EG21-GL Module Not Connecting to Galileo and BeiDou - GPS/GLONASS Only After 30-40 Minutes

Hello,

I’m implementing the Quectel EG21-GL module in a new project and this is my first experience with GNSS systems. I’m experiencing an issue with satellite constellation detection:

Current Behavior:

  • GPS and GLONASS satellites are detected (after 30-40 minutes with an active antenna)
  • Galileo satellites are NOT detected
  • BeiDou satellites are NOT detected
  • Time to first fix outside with open sky is very long (~30-40 minutes)

Expected Behavior:

  • All four constellations should be detected: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou
  • First fix should be significantly shorter

Hardware Setup:

  • Module: EG21-GL (firmware version EG21GLGAR07A03M1G_A0.300.A0.300)
  • Antenna: Active antenna (>3.9 volt, facing sky, magnetic base on a metal shield)
  • Location: Open sky environment
  • AT interface: Standard UART connection

Configuration Attempted:

AT+QGPSEND 
AT+QGPSCFG="gnssconfig",1
AT+QGPSCFG="gpsnmeatype",31
AT+QGPSCFG="glonassnmeatype",7
AT+QGPSCFG="galileonmeatype",1
AT+QGPSCFG="beidounmeatype",3
AT+QGPSCFG="gsvextnmeatype",1
AT+QGPSCFG="outport","usbnmea"
AT+QGPSCFG="fixfreq",1
AT+QGPSCFG="nmeasrc",1
AT+QGPSCFG="agpsposmode",775
AT+CFUN=1,1
AT+QGPSDEL=0
AT+QGPS=1,255,50,0,1
AT+QGPSLOC=0 (ret 516 no pos)

Observations after 30 minutes :

  1. Only GPS (7 satellites) and GLONASS (7 satellites) appear in NMEA output
  2. No Galileo or BeiDou satellites detected
  3. NMEA sentences confirm only 2D positioning with few satellites

Questions:

  1. Is the EG21-GL firmware A0.300 supposed to support all four constellations simultaneously?
  2. Could this be a hardware limitation or antenna compatibility issue?
  3. Are there additional AT commands needed for constellation configuration?

Dear Customer,

Based on your situation, below is my suggestion:

  1. Verify constellation status: AT+QGPSCFG=“gnssconfig”?
  2. Perform full cold start: AT+QGPSDEL=2
  3. Confirm antenna bias voltage and GNSS RF path.
  4. Enable AGNSS.