Troubleshooting the LTE Beacon
Below are some basic troubleshooting methods which you can try to fix the most common issues with your LTE Beacon's connectivity.
Force-sync: In some cases, you might need to do a force-sync, e.g. if you want to check your battery levels outside of your regular sync schedule (the beacons' health status updates upon syncing). Here's how to run a force-sync:
Press and hold the side button, the side diode will light up. Pressing the button once will stop the app.
Now press and hold both the side and main buttons for 10 seconds, starting with the side button. The beacon will force-sync. Wait for the LEDs to light up. This will take around 10 seconds.
Charging: When battery levels get very low (down to around 3.3V) the modem will stop working, and you might experience issues with GPS and LTE connectivity. You can charge the batteries by hooking the beacon up to an energy source via a USB-C cable. Please mind that the battery levels are updated in the Cloud with every sync, so the indicator in the Cloud interface will not contain live data on power levels.
Resetting the device firmware: You can restart the device’s firmware using the sys.reboot() function. Just put the reboot function inside a button press handler and upload it to the device, as you would a regular micro-app:
io.press(() => sys.reboot())
Removing the current app: You can delete the current app by using the app.remove() function. Once again, it’s best to put it inside a handler:
io.press(() => app.remove())
LTE Connectivity issues: Even if you have LTE coverage in your country, you might experience connection issues in certain areas. You can work around* that by using the following code in your Micro-app:
lte.setTech(lte.Tech.GSM_LTE, lte.Region.EUROPE)
.then(() => {
cloud.enqueue('lte-tech', {payload: 'changed to GSM_LTE successfully'})
sync.now();
})
.catch((error) => {
print(“error”);
cloud.enqueue('lte-tech', {error: error})
sync.now();
})
*Note that this API is experimental and subject to breaking changes, and that using that GSM_LTE may cause significantly higher battery usage.
Unplugging the battery: In some cases, unplugging the battery from the device and plugging it back in can fix certain issues with connectivity. In order to disconnect the battery, you need to peel off the sticky back layer, take the device out of the shell, and gently pull the red and black cables.
Making sure that the sim card is properly installed: Make sure the sim card is properly installed in the sim-card slot. It has to click when inserted.
To access the sim-card slot, peel off the adhesive tape from the back beacon, and pull the enclosure on the right side. You'll see the sim card slightly showing above the PCB.