Watch a 64-port unit being set up
This third-party video shows a unit of the same type being unboxed, fitted with SIMs and antennas and connected. It is a useful visual companion to the written steps below. We did not make the video, and one feature it mentions, IMEI changing, is something we neither support nor recommend; altering an IMEI is an offence in the UK.
1. Unbox and position the unit
In the box: the chassis with 64 modules fitted, a bag of SMA stub antennas, a mains lead and a USB cable. Place the unit on a firm surface with a few centimetres of clearance at the ventilated sides. If it will live in a cabinet, plan antenna extension leads now; 64 modules crowded into a steel enclosure with poor signal will spend their time re-registering.
2. Fit the antennas
Screw one stub antenna onto each SMA socket you intend to use, finger-tight. Do not over-tighten. Where signal is marginal, use SMA extension leads to bring antennas to a window or fit a multi-port antenna panel. Unused channels can be left without an antenna if their module is switched off.
3. Insert SIMs
Each module has a SIM holder on the top plate; the card slides in without opening the chassis. Note which number goes in which channel (rows are labelled 1-16, 17-32, 33-48, 49-64). Use SIMs with the PIN disabled, or configure your software to send AT+CPIN at start-up. Standard and micro sizes fit. UK buyers: use EE, Vodafone or O2 SIMs; Three SIMs will not register on 2G (see the UK guide).
4. Connect power and USB
Plug the mains lead into the IEC inlet and switch on at the illuminated rocker. Connect a USB A-to-B cable from each of the two USB1 (USB-B) ports on the front panel to your computer; one cable per 32-channel bank. The USB2 (USB-A) ports are for chaining a second pool, not for the host. Switch on the modules you are using with their individual power switches.
5. Drivers and port enumeration
Linux: nothing to install. Run ls /dev/ttyUSB* and you should see 64 devices (32 per bank). dmesg | tail shows them attaching. Add your user to the dialout group or run your SMS software with permission to open the ports.
Windows: install the USB-serial driver from the quick-start sheet supplied with the unit (Windows 10 and 11 often find it automatically). Device Manager then lists 64 COM ports under Ports (COM & LPT). Note the COM numbers; Windows assigns them in USB order and they are stable as long as you use the same USB sockets on the host.
6. First AT commands
Open any serial terminal (PuTTY, minicom, screen, or the Arduino serial monitor) on one port at 115200 8N1 and try:
AT → OK (module alive)
AT+CPIN? → +CPIN: READY (SIM present and unlocked)
AT+CSQ → +CSQ: 18,0 (signal 0-31; above ~10 is usable)
AT+CREG? → +CREG: 0,1 (registered on home network)
AT+COPS? → operator name
AT+CMGF=1 → OK (text mode)
AT+CMGS="+447700900123"
> Test from channel 1 <Ctrl-Z>
→ +CMGS: 1, OK (message sent)If AT+CREG? returns 0,2 the module is still searching; give it a minute and check signal. 0,3 means registration was refused; the SIM is probably on a network with no 2G (for example Three) or is barred.
7. Install SMS software
For anything beyond a test, use software that manages all 64 ports: it keeps modules registered, queues and routes outbound messages, stores inbound ones, handles delivery reports and gives your applications an API. Gammu-SMSD (open source, runs one daemon per modem with a shared database) and Kannel (a full SMS gateway with HTTP interface) are widely used on Linux; playSMS adds a web front end. Commercial SMS servers for Windows support modem pools out of the box. Configure each port with the same settings you used in step 6, then send through the software rather than the terminal.
8. Chaining a second unit (optional)
To run two pools from one host cable per bank, connect the second unit's USB1 ports to the first unit's USB2 ports. The host then sees 128 serial ports. Bandwidth is ample for SMS.
Still stuck?
Email us with the operating system, what appears in Device Manager or dmesg, and the output of the first AT commands, and we will help. See technical support.