What's the battery life of Estimote beacons? Can I optimize it?

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There are two kinds of Estimote Beacons: Estimote Proximity Beacons and Estimote Location Beacons.

The current version of Estimote Proximity Beacons (hardware revision D3.4) ships with a 1000 mAh CR2477 coin battery and default settings of 950 ms Advertising Interval, -12 dBm Broadcasting Power, and Smart Power Mode feature enabled. It allows for two years of battery life.

Location Beacons (hardware revision F2.3) are shipped with 1000 mAh CR2477 coin battery, the default settings are 950 ms Advertising Interval, -10 dBm Broadcasting Power with Smart Power Mode on. It offers five years of battery life.In practice, battery performance depends on a number of factors:
  • Power Modes
  • conditional broadcasting
  • beacon settings
  • environmental effects
    • Depending on the above, the beacon can live on a single battery from a couple of months to as long as five to ten years, depending on the beacon. Smart Power ModeSmart Power Mode allows beacons to conserve more battery power. It's enabled by default.Smart Mode uses advanced adaptive algorithms to automatically optimize power usage. If there is no one around, a beacon with Smart Mode enabled will broadcast data less often, to save battery. When a user appears in range, the beacon will go back to broadcasting at a normal rate, defined by its Advertising Interval setting.With the latest firmware update, there's no need for Basic Power Mode, it is integrated into Estimote Connectivity Packet, improving the battery performance by about 30 percent.To access Power Mode:
  • open the Estimote app
  • go to the Devices screen
  • log into your Estimote Account
  • connect to a beacon
  • tap Remaining Battery Life and you'll be able to manage the Power Mode.
    • You can also manage Power Modes remotely, with Estimote Cloud. Log into your Estimote Account at cloud.estimote.com and check the beacons of your choice. Click Edit and choose Smart Power Saving to turn it on/off. Remember that the changes need to propagate.Read more about remotely managing beacons via Estimote Cloud. Conditional broadcastingEnabling conditional broadcasting makes beacons go ‘mute’ if specific conditions, based on sensor readings, are met. If the beacon does not broadcast, it uses much less energy. Currently, there are three conditional broadcasting modes:
    • Flip to Sleep: beacon is mute when its on its back
    • Motion Only: beacon is mute when it’s still
    • Motion UUID: beacon is always on (therefore does not conserve battery), but broadcasts a different UUID when in motion
    Location Beacons additionally support:
  • Dark to Sleep mode: beacon is mute at a certain light level.
  • Scheduled advertising: beacon broadcasts only during set period.
    • Read more about conditional broadcasting and its benefits elsewhere. Adjust beacon settingsYou can adjust beacon settings yourself to improve battery performance. Advertising Interval and Broadcasting Power have the biggest impact on both battery life and signal stability. By default, they're set to 950 ms and -12 dBm respectively, but you're free to adjust those settings to fit your specific use case—if you do, Estimote app and Estimote Cloud will show you the estimated battery lifespan with your current settings.Settings range:
    • Broadcasting Power can range from -30 dBm to +4 dBm
    • Advertising Interval can range from 100 ms to 2000 ms

    ![image](upload://vqZRrB825qZ4pqmhtbVbz24fQfE.PNG)

    In general, the greater the power, the bigger the beacon's range, and the shorter its lifetime. Advertising interval describes how frequently a beacon broadcasts its signal. As you lower the interval, the "blinks" become more frequent and the signal becomes more stable. The battery, however, is drained much faster with a shorter interval.

    ![image](upload://t6pjzmGTozTRwmynB8rSjFfwN6Q.PNG) Replacing the battery

    If your beacons have already run out of juice, nothing to worry about — you can easily replace the dead battery!

    We are shipping beacons with removable enclosures now. You can simply replace the battery by removing the white adhesive, and removing the PCB through the Y-shaped (H-shaped for Location Beacons) hole in the beacon's base.

    If you bought Estimote Beacons before December 2015, you'll need to follow this flow:

    1. You're going to need a sharp object to be able to cut the beacon open.
    2. Buy a new battery - 1000 mAh CR2477 coin battery (600 mAh CR2450 if you have hardware revision D3.3 or older).
    3. Hold the beacon firmly with one hand, and cut along the top of the enclosure. Be extra careful!
    4. Now you can remove the PCB through the hole and simply slide the old battery out from under the battery holder and replace it with the new one. The "+" side should be facing up.
    5. Reach out to us at contact@estimote.com and provide us with your shipping address. We will send you free enclosures to reskin your beacons.

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