Quick Start Guide – BC037 iBeacon

Blue Charm BC037 iBeacon – Quick Start Guide:

The following guide is suitable for either of these two beacons (BC037S and BC037C):

Note: If you have any questions about any of the following instructions, please feel free to CONTACT us any time. We are here to answer your questions or help in any way. Almost all emails are answered by senior support staff within hours. If you don’t receive an answer, check your spam folder.

99% of the problems that beginners have with beacons are just a simple misunderstanding of one of the concepts. Admittedly, the world of beacons is a bit confusing with all of the TX, interval, broadcast, UUID…technical words. Especially since most people don’t understand that BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is actually something different than regular Bluetooth. In other words, don’t feel bad at all if you are a little confused at first. I tried to make it as clear as possible in the instructions below, but that requires lots of words, which sometimes can be a bit boring to read when you are excited about a new beacon you just received in the mail!

Another note: Before we do anything, it should be noted that you can use your beacon straight out of the box just by turning it on (see “turn the beacon on” below). There is no absolute requirement to change the configuration settings.

That said, there are several situations in which you might want to change the settings, so if that is the case, please continue reading.

Get the configuration app

-Download the “Eddystone” app by AXAET from the Google Play Store or from the Apple App Store. (Note: Please don’t be concerned about the confusing name of this app. Even though its name is “Eddystone”, this is the correct app for configuring your Blue Charm BC037 iBeacon).

Turn the beacon on

-Turn on the beacon by pressing and holding down the center button for 2 seconds until the LED light flashes green once, then release the button. Be careful not to double-click the button. A continuous single press is all it needs. 

Video

Here’s a short video showing the rest of the process. Alternatively, you can read the detailed steps below the video.

Next, we have some condensed instructions for the tech savvy. If you feel more comfortable going through it step by step, scroll down this page further to “Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions”. 

Condensed Instructions

  1. Turn the beacon on. It will be connectable for two minutes after you turn it on. 
  2. Use the app to connect to the beacon within this two minute period. If time runs out, turn the beacon off (long press until red LED) then back on again (long press until green LED) to make it connectable again. Be careful not to double click. Two second continuous single button presses are what is needed. Pause a couple seconds between turning it off and on to avoid an accidental double press.
  3. Connect to the beacon by tapping on its name, pBeacon_n, on the app screen.
  4. On the configuration page after connecting, make changes to the parameters you wish to change. (If you connect to the beacon and you see ID1 and ID2 instead of the pictures below, your beacon is in the wrong mode; please go click HERE to switch the beacon back to iBeacon mode.)
  5. When done with all your desired changes, enter the password (666666 is the default password), then tap on Modify at the bottom of the screen. (On some phones, the password text entry box may be covered up by your phone’s keyboard. If so, use your phone keyboard’s “Next” key or tap on the Name entry box to reveal the password entry box).
  6. After tapping Modify, the beacon will automatically shutoff (you will see the LED flash red once if you are paying close attention, signifying the beacon has been shut down). The “pBeacon_n” device name will still appear on the Eddystone app unrefreshed main screen beacon list, but if you click the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, you will see that it disappears from the list (because the beacon has been shut down and is no longer broadcasting).
  7. Turn the beacon on again and tap the app’s refresh circle to see it appear in the Eddystone app main screen again.
  8. Remember, the device name will still show as “pBeacon_n” for the first two minutes, signifying it is connectable during this time. Just wait two minutes, refresh the scan by clicking the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, and the correct device name (the one that you modified or perhaps “BlueCharm” if you did not modify it) will appear. The iPhone version app screen will now show that the beacon is “CONNECTABLE: NO”; that is totally fine since you no longer need to connect to it.
  9. That’s it. Your beacon is broadcasting now. You never need to connect to it again unless you need to change the configuration. Remember that beacons are not like Bluetooth headphones: you do not need to connect to or pair with beacons for them to function. They operate independently from your smartphone.

Detailed Step-by Step Instructions

-The beacon will be connectable for two minutes after you turn it on. (“Connectable” means you can connect to it with your smart phone and the Eddystone app to configure its settings). The beacon device name will appear in the Eddystone app screen as “pBeacon_n” during this connectable period.

-When the beacon is in iBeacon mode and connectable, the Android app screen will show “DeviceName: pBeacon_n(iBeacon).” The iPhone app screen will show “deviceName: pBeacon_n”. If the DeviceName shows as pBeacon_(Eddystone URL), pBeacon_n(Eddystone UID), pBeacon_n(UID), or pBeacon_n(URL), then your beacon is not in iBeacon mode. If you connect to the beacon and you see ID1 and ID2 instead of the pictures below, please go click HERE to switch the beacon to iBeacon mode.

-If the deviceName shows as “BlueCharm” (or perhaps some other name that you have already changed it to) then the beacon has been turned on for over 2 minutes and is no longer connectable for configuration. If you have already configured the beacon, then that’s perfect. If you have not yet configured the beacon, you will need to turn the beacon off, wait 3 seconds, then turn it back on again to make it connectable again (Device Name will then show as pBeacon again).

-To change the configuration of the beacon, use the Eddystone app to connect to the beacon during this connectable period. (If you don’t see the beacon on the list, refresh the scan by clicking the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen; if the two minute connectable window has expired, then turn the beacon off and back on again). To connect with the beacon, click on its name on the screen.

-After connecting with the beacon, you will then be able to change the parameters according to your preference (see below for details about parameters). Finally, enter the beacon password:

The password for Amazon.com beacons shipped after Dec 20, 2018 is 666666.
The password for beacons ordered on our website or on eBay is 666666.
The password for Amazon.com beacons shipped on or before Dec 20, 2018 is 888889.

After entering the correct password, click modify at the bottom of the configuration screen. (On some phones, the password text entry box may be covered up by your phone’s keyboard. If so, use your phone keyboard’s “Next” key or tap on the Name entry box to reveal the password entry box).

–The beacon will now automatically shutoff (you will see the LED flash red once if you are paying close attention, signifying the beacon has been shut down). The “pBeacon_n” device name will still appear on the Eddystone app unrefreshed main screen beacon list, but if you click the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, you will see that it disappears from the list (because the beacon has been shut down and is no longer broadcasting).

–Turn the beacon on again and tap the app’s refresh circle to see it appear in the Eddystone app main screen again.

–Remember, the device name will still show as “pBeacon_n” for the first two minutes, signifying it is connectable during this time. Just wait two minutes, refresh the scan by clicking the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, and the correct device name (the one that you modified or perhaps “BlueCharm” if you did not modify it) will appear. The iPhone version app screen will now show that the beacon is “CONNECTABLE: NO”; that is totally fine since you no longer need to connect to it.

-Your beacon is now broadcasting your iBeacon broadcast.

-Once configured, the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons operate totally independently from your phone. You can take your phone 1000 miles away from the beacon or turn your phone off; there will be no effect on the beacon. The beacon will just keep on broadcasting its iBeacon broadcast. It is not like a regular Bluetooth device that needs to be connected to your phone to operate. So once it is configured to your wishes, don’t connect to it in any way anymore. Just turn the beacon on to broadcast, and turn it off to stop broadcasting.

-If you wish to stop broadcasting, turn off the beacon by pressing and holding down the center button for 2 seconds until the LED light flashes red once, then release the button.

BC037 Apple iBeacon Configuration Parameters

When the beacon is set to iBeacon mode, the default configuration settings are as follows:

Broadcast Mode: iBeacon
Device Name: pBeacon_n (when connectable) or BlueCharm (when not connectable). The regular non-connectable device name can be reconfigured to any name with maximum length of 10 characters. The connectable device name will always remain as pBeacon_n.
URL weblink broadcasting: not available in this mode.
UUID: Main app screen shows 426C7565-4368-6172-6D42-6561636F6E73. If you do want to change it, please enter new UUID in the modification screen WITHOUT dashes. (link to random UUID generator)
Major (ID2): 3838. Can be reconfigured to any number between 0-65535
Minor (ID3): 4949. Can be reconfigured to any number between 0-65535
Period: 1000 milliseconds (i.e. 1 second). Can be reconfigured to any number between 100 and 9000.
Tx Power: 0 dBm. Can be reconfigured to -23, -6, 0, or 4 with the Android app version. Can be reconfigured to -23, -6, or 0 with the iPhone app version.
Calibrated RSSI at 1 meter: -64 dBm. This number is factory-set and can not be modified.

Blue Charm BC037 Apple iBeacon Password Change:

PLEASE NOTE: The password for Amazon.com beacons shipped after Dec 20, 2018 is 666666. The password for beacons ordered on our website or on eBay is 666666. The password for Amazon.com beacons shipped on or before Dec 20, 2018 is 888889.

If you change the password and then forget it later, there is nothing we can do to help you. Without the correct password, you will no longer be able to modify the beacon settings. There is no way to reset the beacon to restore the old password or to recover the new password. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

-Use the same process described above to connect to the beacon. Click on the small gold key icon in the upper right corner of the modification screen. You will then be taken to the password modification screen. Enter the old password, then enter the new password twice. Click modify (or OK on the iPhone version) to save it.

–The beacon will now automatically shutoff (you will see the LED flash red once if you are paying close attention, signifying the beacon has been shut down). The beacon device name will still appear on the Eddystone app unrefreshed main screen beacon list, but if you click the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, you will see that it disappears from the list (because the beacon has been shut down).
-Turn the beacon on again to see it appear in the Eddystone app screen again.
-Remember, the device name will still show as “pBeacon_n” for the first two minutes, signifying it is connectable during this time. Just wait two minutes, refresh the scan by clicking the refresh circle in the upper right hand corner of the app screen, and the correct device name (the one that you modified or perhaps “BlueCharm” if you did not modify it) will appear.

Click here to see how to change the battery in this beacon.