BRN404X power consumption in sleep mode

Hardware
1

Hi All,

I attempted to put BRN404X into sleep mode using two different methods: one with network connection and the other without. I observed that without network connection, the current consumption reduced to less than 400uA, which is excellent. However, with network connection enabled (using NETWORK_INTERFACE_CELLULAR), the current consumption remained high, similar to the active mode. I have included both code snippets and current measurements for reference.

Without Network connected:
SystemSleepConfiguration config;
config.mode( SystemSleepMode::ULTRA_LOW_POWER )
.gpio( D1, CHANGE );
System.sleep(config);

PwrCons_NoCellular.PNG
PwrCons_NoCellular.PNG2176Ă—1017 191 KB

PwrCons_NoCellular_Idle
PwrCons_NoCellular_Idle2170Ă—1008 82.7 KB

With network connected:
SystemSleepConfiguration config;
config.mode( SystemSleepMode::ULTRA_LOW_POWER )
.gpio( D1, CHANGE )
.network(NETWORK_INTERFACE_CELLULAR);
System.sleep(config);

PwrCons_Cellular.PNG
PwrCons_Cellular.PNG2172Ă—1027 190 KB

Is there anyone who can provide insight on whether there might be an issue with the code I used or if it’s a known issue with BRN404X? Thank you.

2

Hi David, it could be related to this issue:

Maybe @rickkas7 can comment more on this? Thanks

1 Like
3

This is a known issue with the BRN404X, B404X, and E404X, devices with a SARA-R510 cellular modem. When the modem is in active mode, it uses more current than the SARA-R410. When you use sleep mode with cellular standby, the modem is actually in active mode, from the point of view of the modem.

One solution would be to implement eDRX, which would lower the standby current, but this involves changes both on-device and in the cloud, because the cloud needs to synchronize sending data to the device during periods where it’s communicating by cellular. This is not planned as a feature at this time, but is something that is being investigated.

1 Like
4

Thanks @gusgonnet and @rickkas7 for the responses. Is there a Particle hardware platform that would meet these requirements for low sleep current (<400uA) and support for waking up via cellular and GPIO, and has Bluetooth and GPS features? If so, could you please provide recommendations?

5

The u-blox SARA-R410M modem, the older one, is discontinued, so that’s not an option.

The Quectel BG96-MC active mode power is more than the R410, but less than the R510. That modem is used in the Tracker SoM.

1 Like
6

Thank you @rickkas7. The R410 Active Mode power is 9mA, so that means BG96-MC would be more than that? Unfortunately, this won’t be a good solution for battery powered applications.

7

Well, for battery powered application that are on all the time or use cellular standby. The difference is not as noticeable for devices that are only on for brief periods of time. But yes.

1 Like
8

I was wondering if Particle team has considered the use of Nordic’s nrf9160, as it is known to have better power efficiency than u-blox?

9

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