Special Announcement For All Eddystone Format Beacon Customers (Eddystone beacons broadcast a website URL; this announcement is not applicable to iBeacon customers):
Recently Google announced that they will discontinue supporting the Nearby app on all Android phones on December 6, 2018. What does this mean?
If Google does what they say, Eddystone beacon notifications will not appear on any Android phones from December 6, 2018 onward.
Please note that your Eddystone beacon will still broadcast as normal, but both Android and iPhone users will need to have a beacon app installed on their smartphones in order to see your broadcast. Previously, only iPhones needed such a beacon app, as Android phones all had Google’s Nearby app installed in the factory.
As you can imagine, we here at Blue Charm Beacons are very disappointed about Google’s decision to discontinue supporting their Nearby app. In fact, the entire beacon hardware industry has taken a powerful hit as a result of Google’s decision. As for how this effects our Eddystone format beacon customers, we will be taking the following steps:
1. Any Blue Charm Eddystone beacons purchased within the last 30 days may be returned to us for a refund. Please follow our standard return instructions linked HERE. Please do not return beacons that were purchased (based on order date) more than 30 days ago.
2. If you have a membership on our website, all membership fees already paid for the period beyond December 5, 2018, will be refunded immediately to your current payment card. Refunds will be processed asap but may take 5-10 days to appear on your credit card statement.
3. If you have a membership on our website, all Blue Charm memberships have already been converted to “free of charge”, i.e. you will no longer be charged again for membership.
As for what to do with your beacons now, there are several options to consider, but honestly speaking, nothing as good as Google’s Nearby system. Please CLICK HERE for more information about other options for Eddystone beacon usage.
We are very sorry to be the bearer of this bad news, and wish you the best of luck with your future business development.