nRF9160 DK - Get started - nordicsemi.com

Cellular IoT development kit for LTE-M, NB-IoT, GPS and Bluetooth LE

The nRF9160 DK is an affordable, pre-certifed single-board development kit for evaluation and development on the nRF9160 SiP for LTE-M, NB-IoT and GPS. It also includes an nRF52840 board controller that for example can be used to build a Bluetooth Low Energy gateway.

It has a dedicated LTE-M and NB-IoT antenna that supports a wide range of bands, to operate globally. LTE bands B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B8, B12, B13, B14, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28 and B66 have been certified. See this page for more details.

A dedicated patch antenna for GPS, and a 2.4 GHz antenna to be used with Bluetooth LE are included on the board. SWF RF connectors are available for the LTE-M/NB-IoT and 2.4 GHz antennas. A connector is also available to attach an external GPS antenna.

All GPIOs and interfaces (SPI/TWI/UART), are available via connectors. The kit is Arduino Uno Rev3 compatible, meaning it can be easily interfaced with external device shields.

User-programmable LEDs (4), buttons (2) and switches (2) are available to easily give input and get output. The nRF9160 DK has both a 4FF SIM card slot and an MFF2 SIM footprint, to support both plug-in and soldered (e)SIMs. It is bundled with a eSIM card from iBasis preloaded with 10 MB.

Programming and debugging is enabled through the Segger J-Link OB, which also supports external targets. The nRF9160 DK is supported by a full suite of development software and tools. All free to download and use commercially.

nRF Connect SDK includes everything needed to get started, application layer protocols, examples, peripheral drivers and more. The kit can easily be connected to our cloud solution, nRF Connect for Cloud. The nRF Link Monitor tool located in nRF Connect for Desktop provides an AT command interface that enables you to test your link, and extract information about the network.

The nRF9160 SiP and nRF9160 development kit are now in production and are suitable for full end-to-end sensor to cloud development. We’re still developing features and optimizing performance.

See the nRF9160 certifications page for details on certification, LTE bands and security supported.

Download nRF9160 DK product brief (PDF)

Cellular Connectivity

To connect the nRF9160 DK to the cloud, you need an IoT enabled SIM card that can connect to available networks in your region. The iBasis card included in the kit has coverage in most regions (download coverage map for more information, updated February 8th, 2021). Remember whether your network supports LTE-M or NB-IoT and power saving modes (eDRX or PSM).

If iBasis does not have coverage in your region, please see our cellular connectivity partner page, contact your local Regional Sales Manager or local network operator to purchase a local IoT enabled SIM.

If your region does not have eDRX or PSM power saving features support, you will still be able to see sensor data on nRF Connect for Cloud, but the GPS position feature may not work.

More information on regulatory certifications can be found under the Overview tab.

Get started with your nRF9160 DK

nRF9160 DK Getting Started Guide

Unbox and get your Nordic nRF9160 DK up and running. Note: You can follow the steps in this video even if you have an nRF9160 DK with a different board layout.

Get started with development

To develop applications for the nRF9160 DK, use the nRF Connect SDK, which contains a variety of compatible libraries and samples. To get started, see the working with nRF9160 user guide.

For more information on the nRF9160 DK hardware development platform, see the nRF9160 DK Hardware User Guide.

Also check out our tools for power optimization: Online Power Profiler, the Power Profiler Kit II and the Power Optimization documentation.

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nRF9160 DKDevelopment kit

Cellular IoT development kit for LTE-M, NB-IoT, GPS and Bluetooth LE

Cellular Connectivity

Get started with your nRF9160 DK

Get started with development

Videos