EDIT: With Google discontinuing Nearby Notifications starting on December 6th, 2018, users will no longer be able to receive notifications through Eddystone-URL.
Eddystone is a BLE format developed by Google. It’s open and multiplatform, so you can use it with both Android and iOS. There are four types of data a beacon can broadcast with Eddystone, described by three frames:
- Eddystone-URL for broadcasting URL addresses
- Eddystone-UID for broadcasting beacons IDs
- Eddystone-TLM for beacon telemetry.
- Eddystone-EID for security.
Looking for the technical details behind Eddystone? Take a look at our Developer Portal.
Eddystone-URL and Physical Web
You may have come across the Physical Web without associating it with Eddystone. Eddystone-URL is the BLE format for the Physical Web.
How does it work in practice? Just imagine that you walk by a movie poster. There’s a beacon broadcasting an Eddystone-URL behind the poster: if you approach it and pull up your phone, you will get a notification with the link to the trailer on YouTube in the browser.
What do you need to work with Eddystone-URL and Physical Web? Check out our guide.
Eddystone UID
Eddystone-UID is a format similar to iBeacon, but instead of UUID, Major, and Minor, it uses values called Namespace and Instance. Apps can be scanning for those values to trigger specific actions when in proximity to a beacon broadcasting Eddystone-UID.
Eddystone-UID contains an identifier of a beacon. An app installed on the phone can use the identifier to trigger the desired action, just like with iBeacon.
Eddystone EID
Eddystone EID is the secure variant of Eddystone UID. It's to Eddystone UID what Estimote's own SecureUUID is for iBeacon — a way of making sure that only your own app will be able to recognize the beacon and serve content based on its unique (and changing) Namespace and Instance. Learn how to set it up here.
How to enable Eddystone on Estimote Beacons?
Proximity Beacons can be switched to Eddystone protocol and can only broadcast one packet at a time. With Location Beacons, you can broadcast multiple packets simultaneously: no need to pick.
You can use the Estimote iOS or Android app to switch to Eddystone.
Make sure your beacons have the latest firmware (3.1.1 and later).
- Open Estimote app and log in
- Go to "Devices"
- Connect to the beacon by tapping on it in the Radar or List view.
- Choose 'Packets' field
- Tap the packet you'd like the beacon to broadcast
- Tick 'Enable' and it's done!
In Android version of the Estimote app, just scroll down the beacons details to enable the packet of your choice.
You can also do it via Estimote Cloud too. Pick a beacon, click "Edit Settings" and go to the preferred packet on the sidebar to the left to enable it.
How to enable Eddystone on Estimote Stickers?
Estimote Stickers support the Eddystone-URL format.You can follow exactly the same flow. Make sure to update the firmware to the latest version first, and you are good to go.