RYLR998 UART Interface 868/915 MHz Lora Module with Antenna FCC CE NCC IC Certification

These are cool little LoRa modules, and they absolutely do work, but they need to be treated like a fragile UART modem, not a magic wireless serial pipe. I used a pair of RYLR998 boards with an ESP32-S3 on one side and an STM32 Nucleo on the other for a LoRa link validation project, eventually sending correction-like test packets and logging receive quality. Once configured properly, the modules transmitted and received reliably enough to be useful, and the AT command set is simple enough to get on the air quickly. For basic telemetry, remote sensors, hobby control links, or bring-up work, these are a solid value. The main warning is that reliability depends heavily on disciplined UART handling. Always terminate commands correctly, wait for "+OK" or "+ERR" after every command, and do not treat "+RCV" as confirmation of the previous command. "+RCV" is asynchronous receive data, and it can show up while your firmware is waiting for an AT command response. I also found that long "AT+SEND" payloads, turnaround timing, retries, and "+ERR=12" events need to be handled deliberately. This is not a high-throughput transparent serial cable, and it has limited buffering/hidden modem behavior that can make debugging annoying. That said, after I separated command responses from receive events, preserved partial lines, waited for real command responses, and stopped blasting commands blindly, the modules became useful. Good board, good price, but write your firmware like you’re talking to a picky little radio modem, because that’s exactly what you’re doing.

The REYAX RYLR998 LoRa Module is an excellent choice for long-range wireless communication projects. Setup was straightforward using the UART interface, and the documentation provided made integration smooth. The module delivers stable performance with strong signal coverage, and the included antenna works well to maximize range. I really appreciate that it comes FCC, CE, and NCC certified, which adds confidence for both hobby and professional use. The build quality feels solid, and it has been running reliably in my IoT test setup without any issues. Overall, this is a high-quality LoRa module that’s easy to work with and provides excellent value. Perfect for IoT, remote sensing, and low-power wide-area applications. Highly recommended!

I have not used them in a completed project yet but I have played around with them and they seem to work well. Easy to connect to a computer, Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Easy to setup. Commands are easy to use. I haven’t tested the range yet.

This is the first Lora module I've worked with and I like that its a UART device so programming is as simple as any other serial device. The format for the messages is well documented as are all of the AT commands to configure it. I'm very impressed with it. I've been able to get good clear messages as far as 1.5Km despite being in a bit of a topographic hole. It would be much better if I had no obstructions but... I will say that the antenna solder pads are very delicate and I had one of them break free so the antenna moved around and was no longer connected. These things are tiny and fit on the head of a dime so just be careful with them and they should be fine.

After buying several these I did a simple range test, using two of them. I live in Chicago, in a neighborhood where all the houses are brick and usually two stories tall. The houses are tightly packed together with tiny yards, so I'd say this is a typical dense urban environment. I left the RYLR998 at the default frequency of 915 MHz. I put one on the desk in the 2nd floor of my house. The other I stuck in a breadboard and walked around the neighborhood to see how far the signal would reach. I was sending the single uppercase character 'P' from the one in my hand every second and the one on my desk was programmed to auto-respond with the single lowercase character 'p'. The maximum usable range was 1500 feet or about a quarter mile (rssi=-112 snr=-11). After this it starts dropping almost all of my single-byte packets. I was actually extremely impressed with this performance, since my home wifi starts to drop out at only 50 feet in this city environment. Things which I didn't test: taking the stationary module outside instead of leaving it in the house. Also I didn't test using other frequencies. Using my radio scanner I checked 915 MHz. There was some weak noise but nothing too strong.

[Edit 2024-05-13] Regarding stability: I wrote some C code, replacing the micropython, and found that the key to getting reliability is not to simply DELAY, but to always check for +OK or +ERR after each time sending data to the LoRa module, including when setting up configuration. The code works fine without a single sleep,, and spends most of its time waiting for serial input from the module. I am not counting +RCV as confirmation for the previous request sent over serial to the module. [Edit 2024-05-09] Did some distance testing, had an echo-server on second floor at home, and another with me, which lit a led while getting echoes in return, and turning it off if no data received. There are a bit of both low and high buildings here, and I am impressed with the range. Did not see signal strength, only success or failure, through the led, but got clear signals at least 3-400 meters away, through some threes, and even behind small bumps in the landscape. I had been worried that having only one inside the house would greatly limit range, if not in line with a window, but that didn't seem to matter. Incredible little radios!! [Original review] I started out using an FTDI chip from my Linux PC, but got +ERR=1 on every keypress. It seems the terminal emulators I tried sent each keypress, instead of buffering up a line, and send it followed by \r\n which the LoRa chip expects. So I hooked up two Raspberry Pi Pico to control the LoRa modules, and in front of that, two Raspberry Pi, flashing them with micropython and developing with thonny. Getting the first message across was easy, but it felt unreliable. After some testing I figured out that after each command is sent to the LoRa module, it is best to delay a couple of seconds before the next, as well as reading any serial input as well before the next command. I tried connecting from basement to two floors up, and it works great, at -50 signal strength. I am very satisfied with the result so far, and look forward to do outdoor testing.

Cool little transceivers. Simple AT command structure with a usable default configuration. The only caveat is that they do not buffer messages, and the need a CR/LF end to each line. Putty cannot send a CR/LR so use Tera Term. To get around the buffering of messages, I suggest copying and pasting the whole message (with the newline) into terminal so that it all gets sent together. I did end up writing some Arduino code with a QT-py board to do the buffering and CR -> CR/LF conversion for me so that I can just type commands into Putty. Wasn't too bad, I'll update this review with the code if I post it on github. Videos show 8+ km range with the default settings and the little curly antennas. I'd expect with some settings changes to a lower bitrate these could go well over 10 miles but no proof. Overall awesome little boards, theres also a version with an antenna connector for using a proper 915 MHz dipole antenna.

This device works excellent and the range is very good. Best I have tested so far and easy to setup and code. I was able to send some Arduino Json payloads.

Funcionan muy bien aunque es importante resaltar que únicamente mediante un protocolo propietario, por lo que no son módulos LoRaWAN. Si esto se requiere, el módulo RYLR993 posee ambas modalidades y funcionan también de maravilla. He podido transferir datos de ida y vuelta a aproximadamente 5km

ممتاز

UN muy buen producto para realizar proyectos de electrónica y radiocontrol

The packaging is good and the functionality is superb easy to use with most microcontroller I have three drawbacks about this module First : even if I use 22dBm the max distance is 500 meters in urban areas i will try to update the antenna and see the results Second: the price is a bit hight for using this module for selling solutions based on this module there are some other Lora modules 1/4 the price of this one considering its distance range. Third: I have tried so many times to change the band of the module from 915MHz but I could not Every time I use the AT command to change the band it gives me a feedback that the is changed but when I disconnect the module and reconnect it again the band back to 915MHz

Funcionan pero he batallado bastante desde el inicio con ellos. Incluso mandando mensajes de un sensor de un cuarto a otro y algunos mensajes se pierden, a veces deja de recibir mensajes por horas o incluso por dias. Nunca entendi la razon. Siempre se utilizo la potencia maxima permita y nada.