How to Enable Power Saving Mode in

Your LTE-M Devices: A Guide for Developers

TECHNICAL WHITEPAPER

Introduction
Written by: LTE-CAT-M1 (LTE-M) is a low-power-wide-area (LPWA) technology
offering low to medium throughput (generally an uplink peak rate
STEVE BEDELL
Solutions Engineer
of 1Mbps), low latency to support real time communications, and
mobile handover to allow devices to move between cell towers. These
features combined with the lower cost of LTE-M modules make
SEAN JONES
Sales Engineer LTE-M an attractive option for a wide variety of lower throughput
IoT applications, including asset tracking, wearables, point of sale
systems, home security, smart city, and remote monitoring solutions.

LTE-M is an excellent starting point for IoT deployments that do not require the
higher throughput provided by other LTE technologies (such as Cat-1) and where
energy efficiency is paramount. For IoT use cases requiring a battery and multi-
month to multi-year deployments it is recommended to make use of built-in LTE-M
features specifically designed to further reduce power draw: Power Saving Mode
(PSM) and Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX).

PSM efficiently manages the sleep and wake cycles of the IoT device, such that
it only communicates with the network when necessary and conserves battery
power by spending the rest of the time in a powered-down state.

eDRX allows the IoT device to reduce needless energy spent connecting and
detaching from the cellular network. Over time eDRX enables the IoT device to
realize significant power savings, extending battery life.

The Aeris engineering team has tested and validated the PSM and eDRX
capabilities on the Aeris Fusion IoT Network using cellular modules from the
major module manufacturers. As a result of testing the Aeris engineering
team has been able to document the specific commands to enable the power
management capabilities for various cellular module manufacturers. The rest
of this document provides information about both of these power management
capabilities of LTE-M and instructions for how to configure them based on the
testing performed by Aeris. The information in this document is intended to reduce
the engineering effort required to test LTE-M power consumption modes for
device manufacturers creating battery powered IoT applications.

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 Power Saving Mode (PSM)
PSM is a feature of the cellular modem and network which turns off the device
radio and puts the device to sleep without fully disconnecting it from the network.
PSM extends the battery life of the IoT device by reducing the number of times
that device has to reattach to the cellular network.

A typical use case for a LTE-M device operating on an extended deployment is

to transmit data on a scheduled basis or when an external event requires data
to be sent. Between periods of data transmission and reception, the device may
be programmed to sleep in order to reduce power consumption and therefore
maximize battery charge. However when the device wakes to send or retrieve
data, the device must initiate a request to attach to the cellular network for each
communication event. While each attach request to the cellular network only
consumes a small amount of energy, the total energy consumed by frequent
reattachments over the deployment lifetime can become significant. The battery
life of an IoT device can be extended if attachment events can be reduced, which
is precisely the task PSM accomplishes.

How PSM Works

While in PSM the device will be in a mode akin to “power off” and the device will
be unreachable even though it remains registered to the network. The device is
unable to receive messages when it is in an active PSM cycle. Data packets that
get sent to a device in an active PSM cycle will be stored by the network per
3GPP requirements. Recommendations are for the network operator to set aside
storage for at least the last packet of 100 bytes. Carriers will each have their own
implementation and interpretation of 3GPP requirements.

For a device to receive messages sent while in an active PSM cycle, each carrier
handles this scenario differently. The best practice is for the device to initiate a
payload upon wake-up and wait for payload delivery after notifying its application
of wake-up.

When a device first attaches to an LTE-M network it is assigned an IP address so

it can initiate a data session to required end points.

Previous Method before PSM

□ Turn radio module off to conserve battery power
□ Turn on radio module
□ Reattach to network PSM Method
□ Transmit and recieve data
□ Turn off monitoring of paging instances on the device
□ Detach from network (that occur every 2.56 seconds)
□ Turn off radio module
□ Increases time periods of devices sending
Periodic Tracking Area Updates
Problem □ Device is able to save battery current drain by
□ Device has to reattach to the network when decreasing device-to-network signaling
the radio module is turned back on
□ Radio modules can go into a HIBERNATE state
□ Reattach procedure consumes a small but (a state of low battery consumption)
finite amount of energy
□ Energy consumption significant over the
lifetime of a device
□ Battery life could be extended if reattach
could be avoided

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When a device enters PSM the length of the PSM period is negotiated between
the network and the device. Specifically the device initiates PSM with the
network and specifies two preferred timers when issuing its initial connection,
the Extended Timer or “sleep” timer (T3412) and the Active Timer (T3324). The
network may accept the values requested or set different values. Per the 3GPP
standard, the maximum value of the T3412 Extended Timer is 35,712,000
seconds or 413.33 days. However the maximum value implemented by the MNO
may be less than the 3GPP maximum and the optimal timer value settings will
be based on the limits set by the cellular service provider. On the Aeris network
the T3412 (sleep) timer values are a minimum of 240 minutes (4 hours) up to
the maximum of 413 days specified in the 3GPP Release 13 standard. The Aeris
Fusion IoT Network provides a maximum T3412 timer length of 12.9 days.

T3412 Extended Timer T3412 Extended Timer

TAU Period
DATA TRANSFER

DATA TRANSFER

DATA TRANSFER
PSM Cycle

UE Reachable
T3324 Active Timer

While the device is in the PSM mode, the network maintains the previous IP
session in a dormant state. The network then retains state information and the
device remains registered with the network.

If the device wakes and sends data before the expiration of the time interval it
negotiated with the network, it can continue with the previous IP session instead
of having to go through the complete attach procedure from the beginning.

Setting up Power Saving Mode

PSM must be supported on the LTE-M module and enabled using AT commands
sent to the module. The specific commands are documented in the AT command
guide for each specific module. While there is a standard AT command
(AT+CPSMS) for setting timers supported by most module providers, Aeris
testing has shown that each module provider has defined their own distinct AT
commands for initiating PSM.

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The following section describes the sleep and active timers and the AT commands
to configure PSM.

PSM Timers
Sleep Timer – T3412
For the T3412 timer (sleep time), the requested periodic TAU timer value is encoded
per the GPRS Timer 3 specification (see section 10.5.7.4a of 3GPP TS 24.008)
as follows:

Bits 5 to 1 represent the binary coded timer value. Bits 6 to 8 defines the timer
value unit (table):

Timer 3 Timer value Timer 3 Timer value

Value incremented Value incremented
000xxxxx 10 minutes 100xxxxx 30 seconds

001xxxxx 1 hour 101xxxxx 1 minute

010xxxxx 10 hours 110xxxxx 320 hours*

011xxxxx 2 seconds 111xxxxx Timer is deactivated

*See the note in the 3GPP TS 24.008 specification, table 10.5.163a for additional information on this value.

Example – 20 hours of sleep time:

Start with 10 hours ‘010xxxxx’ x Binary multiplier of 2 ‘xxx00010’ = 01000010

Active Timer – T3324

The requested active time is a single binary string byte value defined by octet 3 of the
GPS Timer 2 specification (see section 10.5.7.4 of 3GPP TS 24.008) as follows:

Once again, bits 5 to 1 represent the binary coded timer value. Bits 6 to 8 defines
the timer value unit (table):

Timer 3 Value Timer value incremented

000xxxxx 2 seconds

001xxxxx 1 minute

010xxxxx 1 decihour (6 minutes)

111xxxxx Timer is deactivated

Example – 20 seconds of active time:

Start with 2 seconds ‘000xxxxx’ x Binary multiplier of 10 ‘xxx01010’ = 00001010

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Enabling PSM
If a device must wake up every 20 hours, send information, wait for incoming data
for 30 seconds, and go back to sleep then use the PSMS AT Command listed
below for the relevant device.

Module Command

General (most modules) AT+CPSMS=1,,,“<T3412 Timer>”,”<T3324 Timer>”

UBlox AT+UPSMS=1,,,“<T3412 Timer>”,”<T3324 Timer>”

Quectel AT+QPSMS=1,,,“<T3412 Timer>”,”<T3324 Timer>”

Telit AT#CPSMS=1,,,“<T3412 Timer>”,”<T3324 Timer>”

If you are using the Quectel BG96 modem, you would issue the following sequence:

AT+QCFG=”psm/urc”,1 in order to enable PSM

AT+QPSMS=1,,,”<01000010>”,“<00001010>” to set the timer values

The above settings configure a sleep timer of 20 hours and a wake time of 20
seconds. A device checking in once per day to send a small amount of sensor data
might utilize this setting.

Verify that the timer value submitted was granted by the network. For the
Quectel module use the AT+QPSMS? Command to check the timer value, the
timer value returned will be in seconds.

AT+QPSMS?

+QPSMS: 1,,,”72000”,”20” to set the timer values for 20 hours and 20 seconds

Turning Off PSM Mode

To turn off PSM mode the AT command will depend on the type of module being
used. For the Quectel module the AT command is as follows:

AT+QPSMS=0

This (0) disables Power Saving Mode.

As with any power saving mode, the current drawn in the low power mode will
depend on the module used and circuit design. Proper circuit design will ensure
external pins are in the correct state during low power mode to avoid extra current
draw. Depending upon the application being implemented, it is advised to
compare the current drawn by the module in low power mode during the OFF
period to the current drawn by the module in full power ON state. For certain
applications it may still be more power efficient to remove power completely from
the module and power up as required rather than using the PSM implemented on
the module.

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Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX)
Much of the power consumed by a cellular module is due to the RF circuitry
in the modem. Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mode was introduced on earlier
network technologies and allowed the RF circuitry to be powered down for a few
seconds when there was no data being sent. This capability was useful when the
device needed to be contacted by services such as SMS or the device only had
data to send occasionally once per minute. During the times of no transmission,
the RF is turned off to save power and the network would store any pages such
as SMS or voice call for the device until the DRX period was over. This behavior
meant that there might be a few second delay before the module received the
SMS, but in most applications this was not an issue. The DRX feature was
extended and renamed Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) for LTE-M
as the period the RF circuitry was allowed to be in the off mode was increased
dramatically from the previous DRX mode. As with PSM, the power consumed in
eDRX mode versus powering off the device should be reviewed to ensure it meets
the requirements for battery powered IoT applications.

eDRX allows the time interval during which a device is not listening to the network
to be extended. For an IoT application, it might be acceptable for a device to be
online although unreachable for several seconds or longer. Aeris has conducted
testing which shows that an IoT device implementing PSM will use 90% less
power than the same device implementing eDRX. While not providing the same
levels of power reduction as PSM, eDRX can offer a good compromise between
device reachability and power consumption for some applications.

Networks and devices can negotiate when devices sleep. The device keeps its
receiver circuitry switched off for a defined period of time during which the device
is not listening for paging or downlink control channels. When the device wakes
up, the receiver will listen for the Physical Control Channel.

eDRX is often optimal for use cases which differ from those supported by PSM.
The two power saving capabilities can be used in conjunction by setting the PSM
T3324 timer (awake) to a longer time period.
DATA TRANSFER

DATA TRANSFER

DATA TRANSFER

eDRX Cycle eDRX Cycle

(Antenna Sleep)

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Only certain periods are allowed for eDRX which are listed in the table below
along with the AT command setting for enabling them. The full AT command
sequence will be shown later.

Enabling eDRX does not adversely affect the module’s ability to send data, but
does turn off reception for the configured cycle interval in order to save power.
For example, when sending a UDP packet to the device during its eDRX cycle
(antenna sleep), the UDP packets will queue on the carrier’s network. The
UDP packets will be delivered when the eDRX cycle ends and the data transfer
window re-opens.

Aeris supports all documented 3GPP values for the eDRX cycle, ranging from ~5s
(5.12) to ~3hrs (10485.76s). Values are represented by bit strings of the form:

EDRX Setting eDRX Cycle

"0000" 5.12s

"0001" 10.24s

"0010" 20.48s

"0011" 40.96s

"0101" 81.92s

"1001" 163.84s

"1010" 327.68s

To configure eDRX on both the u-blox SARA-R410-02b and Quectel BG96

modules, you use the AT+CEDRXS command with the following input parameters:

AT+CEDRXS=2,4,”0011”

This command will set the eDRX interval for ~40 seconds, after which the unit will
be able to receive traffic or will receive any traffic queued on the network.

The response to the command is shown below with the last interval stated as the
network specified paging time window (the period of time the device can be reached).

+CEDRXP: [4,”0011”,”0011”,”0111”]

In the response above the requested and granted eDRX intervals are the first
and second values with the third value representing the length of the paging
window (“0111”=10.24s)

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For this example the unit will have the antenna off for approximately 40 seconds,
followed by an antenna on period of 10 seconds. This period is known as the
paging time window.

Paging Time Value Paging Time Window

0000 1.28s

0001 2.56s

0010 3.84s

0011 5.12s

0100 6.4s

0101 7.68s

0110 8.96s

0111 10.24s

1000 11.52s

1001 12.8s

1010 14.08s

1011 15.36s

1100 16.64s

1101 17.92s

1110 19.20s

1111 20.48s

To disable eDRX when finished with eDRX testing or reconfiguring a device to no

longer use eDRX, use the command as follows:

AT+CEDRXS=0,4

eDRX is indicted by the (0) and LTE-M by the (4).

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Conclusion Additional References
PSM and eDRX provide valuable tools to create battery Aeris Contact Info
powered IoT applications as they provide substantial power https://www.aeris.com/contact-us/
savings. The specific power management method chosen will
depend on the IoT use case. For applications where battery ETSI Technical Specification
management is critical PSM is the best choice. For https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/124000_124099/12400
applications where initiating communication to the device from 8/13.07.00_60/ts_124008v130700p.pdf
the IoT server is of primary concern eDRX is more useful.
GSMA LTE-M Deployment Guide
While it is possible to perform power consumption testing https://www.gsma.com/iot/wp-content/
using the information provided in the user manuals for each uploads/2019/08/201906-GSMA-LTE-M-Deployment-
cellular module, properly setting up and running the tests can Guide-v3.pdf
require significant effort and expertise as PSM and eDRX are
implemented differently for each cellular module. Quectel Command Set
https://www.quectel.com/support/downloadb/
To assist customers utilizing the PSM and eDRX LTE-M TechnicalDocuments.htm
power management methods, Aeris engineers are available
to support customers through the Aeris Trial Program. To U-Blox Command Set
find out more contact info@aeris.net or call 1-888-GO-AERIS https://www.u-blox.com/en/docs/UBX-13002752
(1-888-462-3747).

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