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I am currently exploring retail advertising options. I am interested in AltBeacon as it is an open standard. I have a basic question, if someone can answer

Is it possible to programmatically change AltBeacon broadcasting power of both (i) iOS devices and (ii) Android devices to any random value within the range -40 dbm to 4 dbm instead of being limited to the fixed adjustable power levels only?

It seems that, Locate App allows changing broadcasting power to predefined adjustable power levels only

Simon S
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The Android Locate app's predefined levels mirror those of the Android operating system (high, medium, low, ultra low). On Android it is not possible to adjust the transmission power at a finer level.

On iOS, the broadcast power is not adjustable at all. It is fixed at the equivalent of the high season greetings on Android.

It is also important to note that iOS cannot broadcast an AltBeacon packet at all, because the OS limits the ability to advertise manufacturer advertisements to those matching the iBeacon format.

EDIT On Android, the output power levels are not specified in dBm. However, tests on a Nexus 5 at 1m showed the following:

AdvertiseSettings.ADVERTISE_TX_POWER_HIGH -56 dBm @ 1 meter with Nexus 5 AdvertiseSettings.ADVERTISE_TX_POWER_LOW -75 dBm @ 1 meter with Nexus 5 or AdvertiseSettings.ADVERTISE_TX_POWER_MEDIUM -66 dBm @ 1 meter with Nexus 5?

davidgyoung
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  • According to this link: https://github.com/Decemberlabs/AltBeacon, AltBeacon is an alternative to iBeacon that allows iOS devices to be advertised (that means transmit) in the background, which is not currently possible with iBeacon. The link claims that, iOS devices can broadcast an Altbeacon format. What is your view on that? – Simon S Aug 28 '18 at 01:15
  • The DecemberLabs project also uses the name "AltBeacon" but it is not the same as the AltBeacon.org project by the same name. The DecemberLabs project by the same name defines a very different beacon format explicitly designed to advertise in the background on iOS. Confusing, I know! – davidgyoung Aug 28 '18 at 13:12
  • Ok, if I want to consider open standard beacon formats which can be used on Android devices and/or iOS devices for carrying out the functions similar to Locate app, what are the options for each of Android devices and iOS devices to broadcast and receive beacons? – Simon S Aug 29 '18 at 03:56
  • The big limitations are advertising and background limits on iOS. Of the widely used formats, only iBeacon (proprietary) is allowed to transmit, and only in the foreground. The DecemberLabs AltBeacon project works to advertise in the background on iOS, but it cannot be detected in the background on iOS. The AltBeacon.org format also cannot be detected in the background on iOS, and it cannot be advertised on iOS at all. Eddystone-UID can be detected (slowly) in the background on iOS, but cannot be advertised on iOS at all. No silver bullet on iOS! – davidgyoung Aug 29 '18 at 04:14
  • That means in iOS devices, only DecemberLabs AltBeacon can be transmitted (on both background and foreground) and detected (only on foreground), is my understanding correct? Can DecemberLabs AltBeacon be transmitted (background/foreground) and detected (background/foreground) by Android devices as well? – Simon S Aug 30 '18 at 04:41
  • In theory you could build Android support for the DecemberLabs AltBeacon format, but nobody has done so to date. You'd have to build this yourself. – davidgyoung Aug 30 '18 at 11:16
  • ha ha ha, then why not build from scratch a new beacon format which will be compatible with all OS/devices? The underlying technology is always Bluetooth, beacon is only a library at the software level. Feel free to correct me – Simon S Aug 31 '18 at 18:41
  • Not all operating systems allow you to transmit and/or detect bluetooth packets of specific types in all modes. Apple iOS is notoriously restrictive. This is the key constraint. DecemberLabs AltBeacon is explicitly designed to work around Apple's background limitations, but nobody has done the work to make it interoperable with Android. – davidgyoung Aug 31 '18 at 19:22
  • What is the DecemberLab AltBeacon advertising packet structure? Does DecemberLab AltBeacon advertising packet also contain UUID, major ID, minor ID and RSSI at 1 meter? – Simon S Sep 01 '18 at 03:27
  • This is quite off topic from the original question. I suggest you read the GitHub readme page for the DecemberLabs AltBeacon project then post a new question as needed, either in this forum or on their GitHub issue page. – davidgyoung Sep 01 '18 at 12:31
  • What are the broadcasting power levels of Android (high, medium, low, ultra low) and iOS (high) in dbm? Can you also answer to this: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52049493/how-to-programmatically-set-uuid-major-id-and-other-properties-at-1m-in-al – Simon S Sep 01 '18 at 21:16
  • One question per StackOverflow posting, please! – davidgyoung Sep 02 '18 at 00:44