nRF9131 mini System-in-Package

Low power mini SiP for DECT NR+ and high volume cellular IoT products

The nRF9131 Mini SiP is a powerful solution perfect for DECT NR+ applications. It also supports cellular operations utilizing the same LTE stack as nRF9161. The nRF9131 will simplify traditional chipset-based designs, making it ideal for high-volume cellular IoT applications. With lower integration compared to the nRF9161 SiP, the nRF9131 offers a lower Bill of Materials (BOM). However, it's important to note that cellular end-product certification Non-Recurring Expenses (NRE) will increase depending on needed geographical coverage. This makes it an intriguing choice for global NR+ applications as well high-volume cellular products targeting specific regions.

Main Benefits

  • Perfect for NR+ applications: The nRF9131 excels in NR+ applications, delivering exceptional performance and functionality.
  • Smaller size and flexible sourcing: Smaller than nRF9161 and opens up to use other PMICs with other properties 
  • Feature compatible: Fully feature compatible with nRF9161 with regards to firmware, simple transitions between the two SiPs
  • Reference design available: Bundled with nPM6000 PMIC from Nordic will give similar power consumption as nRF9161

 

Sampling now

The nRF9131 SiP is sampling to lead customers now. Please reach out to your representative in Nordic sales if you’d like more information.

 

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Key features

Fully integrated SiP for cellular IoT and DECT NR+

Multimode LTE-M/NB-IoT modem with DECT NR+ support and GNSS

700-2200 MHz LTE band support

1.9GHz NR+ band support

Certified for global operation

Dedicated programmable application processor and memory

64 MHz Arm Cortex-M33

1 MB flash + 256 KB RAM

Arm TrustZone + Arm CryptoCell

Feature Brief

for the nRF91x1 SiP modem firmware

nRF91x1 SiP LTE firmware - what it is and how it works

The nRF91x1 SiP LTE firmware is provided as pre-compiled binaries, signed and encrypted by Nordic Semiconductor.

  • Details

    • Pre-compiled binary, signed and encrypted
    • LTE Rel-14 Cat-M1 (LTE-M/eMTC)
    • LTE Rel-14 Cat-NB1/2 (NB-IoT)
    • Type B half duplex (HD), frequency division duplex (FDD)
    • Cat-M1 operation is enabled on E-UTRA Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 66
      and 85.
    • Cat-NB1 operation is enabled on E-UTRA Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 65, 66
      and 85.
    • Power saving
      • Power Save Mode (PSM)
      • Idle-DRX and Connected Mode-DRX, DRX/extended-DRX in both
      • Independent clock and sleep state control
      • Support for 3GPP CP-RAI and AS-RAI (Release Assistance Indication)
      • Support for MAC Inactivity Monitoring
      • Support for NIDD (Non-IP Data Delivery)
      • First LTE search optimizations
      • Modem Sleep notifications
      • Pre-evaluation of a connection
      • LTE based positioning
    • Interface to Application CPU
      • AT-command Interface for control
      • Socket Interface for Data
      • Modem production test support
      • Antenna Tuner per band Configurability with limited MIPI-RFFE support
    • Integrated TLS(1.2)/DTLS(1.2) and TCP/UDP/IPV4/IPV6 Dual Stack
      • Storage of TLS and Cloud credentials
    • SMS PDU Mode
    • Differential FOTA support enables small upgrade images
    • Support for SIM ATK and remote provisioning via Bearer Independent Protocol
      • eSIM support
    • GPS L1 C/A  and QZSS L1C/A positioning
    • GPS L1 C/A and QZSS L1C/A receiver during LTE PSM and Idle DRX/extended-DRX modes
    • GPS time based configurable IO-pin / pulse
    • Single shot, fixed interval and continuous tracking modes

  • TLS Cipher suites

    • mbed TLS Name / NIST Name
      		 Value
      TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-AES-256-CBC-SHA384
      		 {0xC0,0x24}
      TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-AES-256-CBC-SHA  
      		{0xC0,0x0A}
      TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA256
      		 {0xC0,0x23}
      TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA 
      		{0xC0,0x09}
      TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-AES-128-GCM-SHA256 {0xC0,0x2B}
      TLS-ECDHE-RSA-WITH-AES-256-CBC-SHA        
      		{0xC0,0x14}
      TLS-ECDHE-RSA-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA256   
      		{0xC0,0x27}
      TLS-ECDHE-RSA-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA      
      		{0xC0,0x13}
      TLS-ECDHE-RSA-WITH-AES-128-GCM-SHA256
      		 {0xC0,0x2F}
      TLS-ECDHE-RSA-WITH-AES-256-GCM-SHA384  {0xC0,0x30}
      TLS-PSK-WITH-AES-256-CBC-SHA     
      		{0x00,0x8D}
      TLS-PSK-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA256  
      		{0x00,0xAE}
      TLS-PSK-WITH-AES-128-CBC-SHA
      		 {0x00,0x8C}
      TLS-PSK-WITH-AES-128-CCM-8
      		 {0xC0,0xA8}
      TLS-EMPTY-RENEGOTIATIONINFO-SCSV {0x00,0xFF}

nRF91x1 SiP LTE firmware 

Programming app available in nRF Connect for Desktop

Selected version
2.0.1 nRF91 firmware binaries

Changelog:

2.0.1 nRF91 firmware binaries

This release support nRF9131 LACA A0, nRF9151 LACA A0, and nRF9161 LACA A0 SiP.

This release does not support nRF9160 SiP.

Highlights: 

General

  • Added support for the nRF9151 LACA A0 SiP module.
  • Added support for IMEI read, write, and test operations through nRF Util development tool.

Cellular IoT

  • Introduced support for power class 5, enabling a 20dBm TX transmitter mode with nRF9151.
  • Socket option for power optimized way to resume data transmission after PDN disconnect and connect procedures. 
    • This feature is particularly useful for DTLS + CID and UDP connections.
  • Enhanced network selection optimization during initial search.

Location services / GNSS

  • Improved fix accuracy and availability in periodic fixes when the fix period is 60s or less.
  • Updated speed and altitude operational envelope limits for dynamics modes to further reduce possible GNSS outliers.
  • Updated QZSS health data handling to match IS-QZSS-PNT-005.
  • Addressed modem instability when GNSS 1PPS functionality was turned on/off repeatedly.

 

A complete list of new functionality, changes and bug fixes is in the release notes found here or inside the .zip file.

This release is aligned with v1.1 of the nRF91x1 Cellular AT Commands Reference Guide.

Some of the new features requires support also from the nRF Connect SDK.

It is recommended to use the latest version of nRF Connect for Desktop and nRF Connect Programmer tools.

 

2.0.0 nRF91 firmware binaries

This release support nRF9131 LACA A0 and nRF9161 LACA A0 SiPs, not nRF9160 SiP.

Highlights: 

Cellular IoT

  • Improved network selection when using MVNO subscriptions, leading to efficient power utilization.
  • Power consumption enhancements and quick recovery from unexpected network registration issues, ensuring seamless communication.
  • Improvements for application-driven monitoring of data transmission over the air interface, providing better insights and control.
  • Improved reliability and increased data throughput for an optimized user experience.
  • Enhanced modem error recovery mechanisms and reduced current consumption in error situations.
  • Added support for limited %XRFTEST RX tests.

Location services / GNSS

  • GNSS position outlier reduction, particularly in weak signal conditions, for more accurate location information.
  • GNSS TTFF and sensitivity performance improvements, ensuring quicker and more reliable position fixes.
  • Optimized GNSS duty cycle for reduced power consumption, extending battery life.

A complete list of new functionality, changes and bug fixes is in the release notes found here or inside the .zip file.

This release is aligned with v1.0 of the nRF91x1 Cellular AT Commands Reference Guide.

Some of the new features requires support also from the nRF Connect SDK.

It is recommended to use the latest version of nRF Connect for Desktop and nRF Connect Programmer tools.

 

2.0.0 BETA nRF91 firmware binaries

This release version has beta level quality and therefore should be used for test and evaluation purposes only, not for productization.

This is a BETA release and there will not be a FOTA path towards the official v2.0.0 when that releases

This release version doesn’t support nRF9160.

Make sure to download nRF Command Line Tools v10.22.1 or newer to be able to flash this firmware to your nRF91x1 device

With major changes listed in release notes, baseline for feature set is nRF9160 release version mfw_nrf9160_1.3.5.

Highlights: 

  • Support for nRF9131 and nRF9161 SiP modules.

Cellular IoT

  • Support of 3GPP release 14 baseline and selected optional 3GPP LTE release 14 and 15 features.
  • Support for user provisioned International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) in nRF9131 and nRF9161 SiP modules.
  • Support for application to monitor when and if data was sent over the air interface.
  • Support for application to read TLS session status whether session was resumed or a complete handshake.
  • Support for application to query used (D)TLS cipher suite.
  • Support for improved power saving mode sleep when network does not configure PSM.
  • Support for NB-IoT enhanced mobility with 3GPP RRC Connection Re-establishment feature.
  • Improved support of event notifications and traceability.
  • Improved accuracy for AT%CONEVAL energy consumption estimation.
  • Various set of improvements for stability and enhancements for error recovery.
  • Various set of improvements for power consumption.

Location services / GNSS

  • Improved acquisition TTFF and sensitivity performance in Hot and Cold starts.
  • Improved acquisition performance in certain situations.
  • Position accuracy improvements in dense urban environments.
  • QZSS assistance input support.
  • NeQuick ionosphere parameter assistance input support.

A complete list of new functionality, changes and bug fixes is in the release notes found here or inside the .zip file.

This release is aligned with v0.8 of nRF91x1 CIoT and Positioning AT Commands reference guide (Available here).

Some of the new features requires support also from the nRF Connect SDK.

It is recommended to use the latest version of nRF Connect for Desktop and nRF Connect Programmer tools.

 

Production Test Image 

Programming app available in nRF Connect for Desktop

Selected version
2.3.3 [PTI] nRF91 firmware binaries

Changelog:

2.3.3 [PTI] nRF91 firmware binaries

The mfw-pti_nrf91x1 is a Production Test Image (PTI) designed for the modem subsystem of nRF9131 LACA A0, nRF9151 LACA A0 and nRF9161 LACA A0 SiP modules.

 

It facilitates calibration, testing, and configuration features for production test purposes.

The mfw-pti_nrf91x1 firmware is exclusively designed for production testing and does not include any protocol signaling capabilities.

This release version is aligned with the v1.2 of nRF91x1 Production Test AT Commands reference guide.



It is advisable to use the latest versions of the nRF Connect and nRF Connect Programmer tools.

 

Changelog:

  • Added support for the nRF9151 LACA A0 SiP module
  • Added support for IMEI read, write, and test operations through nRF Util tool

 

More details in the release notes.


2.3.1 [PTI] nRF91 firmware binaries

The mfw-pti_nrf91x1 is a Production Test Image (PTI) designed for the modem subsystem of nRF9131 LACA A0 and nRF9161 LACA A0 SiP modules.

 

It facilitates calibration, testing, and configuration features for production test purposes.

The mfw-pti_nrf91x1 firmware is exclusively designed for production testing and does not include any protocol signaling capabilities.

This release version is aligned with the v1.1 of nRF91x1 Production Test AT Commands reference guide.



It is advisable to use the latest versions of the nRF Connect and nRF Connect Programmer tools.