14. Introduction to AT Commands

AT commands are instructions used to control a modem. AT is the abbreviation of ATtention. Every command line starts with "AT" or "at". That's why modem commands are called AT commands. Many of the commands that are used to control wired dial-up modems, such as ATD (Dial), ATA (Answer), ATH (Hook control) and ATO (Return to online data state), are also supported by GSM/GPRS modems and mobile phones. Besides this common AT command set, GSM/GPRS modems and mobile phones support an AT command set that is specific to the GSM technology, which includes SMS-related commands like AT+CMGS (Send SMS message), AT+CMSS (Send SMS message from storage), AT+CMGL (List SMS messages) and AT+CMGR (Read SMS messages).

Note that the starting "AT" is the prefix that informs the modem about the start of a command line. It is not part of the AT command name. For example, D is the actual AT command name in ATD and +CMGS is the actual AT command name in AT+CMGS. However, some books and web sites use them interchangeably as the name of an AT command.

Here are some of the tasks that can be done using AT commands with a GSM/GPRS modem or mobile phone:

Note that mobile phone manufacturers usually do not implement all AT commands, command parameters and parameter values in their mobile phones. Also, the behavior of the implemented AT commands may be different from that defined in the standard. In general, GSM/GPRS modems designed for wireless applications have better support of AT commands than ordinary mobile phones.

In addition, some AT commands require the support of mobile network operators. For example, SMS over GPRS can be enabled on some GPRS mobile phones and GPRS modems with the +CGSMS command (command name in text: Select Service for MO SMS Messages). But if the mobile network operator does not support the transmission of SMS over GPRS, you cannot use this feature.


14.1. Basic Commands and Extended Commands

There are two types of AT commands: basic commands and extended commands.

Basic commands are AT commands that do not start with "+". For example, D (Dial), A (Answer), H (Hook control) and O (Return to online data state) are basic commands.

Extended commands are AT commands that start with "+". All GSM AT commands are extended commands. For example, +CMGS (Send SMS message), +CMSS (Send SMS message from storage), +CMGL (List SMS messages) and +CMGR (Read SMS messages) are extended commands.


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