Beacon Setup Tip: Advertising Type

Bluetooth beacons are tiny devices that transmit small amounts of data over short distances using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. They can operate with different protocols, like iBeacon (developed by Apple), Eddystone (developed by Google), and various sensor beacon protocols.

Despite the fact that it might seem these beacons can advertising multiple protocols simultaneously, it’s not quite the case. What they actually do is advertise these protocols one after the other in a very rapid sequence. This is due to the way Bluetooth works; it’s not technically possible to transmit multiple signals at the exact same moment. Instead, the beacon switches between the different protocols very quickly, which to a casual observer, or a smartphone, might seem simultaneous.

This rapid succession is made possible by BLE’s advertising mechanism. Beacons, in their idle state, continuously broadcast their identity, and potentially other information, in what’s called ‘advertising packets’. When they’re configured to use multiple protocols, they broadcast an iBeacon packet, then an Eddystone packet, then a sensor beacon packet, and so on in a cycle. This is repeated at a very high frequency, many times per second.

However, while this flexibility is advantageous in certain scenarios where various beacon protocols are required, it’s not always necessary and drains the beacon’s battery more quickly. This is because each advertising event consumes energy, and broadcasting in multiple protocols effectively multiplies the number of these events.

Many beacons are set up to advertise multiple protocols by default. If you don’t need this functionality, you can optimise battery life by disabling unnecessary protocols. This is done using a manufacturer-provided app. The exact process can vary between manufacturers and beacon models, but it generally involves connecting to the beacon, accessing its settings and then deselecting the protocols you don’t need.

While multiple-protocol advertising can be useful in certain situations, it’s often more battery efficient to only use the specific protocols you actually need for your application.

Bluetooth Low Energy Throughput

There’s new research by Institute of Electronics and Computer Science, Universite Grenoble Alpes, France on Bluetooth Low Energy Throughput in Densely Deployed Radio Environment (PDF). It looks into coexistence issues when Bluetooth is used in a crowded 2.4GHz frequency band where other devices such as Classic Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee and microwave ovens might also be operating.

The paper starts with a theoretical discussion of the throughput of Bluetooth LE.


Experiments used ten Bluetooth nodes to measure Bluetooth application throughput using various connection parameters and different interference sources. Two WiFi routers were used to evaluate the impact of WiFi on the BLE throughput.


The researchers found:

The more Bluetooth devices are working simultaneously, the more drastically Bluetooth throughput is decreasing… The Bluetooth co-interference causes throughput decrease for longer connection intervals. This behaviour could be explained by collisions in data transfer channel.

Also:

The effect of WiFi interference does not depend on the BLE connection interval. In this study, WiFi activity reduced BLE throughput approximately by 30% regardless of the connection interval.

These tests used Bluetooth GATT to form connection between devices. Some applications of Bluetooth LE, such as the use of beacons and AoA direction finding, don’t use GATT other than for initial setup. GATT implies connection between devices while beacons and the sole use of advertising and listening, rather than connection, is a different form of communication not covered by this paper. We have a post on Managing Bluetooth LE Advertising Congestion and Fixing Poor Bluetooth Beacon Radio Signals if you wish to explore this topic in more detail.

Beacon MAC Addresses

The beacon MAC address is the Bluetooth LE MAC address, or Media Access Control address, a 48-bit identifier that uniquely identifies a Bluetooth device. The address is fixed address at time of manufacture and can’t be changed.

To find the Bluetooth MAC address of a beacon you use the configuration app that is supplied with the beacon to scan for the beacon. Alternatively, on Android, you can use nRF Connect. The MAC address is also sometimes stamped on the beacon case or an an attached sticker.

The MAC address can be used to uniquely identify devices. However, if you are reading from smartphone apps, it’s more usual to use the unique iBeacon id that is contained in beacon advertising because this can be detected by smartphone OS APIs. The MAC address tends to be used more in real time locating systems (RTLS) as a unique id that’s independent of the type of advertising.

Many newcomers make the mistake of trying to use, and set, the Bluetooth name as a unique id. This isn’t reliable and instead you should use the MAC address or iBeacon id.

New Bluetooth Location Market Research

Bluetooth SIG, the organisation responsible for Bluetooth standards, has a new Bluetooth® Market Update in collaboration with ABI Research. Bluetooth covers a large range of device types and application areas. Here are some insights related to location services.

Bluetooth location services device growth will trend significantly upward and return to pre-pandemic forecasts due to heightened awareness of the benefits of Bluetooth location services. There will be 2.46x growth in annual Bluetooth location services device shipments from 2023 to 2027.

Bluetooth real time location systems (RTLS) are set for rapid growth. New regulatory and safety requirements in manufacturing, stricter compliance procedures and sustainable operation requirements are making RTLS solutions more attractive. There will be 178,000 Bluetooth® RTLS implementations by the end of 2023. Many commercial and industrial facilities are now relying on asset tracking solutions to optimise resource and inventory control. The commoditisation of off-the-shelf Bluetooth asset tracking gateways and beacons are major drivers behind continued growth. 112 million Bluetooth asset tracking devices will ship in 2023.

Read about BeaconRTLS™

Read about PrecisionRTLS™

Bluetooth Classic vs Bluetooth LE

Beacons use Bluetooth Low Energy (LE). Some people confuse this with ‘Bluetooth Classic’ so here’s concise explanation.

Bluetooth Classic or, more technically, Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) is an older Bluetooth standard announced in 1998. Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) was introduced in 2010, as part of the Bluetooth 4.0 specification. It came out of Nokia’s previous Wibree technology.

Although Bluetooth Classic is older, it is not obsolete and is instead used for different types of applications such as streaming audio and video. Bluetooth Classic is used when transferring files by Bluetooth between devices, such as photos, videos, and documents. It’s also commonly used for hands-free calling in vehicles. Bluetooth Classic is also used in medical devices such as glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, and heart rate monitors to transmit data to smartphones or other devices. Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) requires pairing, the process of establishing a secure wireless connection between the two Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Bluetooth LE is designed for applications that require lower power consumption and low data transfer rates such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, beacons and other IoT devices. It uses a different protocol for data transmission which allows it to achieve higher throughput using smaller packet sizes. Bluetooth LE does not need pairing.

Both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE use the 2.4GHz unlicensed frequency band which is part the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency band. Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE differ in how they use the frequency and can coexist together.

How to See Bluetooth LE Advertising on Android and iOS

To see Bluetooth LE advertising on smartphones, you can use a Bluetooth scanner app. These apps are available from the App Store and Google Play Store and can be downloaded and installed on your smartphone.

To use a Bluetooth scanner app, follow these steps:

  1. Open the App Store Google Play Store on your device and search for “Bluetooth scanner” or “Bluetooth advertising”.
  2. Select a Bluetooth scanner app that you want to use and install it on your device. nRFConnect is a well-known scanner, provided by Nordic Semiconductor, the manufacturer of the Bluetooth System-on-chip in most beacons.
  3. Once the app is installed, open it and enable Bluetooth on your device, if it is not already enabled.
  4. The app will scan for nearby Bluetooth devices that are broadcasting advertising packets. It will display a list of the devices it finds, along with their names and other information.
  5. You can tap on a device in the list to see more details about it, such as its Bluetooth address (only on Android), signal strength, and any advertising data that it is broadcasting.

In summary, using a Bluetooth scanner app is a simple and effective way to see Bluetooth advertising on an smartphones. These apps allow you to see the devices that are broadcasting advertising packets, as well as the data that they are transmitting.

The Advantages of Bluetooth Over RFID

Bluetooth and RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) are both wireless communication technologies that are used for a variety of applications, including asset tracking, data transfer, and access control. While both technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages, some of the main advantages of Bluetooth over RFID include:

  1. Range: One of the main advantages of Bluetooth over RFID is that it has a longer range. Bluetooth devices can typically communicate with each other over distances of up to 30 meters (100 feet), while RFID tags have a much shorter range of only a few centimeters. This means that Bluetooth can be used for applications where a longer range is required, such as tracking the location of assets in a warehouse or building.
  2. Data transfer: Another advantage of Bluetooth over RFID is that it can be used for bi-directional data transfer, allowing devices to both send and receive data. In contrast, RFID tags are typically only capable of transmitting a limited amount of data, such as an identification number or other simple information. This makes Bluetooth a better option for applications that require more complex data transfer, such as IoT sensing, transferring files or images between devices.
  3. Immediacy and reliability: RFID usually requires manual swiping while Bluetooth is continuously providing updated location. Not having to rely on manual swipes makes Bluetooth more immediate and reliable.
  4. Security: Bluetooth also offers better security compared to RFID. Bluetooth devices use a pairing process to establish a secure connection before exchanging data, while RFID tags do not have this capability. This makes Bluetooth a more secure option for applications that require sensitive data to be transferred, such as financial transactions or access control.

Overall, while both Bluetooth and RFID have their own advantages and disadvantages, Bluetooth offers a longer range, better data transfer capabilities, more immediacy and reliability and improved security compared to RFID. This makes it a better choice for applications that require these features.

View Bluetooth Beacons

Fixing Poor Bluetooth Beacon Radio Signals

In most cases beacons ‘just work’ but it’s sometimes the case that beacon detection is erratic. A beacon might be detected but not all the time. Problems can be due to the strength and/or quality of the received signal. The first step is to quantify the signal strength so you can measure it at various distances and beacon positions. The post on Testing if a Beacon is Working explains how to use an app such as nRF Connect to measure signal strength (RSSI) using a smartphone.

nRFConnect detecting beacons

If you are not getting a large enough signal at longer distances then try increasing the transmit power. This is labelled ‘Tx power’ in most setup apps. Make sure it is at least 0dBm and increase it to +4dBm for a longer range. Note that changing from 0dBM to +4dBm will reduce battery life by over a half. Another option is to use a beacon with a longer range.

Minew setup tx power

Another reason for poor detection is blocking of the line of sight. The degree of blocking depends on the blocking material. The post on What Can Block Beacon Signals? provides more information.

If beacon detection is erratic irrespective of the distance you need to look into the relationship between how often the beacon is advertising vs how often the receiver is listening. The post on Why Bluetooth LE Scanning Doesn’t Always See Devices (the First Time) provides a detailed explanation. This kind of problem can often be solved by decreasing the advertising period. This is sometimes labelled ‘Advertising interval’ as in the above example screenshot. Again, reducing this by, for example, a half will halve the battery life. It needs to be 600ms or less if iOS is to reliably detect beacons.

It’s rare but there’s also the possibility of too many Bluetooth signals advertising at the same time. You can learn more in the articles on Managing Bluetooth LE Advertising Congestion and The Affect of the Number of Beacons on the Detection Time.

New Bluetooth Location Services Infographic

The Bluetooth SIG, who manage the Bluetooth standards, have a new infographic on location services based on figures from ABI Research.

Some insights:

  • The leading location services category is Retail and Services at 62%.
  • Smartphones are helping drive adoption.
  • There will be 35% compound annual growth in Bluetooth location devices from 2022 to 2026.
  • There will be 547,000 Bluetooth RTLS implementations by 2026.

Learn about BeaconRTLS™

View Bluetooth Beacons

Using Bluetooth LE with React Native

There’s a useful new article at Stormotion on how to use Bluetooth LE with React Native. The article explains the difference between Bluetooth LE and Classic Bluetooth and details the differences between the two main libraries when integrating Bluetooth LE into React Native apps.

The article also provides information on what apps to use to test Bluetooth LE and has insights on how to avoid the common problems.