SIM card related Projects » SIMtrace 2

laforge wrote in #note-1:

this is very strange indeed.

just to narrow this down a bit:

• does the same simtrace + SIM card work in any other phone or modem?

Also, do you have any 3.3V UART around? If yes, the output from the debug UART (2.5mm stereo jack, but as far as I recall also on other pins, see schematics) would be most useful.

I have never used any iPhones myself, so I don't have personal experience with those specific two units, but I've used the SIMtrace2 with tons of phone / modem models.

Hi Laforge,

Thanks for replying so quick!

For the question "does the same simtrace + SIM card work in any other phone or modem?":
(1)No, it never worked as expected.I have used another sim card from another operator, also the same problem. (Both sim cards works fine when directly inserted into the target phone)
(2)I have tested another Android phone with Snapdragon 888 modem but also resulted same bug pattern, so I assume it's not the phone's problem.
(3)Plus, I have seen examples using iPhone as target.

For the question "Also, do you have any 3.3V UART around?":
Sorry, currently I don't have any UART cable, is the UART a must for diagnosis? If so, I will buy one and it should be arrived in a week, and I will provide some more info then.

I noticed that you set this issue as category-firmware. However, I would still like to ask, is it probably a hardware problem or a host software problem?

Is there any other solution I can try without UART/JTAG?

And I wonder if the sim card tray is needed for the cable-sim? like is there any switch inside the sim card slot on the phone to be triggered with the insertion of the card tray? Do you use the card tray? (it can not fit in the right position with the cable as a hinder)

Thanks again for all your help!
Regards,

On Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 02:11:47AM +0000, g1bbs wrote:

For the question "Also, do you have any 3.3V UART around?":
Sorry, currently I don't have any UART cable, is the UART a must for diagnosis?

In general, yes. That's pretty universally true for most >= 90% of all electronics
devices with some form of microcontroller or cpu inside that I've worked with in my career.

If so, I will buy one and it should be arrived in a week, and I will provide some more info then.

I noticed that you set this issue as category-firmware. However, I would still like to ask, is it probably a hardware problem or a host software problem?

if there's a problem with your hardware, it is something to contact support@sysmocom.de about. The hardware
category here is more about aspects of the OSHW simtrace2 design.

Host software can be pretty much excluded as you are getting the card reset events, so this means
that the USB communication between simtrace device and host software works.

And I wonder if the sim card tray is needed for the cable-sim?

you always need to use a tray when your device needs a tray.

like is there any switch inside the sim card slot on the phone to be triggered with the insertion of the card tray?

that is a question about the hardware design of your phone and not about the simtrace product.

Do you use the card tray? (it can not fit in the right position with the cable as a hinder)

you will have to use a file to file down the tray (get a spare one) so the cable can fit.

The best approach to me still seems like you should use a classic/old device with a 2FF socket. Get that
working and get some hands-on experience with simtrace, and then try something that's mechanically more
challenging like 4FF slots with trays.

laforge wrote in #note-3:

On Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 02:11:47AM +0000, g1bbs wrote:

For the question "Also, do you have any 3.3V UART around?":
Sorry, currently I don't have any UART cable, is the UART a must for diagnosis?

In general, yes. That's pretty universally true for most >= 90% of all electronics
devices with some form of microcontroller or cpu inside that I've worked with in my career.

If so, I will buy one and it should be arrived in a week, and I will provide some more info then.

I noticed that you set this issue as category-firmware. However, I would still like to ask, is it probably a hardware problem or a host software problem?

if there's a problem with your hardware, it is something to contact support@sysmocom.de about. The hardware
category here is more about aspects of the OSHW simtrace2 design.

Host software can be pretty much excluded as you are getting the card reset events, so this means
that the USB communication between simtrace device and host software works.

And I wonder if the sim card tray is needed for the cable-sim?

you always need to use a tray when your device needs a tray.

like is there any switch inside the sim card slot on the phone to be triggered with the insertion of the card tray?

that is a question about the hardware design of your phone and not about the simtrace product.

Do you use the card tray? (it can not fit in the right position with the cable as a hinder)

you will have to use a file to file down the tray (get a spare one) so the cable can fit.

The best approach to me still seems like you should use a classic/old device with a 2FF socket. Get that
working and get some hands-on experience with simtrace, and then try something that's mechanically more
challenging like 4FF slots with trays.

Hi laforge,

Thank you for your patient and informative reply. I will try to get an UART cable for further debug. I agree with you that those new to simtrace like me should start with some old/test-friendly UE, thanks for the advice. Also, if possible, your experience on the tray problem shoule be added to the wiki page since modern UE all use tray, it will be very helpful for simtrace users.

BRs

On Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 01:40:33PM +0000, g1bbs wrote:

Thank you for your patient and informative reply. I will try to get an UART cable for further debug. I agree with you that those new to simtrace like me should start with some old/test-friendly UE, thanks for the advice.

Also, if possible, your experience on the tray problem shoule be added to the wiki page since modern UE all use tray, it will be very helpful for simtrace users.

Indeed. With so many osmocom projects in parallel, time is always an issue. I've added your user
acocunt to the group of people with wiki editing privileges.

I'll see if I can find a filed/modified tray for some pictures.

g1bbs wrote in #note-4:

I will try to get an UART cable for further debug. I agree with you that those new to simtrace like me should start with some old/test-friendly UE, thanks for the advice.

Did you manage to get further debug information via the serial console, or did you manage to make simtrace2 work in your setup some way meanwhile?

laforge wrote in #note-7:

g1bbs wrote in #note-4:

I will try to get an UART cable for further debug. I agree with you that those new to simtrace like me should start with some old/test-friendly UE, thanks for the advice.

Did you manage to get further debug information via the serial console, or did you manage to make simtrace2 work in your setup some way meanwhile?

Hi laforge, sorry for the late reply. I returned the board to our local seller, and they confirmed it was a compatibility problem between the latest firmware and the board they produced, but no debug details were given. I will check with them to see if any debug info can be provided, or the problem is already solved. BTW, I don't know whether my experience on the card tray is correct since I didn't get successful output, so, to be prudent, I didn't update the wiki as you suggested. Thanks again.

I have the same problem as you

g1bbs

Hello All,

Just thought i should put a comment in here:
I faced the same issue, exactly as it was happening in here, and i found out after all that the issue was the 3FF FPC cable that was not working 100%.
I started taking more attention to the devices used, some of them stretch to much the cables and due to that the cables have a very reduced lifetime.
I bought a new cable and it worked fine.

So my suggestion to anyone who has this problem, test with different SIMs and Cables.

Thank you,
Jelson G.

since the photos of the board label it as a v1.5 and there is no sticker from sysmocom on it... who made/sold those boards?