nRF9161 System-in-Package

Low power SiP with integrated LTE-M/NB-IoT with GNSS and DECT NR+ modem

The nRF9161 sets a new standard for highly integrated System-in-Package (SiP) solutions, specifically designed for cellular IoT and DECT NR+ applications. Leveraging low power LTE technology, advanced processing capabilities, and robust security features, the nRF9161 offers unparalleled performance and versatility. It offers enhanced capabilities compared to its predecessor (nRF9160), including DECT NR+ support and 3GPP release 14 LTE-M/NB-IoT support.

Main Benefits

  • Enhanced Capabilities: The nRF9161 surpasses its predecessor, with improved features including support for DECT NR+ and 3GPP Release 14 LTE-M/NB-IoT LTE stack.
  • Global Connectivity and Power Efficiency: The integrated modem of the nRF9161 enables global connectivity without regional limitations, and include new unique modem features for further power saving and ease of use.
  • Unleashing the Potential of DECT NR+: Harness the capabilities of the DECT NR+ stack with the nRF9161, enabling massive mesh applications that prioritize reliability, secure connections, long range, and scalability. 

Sampling now

Sampling of the nRF9161 SiP is currently available to selected customers. For more information, please contact your representative in Nordic sales.

 

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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, 71
      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, 71 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}

Objective Product Specification

Here you can find the Objective Product Specification v0.7 for the nRF9161 SiP and the nRF91x1 AT reference manual v0.8 for the LTE firmware stack 2.0.0 BETA.

We also include the nRF91x1 PTI AT reference manual v0.8 which describes the AT commands used to test and verify nRF91x1 in manufacturing.

The Production Test Image (PTI) modem firmware supports a subset of AT commands for test purposes in non-signaling mode. The production test AT commands are supported only by the PTI modem firmware versions that are shipped with the nRF91x1 modules.

The next version of the OPS and the AT Command reference manual, will be found on infocenter

nRF91x1 SiP LTE firmware 

Programming app available in nRF Connect for Desktop

Selected version
2.0.0 nRF91 firmware binaries

Changelog:

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.

 

nRF9161 DK application and modem firmware

Selected version
2023-10-26_1fae141f [Latest version]

Changelog:

2023-10-26_1fae141f [Latest version]

First release for nRF9161DK

Changelog:

  • Includes FW from nRF Connect SDK 2.5.0
  • Includes Modem Firmware v2.0.0-77.beta

The following samples and applications are part of the package:

Hardware files

Selected version
0.9.0 Layout and BOM resources

Changelog:

0.9.0 Layout and BOM resources

  • First release for nRF9161