Title: M95 SIM Not Detected After Firmware Upgrade from M95FAR02A08 to M95FAR03A06

IoT Modules GSM Module
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1

Hello,

I am experiencing a SIM card detection issue with Quectel M95 modules after upgrading their firmware using QFlash.

We are using Quectel M95-TE-A boards, not our own hardware design. The original firmware version was M95FAR02A08. After receiving a new firmware package and flashing instructions from Quectel support, I successfully upgraded the modules to M95FAR03A06. QFlash displayed PASS, but after restarting the modules, the SIM cards were no longer detected.

We tested the upgrade on three separate M95-TE-A boards, and the same issue occurred on all three.

When I execute the AT+CPIN? command, the module returns the following error:

+CME ERROR: SIM not inserted

Some additional observations that may help identify the cause:

  • The SIM card remained inserted throughout the firmware upgrade process.

  • After QFlash displayed PASS, the module drew approximately 70 mA and stopped responding to AT commands.

  • The module did not respond to the PWRKEY signal either, so I had to disconnect and reconnect the power supply manually.

  • After power-cycling the module, it responds to AT commands normally, but the SIM card is still not detected.

I also checked the following SIM-related settings:

AT+QSIMDET?
+QSIMDET: 0,0,0

AT+QDSIM?
+QDSIM: 0,0

AT+QSIMVOL?
+QSIMVOL: 0

Since the same issue occurred on three M95-TE-A boards, I would appreciate your help in determining whether this could be related to firmware compatibility or the firmware upgrade procedure.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue when upgrading from M95FAR02A08 to M95FAR03A06 on an M95-TE-A board? Is there any additional initialization or configuration procedure required after the upgrade?

Thank you for your help.

2

hi,

BG95 does not support cross baseline upgrades (R02-R03)
Please try upgrading to the latest version of R03
Or send it back to our factory and re burn the original factory package

3

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

However, I would like to clarify that our issue concerns the Quectel M95, not the BG95. Are the cross-baseline upgrade restrictions you mentioned also applicable to the M95, specifically when upgrading from M95FAR02A08 to M95FAR03A06?

We received the M95FAR03A06 firmware package and the flashing instructions directly from Quectel technical support. However, we were not informed that upgrading between these firmware baselines might be unsupported or could cause the SIM detection issue we are experiencing.

Unfortunately, sending the modules back to your factory is not a feasible option for us. Since the firmware was provided by Quectel, could you please provide the original factory firmware package for our exact M95 module variant, along with the appropriate flashing instructions, so that we can restore the modules ourselves?

However, our original reason for requesting a firmware upgrade was to obtain MQTT support and TLS 1.3 or later. Simply restoring the original firmware would resolve neither of these requirements.

Therefore, we would appreciate your clarification on the following points:

  1. Does the M95 support upgrading from the R02 to the R03 firmware baseline, or is this transition unsupported?

  2. If the transition is unsupported, could you provide the correct firmware package that supports our requirements without causing SIM detection issues?

  3. If no suitable firmware is available, could you provide the original factory package so that we can restore the modules, and confirm whether MQTT and TLS 1.3 or later can be supported on the M95 at all?

We tested the upgrade on three M95-TE-A boards, and the same SIM detection issue occurred on all three. This suggests that the issue may be related to the firmware package or upgrade procedure rather than an individual hardware failure.

We would appreciate your technical clarification and assistance.

Best regards,
Ali Tavakoli