No Connection on Power Up
If a device is not connecting, it is usually power or SIM related.
Please also see the attached flowchart.
Check that the device is powered:
If using an internal battery, it should be above 3.5V for a reliable connection.
If using external power, the device should receive 7 – 16V generally, some devices up to 35V, (please check individual
datasheets for devices) on the red wire on the harness, and ground on the black wire. If using a different harness,
ensure the polarity is correct. It should draw 20 – 100 mA on power-up.
The LED on the PCB should illuminate. If it switches on briefly and goes off, it may indicate that the power is not sufficient
for the device to boot. It will wait until either external power is above 7V or the internal battery is above 3.5V. If either
condition is true, the LED will start to flash slowly.
Check that the batteries are fresh, or have enough voltage under load to power the modem. When batteries are on
the brink of low charge, they can sometimes have enough power for the LED flash, but not the modem.
Check that the SIM is in order:
The SIM is installed with the correct orientation, and the holder is properly latched.
The SIM PIN is not set. The PIN can be retrieved from the OEM Server web interface.
The SIM has credit/airtime.
The APN is set correctly: a new device will be set to Auto-APN unless your distributor has made special arrangements.
An in-service device may have been configured with a specific APN in the past. To be certain, you can SMS the APN
settings.
The LED will flash slowly until it connects to the server. Once connected it will flash fast. If data is sent, it will got solid
briefly and revert to flashing fast.
Forcing a Connection
There is no way to initiate a connection remotely because when the device sleeps, it switches off its modem. You will need
to wait for the next scheduled connection – either a heartbeat, trip start or input change.
If you have the unit in your hands, you can force a connection by toggling external power. An external power change
triggers an upload. Ensure the change is long enough to trigger the external power debounce period – 2 seconds by
default.
You can also change any of the inputs set to trigger an upload. Usually, ignition will trigger an upload. This depends on the
system parameter configuration.
Debugging with OEM
The OEM Admin Interface is a powerful tool for understanding what your device is doing. See the OEM guide for detailed
instructions. The following notes may help:
Check when it last connected and if it committed records successfully.
Check external power and internal battery level.
Enable the log capture. Normally the OEM server forwards logs to the 3rd party software platform. Enable the capture
of logs by selecting the device; going to Device Operations->Set Data Capture Expiry; select a date in the future when
the server should stop the capture; click OK. View the logs in the Device Details->Logs tab.
Enable debugging for a module. Do this by selecting the device; going to Device Operations -> Set Device Debug Flags;
set the module of interest to the required logging level; select an expiry date when the debugging should end; click OK.
View the logs in the Device Details->Logs tab
Poor Movement Trip Start Performance
If movement trip (emulated ignition) starts are poorer than expected, check the following:
What is the movement threshold? The default is 150m. Reducing this may result in false trip starts.
The GPS may have taken a long time to lock, due to poor signal or a fault.