The "SmartDocs" bar can customize this page to show only the features present on a particular Zebra device.
OSX, MX and Android version information for a device can be found in the Android Settings panel or by querying the device through ADB, EMDK or the MX CSP. More info.
Beacon Manager (BeaconMgr) controls the signal emitted by the secondary Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio of supported devices (see below) when powered off. To configure the primary BLE radio, please see the Android BLE APIs and Bluetooth LE classes.
The BLE beacon emitted from a device can be detected by an app running on another device and used for a variety of purposes. Beacon Manager facilitates administrative control over beacon contents and settings such as emission power and interval, which can help balance battery consumption with detectable range.
One solution that leverages BLE beaconing is Zebra Device Tracker, which can help locate misplaced devices by honing in on their BLE beacons. See Zebra Device Tracker for more information and a list of supported devices.
Some devices require a software update to operate with BeaconMgr
* Optional BLE-enabled battery required
Note: In this document, the terms emission and transmission are used interchangeably.
The secondary BLE radio of some devices is located in the battery. Such devices are subject to the following behaviors:
Controls whether a beacon is transmitted by a device when the device is powered OFF. Off by default.
Parm Name: Beaconing
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Do not change | This value (or the absence of this parm from the XML) causes no change to device settings; any previously selected setting is retained. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
1 | Turn ON | Enables beacon transmission when device is powered off. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
2 | Turn OFF | Disables beacon transmission when device is powered off (default). |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Controls whether beaconing by a BLE-enabled battery resumes when the battery is reinserted into any supported, powered-off device. On by default.
Parm Name: Beaconing
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Do not change | This value (or the absence of this parm from the XML) causes no change to device settings; any previously selected setting is retained. |
MX: 10.5+ Android API: 26+ |
||
1 | Turn ON | Allows beaconing to resume when a battery is reinserted into a powered-off device (default). |
MX: 10.5+ Android API: 26+ |
||
2 | Turn OFF | Prevents beaconing from resuming when the battery is reinserted into a powered-off device. |
MX: 10.5+ Android API: 26+ |
Controls whether a beacon is transmitted by a device when powered OFF while in Airplane Mode. Disabled by default. Airplane Mode can be administered on the device using Settings Manager.
IMPORTANT: When a device is placed in Airplane Mode, all device radios are switched off, including the device's beacon emitter. If a device is powered off while in Airplane Mode, the setting contained in the Beaconing in Airplane Mode parameter comes into play.
Device behavior for this mode is as follows:
If "Turn On" is selected, a beacon is emitted if the device is turned off while in Airplane Mode until the device battery runs out or the device is powered on again. This setting allows BLE radio transmissions from a powered-off device, which could be undesired in some situations.
If "Turn Off" is selected, no beacon is emitted when the device is turned off while in Airplane Mode.
In this scenario, the beacon would be unavailable to help locate a powered-off device.
Parm Name: BeaconingInAirplaneMode
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Do not change | This value (or the absence of this parm from the XML) causes no change to device settings; any previously selected setting is retained. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
1 | Turn ON | Enables beacon transmission if device is powered off while in Airplane Mode. See Warning, above. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
2 | Turn OFF | Disables beacon transmission if device is powered off while in Airplane Mode. See Warning, above. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Controls the type of beacon transmitted for locating a lost device when it's powered off. AltBeacon, an open specification for determiniing device proximity, is enabled by default. If "Custom" is selected (option 3), specify custom proximity protocols using the CustomBeaconData parameter.
Parm Name: BeaconType
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Do not change | This value (or the absence of this parm from the XML) causes no change device settings; any previously selected setting is retained. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
2 | AltBeacon | Enables the AltBeacon open device beacon specication (default). |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
3 | Custom | Enables the custom custom beacon specification as entered in the CustomBeaconData parameter. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Used to enter the power level (in decibels per milliwatt, or dBm) for beacon transmission. Select a value that balances power consumption and transmission power to optimize device detection range. Option 1 (1 dBm) is selected by default.
Parm Name: TxPowerLevel
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | High (1 dBm) | Sets the highest beacon transmission power level for maximum detection range. Uses the most device power (default). |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
2 | Medium (-7 dBm) | Sets a moderate beacon transmission power level, conserving power and reducing detection range slightly. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
3 | Low Power (-15 dBm) | Sets a low beacon transmission power level, conserving power and reducing detection range. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
4 | Ultra Low Power (-21 dBm) | Sets a very low beacon transmission power level, conserving power while reducing detection range to a minimum. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
5 | Custom (-127 dBm to 1 dBm) | Allows a custom value to be entered using the CustomTxPowerLevel parameter. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Used to enter a power level (in decibels per milliwatt, or dBm) for beacon transmission.
Input value rules:
Shown if: Transmit Power Level is "Custom"
Parm Name: CustomTxPowerLevel
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter the amount of time (in milliseconds) between each beacon transmission. Select a value that balances power consumption and transmission frequency to optimize device location. Option 1 (100 ms) is selected by default.
Parm Name: TxInterval
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Do not change | This value (or the absence of this parm from the XML) causes no changes device settings; any previously selected setting is retained. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
1 | Low Latency (100 ms) | Causes a beacon to be transmitted approx. 10 times per second. This option uses the most device power. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
2 | Balanced (250 ms) | Causes a beacon to be transmitted approx. four times per second. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
3 | Low Power (1000 ms) | Causes a beacon to be transmitted once per second. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
4 | Custom (100 ms to 10240 ms) | Allows a custom value to be entered using the CustomTxInterval parameter. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Used to enter the amount of time (in milliseconds) between each beacon transmission. Allowable range is 100 ms (10 transmissions per second) and 10240 (one transmission every 10 seconds).
Input value rules:
Shown if: Transmit Interval is "Custom"
Parm Name: CustomTxInterval
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Controls whether an explicit beacon UUID will be entered. If unchecked, a self-generated, device-specific UUID is used (default).
Parm Name: ExplicitBeaconUUID
Option | Name | Description | Note | Status | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | (unchecked) | Disables entry of an explicit beacon UUID. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
||
1 | (checked) | Enables entry of an explicit beacon UUID. |
MX: 10.2+ Android API: 29+ |
Used to enter a 32-character AltBeacon UUID in hexadecimal format.
The 20-byte AltBeacon data format contains 40 hexadecimal characters of information divided into the UUID (32 hexadecimal characters) plus ID1 (4 hexadecimal characters) and ID2 (4 hexadecimal characters).
Input value rules:
Shown if: Beacon Type is "AltBeacon" and Explicit Beacon UUID is "checked"
Parm Name: AltBeaconUUID
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter the ID1 portion of the AltBeacon UUID. Default value of EBEB
is used if this parameter is missing or left blank.
The 20-byte AltBeacon data format contains 40 hexadecimal characters of information divided into the UUID (32 hexadecimal characters) plus ID1 (4 hexadecimal characters) and ID2 (4 hexadecimal characters).
Input value rules:
Shown if: Beacon Type is "AltBeacon"
Parm Name: ID1
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter the ID2 portion of the AltBeacon UUID. Default value of ECDD
is used if this parameter is missing or left blank.
The 20-byte AltBeacon data format contains 40 hexadecimal characters of information divided into the UUID (32 hexadecimal characters) plus ID1 (4 hexadecimal characters) and ID2 (4 hexadecimal characters).
Input value rules:
Shown if: Beacon Type is "AltBeacon"
Parm Name: ID2
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter custom or proprietary UUID, URL and other data for beacon transmission. Accepts as many as 56 hexadecimal characters; must follow Bluetooth SIG Advertising format.
.pdf
Input value rules:
Parm Name: CustomBeaconData
Requires:
- MX: 10.2+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter the Manufacturer Byte or a custom value in the AltBeacon advertising packet. Default value of 00
is used if this parameter is missing or left blank.
Input value rules:
Shown if: Beacon Type is "AltBeacon"
Parm Name: MfgByte
Requires:
- MX: 10.5+
- Android API: 29+
Used to enter the Reference Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) value, which can be helpful for extrapolating the relative distance to a device beacon based on its signal strength. If this parameter is missing or left blank, a calculated value is inserted that is the RSSI value received at one (1) meter distance from device emitting the beacon at its selected TX Power Level. NOTE: Calculated value varies by device.
Input value rules:
Shown if: Beacon Type is "AltBeacon"
Parm Name: RefRSSI
Requires:
- MX: 10.5+
- Android API: 29+
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<parm name="Beaconing" value="1"/>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<parm name=" BeaconingInAirplaneMode " value="1"/>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="BeaconType" value="2"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="BeaconType" value="2"/>
<parm name="ExplicitBeaconUUID" value="1"/>
<parm name="AltBeaconUUID" value="123456789abcdef123456789abcdef12"/>
<parm name="ID1" value="AAAA"/>
<parm name="ID2" value="BBBB"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="BeaconType" value="3"/>
<parm name="CustomBeaconData" value="1affF101beacd69cad1c04fca07052bcc0896b0f7764aaaabbbbc5"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="TxInterval" value="1"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="TxInterval" value="4"/>
<parm name="CustomTxInterval" value="2000"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="TxPowerLevel" value="1"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>
<wap-provisioningdoc>
<characteristic type="BeaconMgr" version="10.2" >
<characteristic type="BeaconParameters">
<parm name="TxPowerLevel" value="5"/>
<parm name="CustomTxPowerLevel" value="-24"/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>