Let me share my first experience with the Proximity Beacon and let me just say the user experience is just awful. I started with one beacon to test, enabled iBeacon and Eddystone-URL added my URL and checked it with the physical web link checker provided in the app. Make sure the settings were updated, locked my phone and waited, nothing happened. Ok so much for plug and play maybe there’s a setting I’m missing, no problem went to the estimote website, out the estimote youtube channel to see their detailed video on the Proximity Beacon, none to be found. 27 videos and not a single one breaking down how to use the beacon. A little discerning, so I search other you tubers for maybe an answer, none.
In the app when you go to the beacon details > Broadcasting under iBeacon or any of the Eddystone packets under Transmit Power (Tx) if you move the range all the way down to 5ft and hit the back button (which apparently is their submit button??) it doesn’t change it to 5ft, if you do 12ft that works…. wtf.
After spending time in the app settings I created my cloud account to see if I can find maybe some other options that aren’t in the app. Wow, there’s a ton more options in the Beacon Settings area. I see Motion Detection is turned off and that would be something I’d like to experiment with (couldn’t find that option in the settings… super) So I see “Pending changes” in the cloud UI and it tells me “Some of your devices have pending settings. Connect to them with the Estimote iOS App or the Estimote Android App to apply changes.” WTF is the point of being able to remotely update the beacons but then I also have to use the app to… what… approve the changes and if so there’s no where in the app that says I have settings that are pending.
Also 1 of the 4 beacons that used to show up now doesn’t. It just keeps flashing and that’s it. I’ve spend hours trying to trouble shoot all of these issues and I have nothing to show for it. Just broadcasting a URL should of been plug-in-play, no more than 30 min tops to be up and running. I should of went with kontakt beacons.