Can an Android device act as an iBeacon?

by

YES This is possible on Android 5+, and you can find open-source code for transmitting as a beacon in the Android Beacon Library. There is also a full-featured version of a beacon transmitter in the Beacon Scope app in the Google Play Store.

Here’s an example of transmitting iBeacon with the Android Beacon Library:

Beacon beacon = new Beacon.Builder()
        .setId1("2f234454-cf6d-4a0f-adf2-f4911ba9ffa6")
        .setId2("1")
        .setId3("2")
        .setManufacturer(0x004c)
        .setTxPower(-59)
        .build();
BeaconParser beaconParser = new BeaconParser()
        .setBeaconLayout("m:2-3=0215,i:4-19,i:20-21,i:22-23,p:24-24");
BeaconTransmitter beaconTransmitter = new BeaconTransmitter(getApplicationContext(), beaconParser); 
beaconTransmitter.startAdvertising(beacon);

You can also transmit as a beacon on rooted Android 4.4.3 devices, but it requires an app installed with system privileges.

Android 4.3 devices with BluetoothLE can see iBeacons but not act as iBeacons, because Android 4.3 does not support peripheral mode. Samsung Android devices contain a separate proprietary SDK but it also does not allow devices to act as iBeacons. See: Make Samsung Android device advertise as an iBeacon) iOS devices, however, can act as iBeacons.

Normally, iBeacon technologies are not intended for phones to see other phones. But you could do what you suggest on iOS by making a custom app that makes phones act as an iBeacon and look for other iBeacons around them. This would allow anybody with the app to see others with the same app nearby. All phones would need Bluetooth turned on.

To answer your second question, yes, a mobile device, both Android or iOS, must have an app installed to take advantage of iBeacons. Neither operating system currently does anything when it sees an iBeacon unless an app is installed that is specifically programmed to do something. So customers who arrive in a store must have an app already installed or they cannot interact with iBeacons.

More Related Contents:

  1. Android 4.3 Bluetooth Low Energy unstable
  2. Estimating beacon proximity/distance based on RSSI – Bluetooth LE
  3. Find all Bluetooth devices (headsets, phones etc) nearby, without forcing the devices in discoverable mode
  4. Bluetooth Low Energy startScan on Android 6.0 does not find devices
  5. Location needs to be enabled for Bluetooth Low Energy Scanning on Android 6.0
  6. Android Broadcast Receiver bluetooth events catching
  7. How to programmatically force bluetooth low energy service discovery on Android without using cache
  8. Should one create a bond with a Bluetooth LE device
  9. Android BLE API: GATT Notification not received
  10. Which correct flag of autoConnect in connectGatt of BLE?
  11. How to pair Bluetooth device programmatically Android
  12. Android 12 New Bluetooth Permissions
  13. How to capture key events from bluetooth headset with android
  14. Does BluetoothLeAdvertiser work on a Nexus 5 with Android 5.0?
  15. How to keep Bluetooth connection background?
  16. How many devices we can pair via Bluetooth of BLE to Android?
  17. Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?
  18. Sniffing/logging your own Android Bluetooth traffic
  19. How to send file using bluetooth on android programatically?
  20. android BluetoothDevice.getName() return null
  21. Android device as a receiver for A2DP profile
  22. Sending a File using Bluetooth OBEX Object Push Profile (OPP)
  23. Get Bluetooth local mac address in Marshmallow
  24. Is the native Android BLE implementation synchronous in nature?
  25. Application using bluetooth SPP profile not working after update from Android 4.2 to Android 4.3
  26. How to create Insecure RFCOMM Socket in Android?
  27. Since marshmallow update Bluetooth discovery using BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter().startDiscovery(); is broken
  28. Android Bluetooth Serial/RFCOMM/SPP, How to Change the BAUD RATE?
  29. How can I avoid or dismiss Android’s Bluetooth pairing notification when I am doing programmatic pairing?
  30. Android Bluetooth Example [closed]

Leave a Comment