How to parse iBeacon identifiers from Altbeacon's bootstrap and start application with them?

Question

I'm trying to get the bootstrap to gather id2 and id3 from iBeacons and start an activity with them. The problem is that the application wouldn't start from the intent and I keep seeing D/BeaconService﹕ Calling ranging callback D/Callback﹕ attempting callback via intent: ComponentInfo{com.rp_ds.chequeplease/org.altbeacon.beacon.BeaconIntentProcessor}

Below is my code:

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    Log.d(TAG, "App started up");
    beaconManager = BeaconManager.getInstanceForApplication(this);
    beaconManager.setDebug(true);
    // Add AltBeacons Parser for iBeacon
    beaconManager.getBeaconParsers().add(new BeaconParser().setBeaconLayout("m:2-3=0215,i:4-19,i:20-21,i:22-23,p:24-24"));
    // wake up the app when any beacon is seen (you can specify specific id filers in the parameters below)
    region = new Region("com.rp_ds.chequeplease.bootstrapRegion", Identifier.parse("F8EFB5C2-9FFF-47AE-8C8D-D23C417882D1"), null, null);
    regionBootstrap = new RegionBootstrap(this, region);
    backgroundPowerSaver = new BackgroundPowerSaver(this);
    _appPrefs = new AppPreferences(this);
}

@Override
public void didDetermineStateForRegion(int arg0, Region arg1) {
    // Don't care
}



@Override
public void didEnterRegion(Region arg0) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Got a didEnterRegion call");
    try {
        beaconManager.startRangingBeaconsInRegion(arg0);
    } catch (RemoteException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    // This call to disable will make it so the activity below only gets launched the first time a beacon is seen (until the next time the app is launched)
    // if you want the Activity to launch every single time beacons come into view, remove this call.
}

@Override
public void didExitRegion(Region arg0) {
    // Don't care
}

@Override
public void didRangeBeaconsInRegion(Collection<Beacon> beacons, Region region) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Got a didRangeBeaconsInRegion call");
    for(Beacon beacon:beacons) {
            if(null!=beacon.getId2()&&null!=beacon.getId3()) {
                Intent intent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
                _appPrefs.setRestaurantID(beacon.getId2().toInt());
                _appPrefs.setTableNumber(beacon.getId3().toInt());
                // IMPORTANT: in the AndroidManifest.xml definition of this activity, you must set android:launchMode="singleInstance" or you will get two instances
                // created when a user launches the activity manually and it gets launched from here.
                intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
                this.startActivity(intent);
                Log.i(TAG,"Application started");
                try {
                    beaconManager.stopRangingBeaconsInRegion(region);
                } catch (RemoteException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
    }
}

}

I do get a didEnterRegion call but there wasn't a didRangeBeaconsInRegion call. The beacons are also recognized.

D/BeaconParser﹕ This is a recognized beacon advertisement -- 0215 seen
D/BeaconIntentProcessor﹕ got an intent to process
D/RangingData﹕ parsing RangingData
D/RangingData﹕ parsing RangingData
D/BeaconIntentProcessor﹕ got ranging data
D/BeaconIntentProcessor﹕ but ranging notifier is null, so we're dropping it.

Do you ever see the debug line "Got a didEnterRegion call"? Try adding a debug line to the top of `didRangeBeaconsInRegion` and see if you get that, too. — davidgyoung, Nov 25 '14 at 11:31
Also, please look for any log lines that read like below and add them to your answer if you see them (or report if you do not see them): `D/BeaconParser( 1772): This is a recognized beacon advertisement -- beac seen` — davidgyoung, Nov 25 '14 at 11:45
@davidgyoung I do get a didEnterRegion call but there wasn't a didRangeBeaconsInRegion call. Wonder if the logs I've provided would help. Could it be because of the ranging notifier being null? — odell, Nov 26 '14 at 01:26

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 26 '14 at 10:49

The range notifier needs to be set like this:

@Override
public void didEnterRegion(Region arg0) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Got a didEnterRegion call");
    try {
        beaconManager.startRangingBeaconsInRegion(arg0);
        beaconManager.setRangeNotifier(this);
    } catch (RemoteException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

Make sure the containing class implements the RangeNotifier interface.

How to parse iBeacon identifiers from Altbeacon's bootstrap and start application with them?

1 Answers1