How to configure a Gimbal beacon with Eddystone URL

*** IMPORTANT NOTICE ***

Gimbal's support for Eddystone-URL on Gimbal beacons is limited to helping you create and apply the appropriate configuration to your Gimbal Beacon as per Google's specifications.  Google is responsible for all other support related to their Physical Web, Nearby and Eddystone-URL.

As of October, 2017, Google has announced that they are no longer pursuing support for Eddystone-URL and their Physical Web.  Your can read their post here though realize that as the original cross-platform Beacon manufacturer, Gimbal's SDK and beacons continue to work seamlessly across both iOS and Android in support of application developers looking to provide micro-location-based experiences.

This means that Google has removed all support for Eddystone-URL beacons from Chrome for iOS and will most likely do so for Chrome for Android as well.  On Android, support remains within Google Play Services & Nearby Notifications which can still allow an Eddystone-URL beacon to show a URL on an Android screen.

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How to configure a Gimbal beacon with Eddystone URL

While most of Gimbal's customers use the Gimbal SDK and hence do not need to reconfigure beacons, some customers may wish to reconfigure a Gimbal beacon to broadcast an Eddystone-URL so that an app is not required.  This allows Eddystone-URL / 'Physical Web' compatible browsers and most newer Android devices to see/visit the URL being broadcast by the beacon.

In this article, we'll walk you through how to:

• Create an Eddystone-URL configuration for your Gimbal Beacon
• Assign the configuration to your Gimbal Beacon
• Apply the configuration to your Gimbal Beacon
• How to see the Eddystone-URL being broadcast from your Gimbal Beacon

Create an Eddystone-URL configuration for your Gimbal Beacon

1. Ensure that your Gimbal Beacon is activated. (Visit Activating a Gimbal Beacon if you need help doing this)
2. In Gimbal Manager, Create a New Configuration 
3. The fields needed for Eddystone-URL are:
4. Configuration Name: whatever you would like to call your configuration
5. Configuration Type: Eddystone

• URL Frame: Check the 'Broadcast URL' box
• URL Frame / URL Scheme: Choose the type of website you'll be linking to based on its URL (for instance, https://)
• URL Frame / URL: The remaining portion of the URL (for instance, gimbal.com/)

Note:  Not all types of web links will work.  We suggest using this Eddystone URL validator to make sure things will work for you: https://beaufortfrancois.github.io/sandbox/physical-web/url-validator/

Note: Nothing under URL/EID Frame, Telemetry Frame, nor any of the advanced options need be configured for a basic Eddystone-URL configuration

Assign the configuration to your Gimbal Beacon

1. Visit Gimbal Manager -> Beacons and find the activated beacon you'd like to assign your Eddystone configuration to, then click on its Name
2. On your beacon's detail screen, click the Configuration button at the top of the screen
3. Next to 'Assigned Configuration', choose the name you used for your Eddystone Configuration in the prior section from the dropdown, then press the Save button.  Your Eddystone Configuration is now assigned and ready to be applied to your Gimbal Beacon.
4. To apply the configuration, you'll need the Gimbal Beacon Manager mobile application available for both iOS and Android from your respective App Store.  Download, launch and then login to the application using the same Gimbal Manager credentials (and organization selection, if applicable) that you used to activate your beacon previously.

Apply the configuration to your Gimbal Beacon

1. Ensure that the Beacon you wish to apply the configuration to is powered off or that its battery has been removed
2. In the Gimbal Beacon Manager app, choose Configure from the pull down menu (three lines in the upper left corner of the app). Make sure that the application stays visible on the screen during the configuration process
3. Power on the Beacon by switching the internal switch from Off to On (or for the Series 10 or Series 20 beacon, by inserting the battery(ies).
4. Within a few seconds, the Gimbal Beacon Manager application will detect the Beacon and connect to it.  If Gimbal Beacon Manager does not connect to the Beacon within 10 seconds, make sure that your mobile device has a network connection and then power off and power on the Beacon again. If you continue to experience problems please contact Gimbal support for assistance
5. Follow the on-screen instructions in the Gimbal Beacon Manager application to apply any firmware and/or configuration updates. Once complete, disconnect from the Beacon in the Gimbal Beacon Manager application (or in some cases, it will disconnect automatically)
6. Your Beacon will automatically exit configuration mode and will now have the new Eddystone configuration applied to it
7. Verify in Gimbal Manager -> Beacons that the given beacon you've reprogrammed shows the same configuration in both the 'Assigned' and 'Applied' fields.  If they don't match, please repeat the reprogramming steps listed above. (example below of what you should see though note that your Configuration Name will match whatever you have used)

How to see the Eddystone-URL being broadcast from your Gimbal Beacon

• The easiest way to verify that your Eddystone-URL configuration is working on your beacon is to use the Gimbal Beacon Manager mobile application for iOS.  (Unfortunately, the Gimbal Beacon Manager mobile application for Android does not support seeing Eddystone-URL at this time). 
• As of the most recent update to this article, Chrome for Android still has access to 'Physical Web' beacons.  You can enable 'Physical Web' within Chrome's settings under the Privacy section.
• If you have a recent Android device, you can go into Settings and under Google Services enable Nearby and related functionality to see URLs.
• Google also provides additional functionality via its Beacon Dashboard -https://developers.google.com/beacons/get-started .  This page has a wealth of other information that may be useful though please realize that only Gimbal's Beacon Manager mobile Application can be used to program Gimbal Beacons and we provide no additional support for anything listed here (attachments, the dashboard, etc.)

If you have further questions, please Submit a Support Request and we'll do our best to assist.