inserting a 4G SIM Card. There is a pair of SD Card slots, one for Microcontroller and the other for SIM7600.

Don’t plug or unplug the Antenna, SIM Cars, SD Card when the device is powered on. It may result in short-circuiting that may burn the IC down.

Features

Supports dial-up, phone, SMS, TCP, UDP, DTMF, HTTP, FTP, and so on
Dual USB Type C port
Control Via AT Commands
Board USB supply voltage range: 4.8~5.5V, 5.0V Typical
Board Battery supply voltage range: 3.4~4.2V, 3.7V Typical
3GPP E-UTRA Release 11
Onboard charger, up to 1A charge current
Overcharge protection(OCP), 4.3V
Over-discharge protection(ODP), 2.5V
Power Manager, the board can be supplied by USB or battery.
IPEX Antenna, GSM/UMTS/LTE main antenna. UMTS/LTE auxiliary antenna. GNSS antenna
SMS support
Audio support
On boarder controller: ATSAMD21G18A
Audio Codec: NAU8810
Level Shifter: TXS0108E
Windows and Raspberry Pi support
Qualcomm MDM9x07 Chipset

Using SIM7600 GSM GPS 4G LTE with Arduino

Now let us see how we can use the SIM7600 GSM GPS 4G LTE with Arduino to use AT Commands for Call & SMS features.

Plug the SIM card into the board.
Plug the GPS antenna into the interface.
Plug two 4G-GSM antennas into the main antenna interface and auxiliary one.
Plug the headphone with the microphone.
Plug the SD card into the SD card slot for SIM7600.

When powering the board and the SIM7600 module working, the onboard STA LED(blue) will turn on.

Setting up Arduino IDE

The ATSAMD21G18A board isn’t pre-installed in the Arduino IDE. So, we need to install “Arduino Zero Board” from the Board Manager.

Open the Boards Manager From the top Arduino IDE menu, select Tools-> Board-> Boards Manager… to open the Boards Manager dialog box. Then install Arduino SAMD Boards(32-bits ARM Cortex-M0+).

Once, installation is completed, you can now select the Arduino Zero board as shown in the image below. To program this Board you need to connect USB TypeC Data Cable.

Source Code/Program

Now open the Arduino IDE and paste the following sketches below.Verify the code and upload.

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#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#define DEBUG true

#define MODE_1A

#define DTR_PIN 9

#define RI_PIN 8

#define LTE_PWRKEY_PIN 5

#define LTE_RESET_PIN 6

#define LTE_FLIGHT_PIN 7

String from_usb = "";

void setup()

{

SerialUSB.begin(115200);

//while (!SerialUSB)

{

; // wait for Arduino serial Monitor port to connect

}

delay(100);

Serial1.begin(115200);

//Serial1.begin(UART_BAUD, SERIAL_8N1, MODEM_RXD, MODEM_TXD);

pinMode(LTE_RESET_PIN, OUTPUT);

digitalWrite(LTE_RESET_PIN, LOW);

pinMode(LTE_PWRKEY_PIN, OUTPUT);

digitalWrite(LTE_RESET_PIN, LOW);

delay(100);

digitalWrite(LTE_PWRKEY_PIN, HIGH);

delay(2000);

digitalWrite(LTE_PWRKEY_PIN, LOW);

pinMode(LTE_FLIGHT_PIN, OUTPUT);

digitalWrite(LTE_FLIGHT_PIN, LOW); //Normal Mode

// digitalWrite(LTE_FLIGHT_PIN, HIGH);//Flight Mode

SerialUSB.println("Maduino Zero 4G Test Start!");

sendData("AT+CGMM", 3000, DEBUG);

}

void loop()

{

while (Serial1.available() > 0)

{

SerialUSB.write(Serial1.read());

yield();

}

while (SerialUSB.available() > 0)

{

#ifdef MODE_1A

int c = -1;

c = SerialUSB.read();

if (c != '\n' && c != '\r')

{

from_usb += (char)c;

}

else

{

if (!from_usb.equals(""))

{

sendData(from_usb, 0, DEBUG);

from_usb = "";

}

#else

Serial1.write(SerialUSB.read());

yield();

#endif

}

bool moduleStateCheck()

{

int i = 0;

bool moduleState = false;

for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)

{

String msg = String("");

msg = sendData("AT", 1000, DEBUG);

if (msg.indexOf("OK") >= 0)

{

SerialUSB.println("SIM7600 Module had turned on.");

moduleState = true;

return moduleState;

}

delay(1000);

}

return moduleState;

}

String sendData(String command, const int timeout, boolean debug)

{

String response = "";

if (command.equals("1A") || command.equals("1a"))

{

SerialUSB.println();

SerialUSB.println("Get a 1A, input a 0x1A");

//Serial1.write(0x1A);

Serial1.write(26);

Serial1.println();

return "";

}

else

{

Serial1.println(command);

}

long int time = millis();

while ((time + timeout) > millis())

{

while (Serial1.available())

{

char c = Serial1.read();

response += c;

}

if (debug)

{

SerialUSB.print(response);

}

return response;

}

After uploading the code, open the serial monitor. You can now send the AT command to the board, and it will print the module response. There are some demos that show how to use the AT commands.

SIM7600 AT Commands Test

These are some basic functions to test AT Commands.

AT+CGMI // Request manufacturer identification

AT+CGMM // Request model identification

AT+CGSN // Request product serial number identification

AT+CSUB // Request the module version and chip

AT+CPIN? // Request the state of the SIM card

AT+CICCID // Read ICCID from SIM card

AT+CNUM // Request the subscriber number

AT+CNMP? // Preferred mode selection

AT+COPS? // Check the current network operator

1 2	AT+IPREX? // Check local baud rate AT+CRESET // Reset the module

Get the GNSS location

To get the GNSS Location from SIM7600, use the following AT Commands.

AT+CGPS=1 // Start GPS session

AT+CGPSINFO // Get GPS fixed position information

AT+CGPS=0 // Stop GPS session

Send and receive SMS

We can send SMS using SIM7600 & Arduino. Is recommended to use other serial monitors not the Arduino IDE one to send the AT command for this demo.

AT+CSCA="XXXXXX" // Set the SMS service centre address

AT+CMGF=1 // Select SMS message format

AT+CMGS="xxxxxx" // Send message to "xxxxxx"(the receiver number).

After sending the above AT commands, it will show “>” and then you can send your message. When you finish your message, you need to send “1A” with the hexadecimal for confirming or send “1B” with the hexadecimal for cancel. This is why it is recommended to use other serial monitor.

1 2	AT+CMGR=3 // Read message AT+CMGD=3 // Delete message

Make a call

You can make or receive a call with SIM7600 using following AT Commands.

AT+CSDVC // Switch voice channel device

AT+CSDVC=1 // 1-Handset, 3-Speaker phone

AT+CLVL=2 // Set loudspeaker volume level to 2, the level range is 0 to 5

ATDxxxxx; // Call to xxxxx

AT+CHUP // Hang up the call

AT+CLIP=1 // Calling line identification presentation

ATA // Call answer

HTTP test

You can test the SIM7600 LTE HTTP request using following commands.

AT+HTTPINIT // Initialize and start the HTTP

AT+HTTPPARA="URL","http://www.makerfabs.com" // Set the URL

AT+HTTPACTION=0 // Connect the HTTP. (0-get, 1-post, 2-head)

AT+HTTPHEAD // Read the response's header.

AT+HTTPREAD=0,3 // Read the content (“3” means the number of the reading data)

A detailed guide on how to make HTTP Post with SIM7600 is discussed on this article: Send Data with HTTP Post Method.

Test the SD card for SIM7600

When you plug an SD card into the SD card slot for SIM7600, You can use the following commands to check it.

AT+FSCD=D: // Select SD card directory as current directory

AT+FSLS // List directories/files in current directory

AT+CFTRANRX="D: TEST.txt",10 // Transfer a file to EFS

AT+CFTRANTX="D: TEST.txt" // Transfer a file from EFS to host

Surfing the Internet using SIM7600

The SIM7600 Arduino Modem can be a wireless networking device to support the PC or Raspberry PI surfing the internet. Use Type-C USB cable to connect the board(USB-LTE) and PC.

For surfing the internet you need to install the SIM7600 driver to the PC. The driver is available on resources.

Open Device Manager – > Other equipment – >“SimTech,Incorporated”- > Update the driver – > Browse my computer to find driver files – > Select a path for saving the driver file based on the system- >The installation is complete.

Install all the drivers that show as the yellow exclamation marks.

If the PC does not connect to the internet through this device, please open the serial monitor and send the AT command to start the networking.

1	AT$QCRMCALL=1,1

The network icon will then appear as a cellular network.

If have are still not able to connect to the internet, please use the PPP dial-up connection way to start networking. More info you can get from GitHub.

Video Tutorial & Guide

SIM7600 4G LTE GSM Modem Tutorial with Arduino | AT Commands, Call, SMS, HTTP Internet

Watch this video on YouTube.

View 13 Comments

13 Comments

Marco on February 28, 2022 2:53 PM

Hi , is it possible to use tinygsm library instead of sending all the AT command ?

- Admin on February 28, 2022 2:53 PM
  
  The Tinygsm library might not work with this module. But you can give a try
  
  - tormodwarren on May 9, 2022 5:15 PM
    
    Hi Admin!
    
    I get error message “SerialUSB” was not declared in this scope.
    
    It is ugrent that I fix this for work. Do you kindly have a solution?
    
    Thank you!
  - Admin on May 9, 2022 5:19 PM
    
    SerialUSB command is not supported by Arduino UNO or ATmega328 based board. SerialUSB command is for ATSAMD based 32 bit controller.
Tuan Trung on April 3, 2022 11:01 AM

Hi Admin
I used SIM7600GH and Andruino Uno R3 but when I open the Arduino IDE and paste the following sketches below.Verify the code, It’s indicated: ‘SerialUSB’ was not declared in this scope
So how to fix t, please?

tormodwarren on May 9, 2022 5:12 PM

Hi Tuan! I have the same issue, and it is ugent to fix it for work. Did you get a solution?

Thank you, have a good day!

ericdeath on November 9, 2022 1:00 AM

No questions – this is just a brilliant web page. Congradualtions!

Achu SA on January 30, 2023 4:11 AM

Am also getting the same error as shown in your call image.

No Carrier Found.

Where you able to fix it ?

Sarahe on February 7, 2023 12:16 AM

Hi My GPS is showing no info just ””’

Borja Vega on July 2, 2023 5:13 PM

Very good post!
Let me ask you something…
You define a “1A” token from serial port and you answer to the SIMCOM Serial1.write(26);
Why ASCII 26, I guess It’s SUB ASCII simbol? shouldn’t it be “>” simbol?

Thanks!

Borja Vega on July 2, 2023 5:15 PM

You have to include this line of code on the top of the sketch:

#define SerialUSB Serial

Arduino always load Serial ports and some other stuff, you only have to access it through his new name!

Best!

Bjorn on July 19, 2023 9:32 AM

Hi! Did you ever find a solution to this? I am getting empty GPS values as well.

Chinua on August 10, 2023 1:08 PM

AT+CMGS = “+2348023411675”

This is used to send SMS from the IDE monitor.

But how do you send this same statement as part of the Arduino code?