4G Sim Card Troubleshooting

Your SkyBox (Victron models) comes with a 4g sim card. To use the sim card, follow the guide below.

Insert the sim card into the Victron GX LTE 4G

If the blue light remains solid, this means the unit is ON but not connected to the Internet.

If the blue light is flashing, the unit is connected to the internet. Often, a reset of the unit will bring it online. This can be done by unplugging the power cable and plugging it back in again

Troubleshooting guide

There are many reasons for a modem internet connection not working. Carefully go through each step of this troubleshooting guide. Make sure to start at the first step. When asking for help, make sure to mention each step taken and the result.

Step	Element	Details
1	Power	Check that the blue LED is either lit continuously or blinking.
2	USB connection	The modem must be connected to USB and visible in the Settings → GSM modem menu.
3	SIM card status	Check the SIM Status in the menu; it must show “Ready”. It will show “SIM not inserted”, “PIN required”, or “PUK required”, and more related errors when there is a problem. Please refer to the SIM status list for details.
4	Signal strength	One bar is the minimum for VRM logging; 2 or 3 bars are necessary for a working remote console. An outdoor antenna typically increases the received signal by 15 to 25 dB.
5	Carrier registration	Check that the name of a Cellular provider is visible in the “Carrier” field. If it is not, check signal strength and otherwise contact your SIM card provider and/or insert the SIM card into a phone to double-check its operation and subscription status.
6	Internet connection	Verify that the Internet shows “Online”. Reasons for the system to not go “Online” whilst properly registered on the Network are: 1) APN not configured, contact the network operator for details. 2) The network is a different one than the home network (ie. roaming), and the setting to permit Roaming is disabled. 3) Signal strength is strong enough to register on the network but not to open the data connection to the internet.
7	Connection to VRM portal	Verify that the VRM Portal menu shows a recent last connection time. See Settings → VRM Portal. For more details, see the VRM Connection troubleshooting chapter of the GX Manual.

Note

Note that Ethernet and WiFi connections have priority over the cellular connection. Even when the available Ethernet or WiFi connection does not have a good connection to the internet, there is no automatic detection in place which in such case switches over to the GX GSM. In more technical language: when the cellular data connection is active, it is configured with a high routing metric. This way, the Linux kernel prioritises Ethernet or Wifi when these are available.