EDIT: With Google discontinuing Nearby Notifications starting on December 6th, 2018, users will no longer be able to receive notifications through Eddystone-URL.
Nearby Notifications are powered by Google Beacon Tools (also referred to as Eddystone Configuration Service). It's a feature that allows you to send silent notifications to nearby Android devices without the need for an app. It's very similar to Eddystone-URL but it also gives you some additional capabilities on top of its "older brother". Read more about it on Google Developer pages.
Keep in mind that since it's Google's product, we do not offer any support with it. The only thing we can assist you with is setting the beacons up to work with Nearby Notifications. We cover this below:
How can I enable Eddystone Configuration Service?
You can enable it on:
- Proximity Beacons (only the latest, third-generation - J1.6)
- Location Beacons
- Location Beacons with UWB
To enable Eddystone Configuration Service, connect to a beacon with the Estimote app and disable all the packets (e.g. Estimote Monitoring, Estimote Telemetry, iBeacon, Eddystone-URL etc). You won't be able to use ECS if any packet is enabled.
Then, disconnect from a beacon and open the Estimote Cloud. Find the beacon you just disabled all the packets on and click on "Edit Settings". Then, open the Advanced Settings and under "Connectivity Packet" choose "on" from the drop-down list next to Eddystone Configuration Service.
Once you enable it, connect to the beacon once again in the Estimote app to apply the change. If, however, even a single packet was still active on a beacon, you'll see the following alert.
If that happens, make sure you disable all the packets and retry.
Afterward, you can provision and set up the beacon using Beacon Tools app. The default hex key is 00000000000000000000000000000000 — remember to update it later via the Beacon Tools App!
NOTE: Keep in mind that enabling the Eddystone Configuration Service means beacons will only work with the Google Developer Platform. To use Estimote Cloud, you would need to revert the settings. To do that, open the beacon's settings in Estimote Cloud, then turn Eddystone Configuration Service to Off, and connect to the beacon using the Estimote app or the Deployment app.