5 Most Common MOKO Beacon Questions Answered

Bluetooth beacons are small, but their impact can be huge. As businesses have been increasingly embracing MOKO Smart’s Bluetooth beacons for asset tracking, proximity marketing, indoor location and navigation, personnel security, and much more. We often get questions asking how to configure MOKO beacons and enquiries about the different protocols and versions of MOKO Bluetooth beacons.

Understanding what beacons can and cannot do, how they’re deployed, and what to expect from them long term takes more than scanning a QR code and sticking a tag to the asset. Here are some of the most frequently asked 5 questions about MOKO Bluetooth beacons. To help you get the most out of your beacon deployment, the collection of MOKO beacon questions is necessary and helpful. Here is the Bluetooth beacon troubleshooting guide.

Why can’t my phone or app detect the beacon?

This is by far the most frequent question we receive from customers during their first days of deployment. That said, it’s rare for beacons to fail and if the problem is with detection, it’s more likely to be the smartphone settings, app permissions, or environmental factors. Here are some troubleshooting tips:

• Make sure that your MOKO beacons are actually powered on and broadcasting. It sounds obvious, but pull-tabs on battery insulator tab are sometimes forgotten, or batteries may be drained from storage.
• Our app, BeaconX Pro, needs Location, Bluetooth, and Storage permissions. Double-check your phone settings to make sure all these are granted.
• Be sure you’re scanning for the right beacon, especially if you see several Bluetooth devices nearby.
• Some phones (around 5%, mostly Android) have faulty Bluetooth beacon detection functionality. Try running the app on a different phone or OS.
• Avoid scanning while someone else is configuring the beacon. When connected, it won’t show up properly on other phones.
• Try rebooting your phone or resetting the beacon (remove and reinsert the battery if possible).

You can also use the Nordic nRF Connect app to detect if the beacon is working. If you still can’t get it working, email our support team, and it’s better to describe your problem in detail and any error messages. If you conclude you have a faulty beacon, contact us for a replacement.

How do I configure my MOKO beacon settings (UUID, Tx power, intervals)?

Most MOKO beacons, like the H series and W series ones, are typically configured via the BeaconX Pro app (iOS/Android). After powering on the device, you can use your smartphone as a Bluetooth Center to scan and discover the beacon in the app. After selecting the Beacon firmware options of your beacon, you can press the “Connect” button and then input the default password, usually “Moko4321“. Now you can successfully enter the SLOT interface to configure your device.

There are six advertisement slots that can be configured separately, and different device types will show different advertisement frames. For each SLOT, you can configure and modify Frame type (including Eddystone – TLM, UID, URL, iBeacon, Device infor, 3-axis Acc, T&H), ADV content, ADV parameters, and Trigger. Under ADV Parameters, you can adjust the adv interval (100ms~10000ms), RSSI (usually 100dBm~0dBm), and TX Power according to your specific use case. Note that shorter intervals (100-200ms) provide more responsive detection but drain batteries faster. So does higher power. So, it’s better to test all the settings thoroughly in your actual environment before full deployment

You may also be interested in our article on How to Set Up MOKO Beacons for iBeacon and Eddystone Protocols.

What’s the difference between iBeacon and Eddystone? Which should I use?

Eddystone and iBeacon are two main beacon protocols using the BLE advertising format. Fortunately, most MOKO beacons support both formats simultaneously. You can check the details of supported advertisement frames in different device types in our APP User Guide. All MOKO beacons, whether iBeacon, Eddystone, or sensor beacons, are compatible with iOS and Android.

iBeacon was developed by Apple in 2013 and works great for proximity services. It’s straightforward, just consists of UUID, major, and minor identifiers. Eddystone came from Google and offers more flexibility with multiple frame types, including Eddystone-TLM, Eddystone-UID, Eddystone-URL.

Different protocols have different data payload capacities and options for transmitting information. It’s possible that you’ll need to weigh between one factor and another when choosing protocols. The data structure of each protocol, which is important in most use cases, also has an influence on the complexity of your mobile application development, with the same implications for overall development cost. So the choice often comes down to your ecosystem preferences and specific use case requirements. For most users, iBeacon is simpler to implement. Choose Eddystone if you need URL broadcasting or Google ecosystem integration.

What’s the range of MOKO beacons, and what factors affect detection distance?

Out of all the MOKO beacon questions, range and detection reliability are some of the most asked. MOKO beacons generally offer a range from 2–3 meters to over 200 meters. Asset tags like the M1P can reach 230m in open wide areas. The range can vary based on TX Power settings and environmental conditions, as well as interference from other electronic devices.

TX Power determines the beacon’s signal strength; raising it extends range but shortens battery life. For instance, increasing from 0dBm to +4dBm will cut battery life by more than half. Some MOKO BLE tags support Coded PHY mode; under “SETTING >>> ADV mode,” you can enable the Long Range feature. Coded PHY typically multiplies the range compared to 1M PHY.

Concrete walls can weaken the signal by 10–15dB, often halving the detection distance. Metal barriers, elevator shafts, and large machinery cause even greater loss. WiFi interference is also common since BLE and WiFi share the 2.4GHz band.

For deployment, always run real-world range tests with your MOKO beacons in the actual environment.

What’s the battery life of MOKO beacons, and how can I extend it?

MOKO beacons typically last 1-5 years under standard settings, though this varies by model. Most of MOKO’s H series personnel tags can last 3-5 years, and M series (M3, M5, M6) industrial asset tags provide a longer battery life of 5-10 years. Location anchors, since often installed on hard-to-reach locations, come with 10+ years of operation.

Extending battery life involves breaking the problem down by swapping out power-hungry settings for more efficient ones. In the BeaconX Pro app, increasing the ADV Interval from 100ms to 1000ms can triple the battery life. Also, reducing TX Power from +4dBm to -12dBm can significantly save power. If your beacon has sensors, reducing measurement frequency from every 10 seconds to every 10 minutes makes a significant difference. Also, disable unused advertisement slots since each active slot consumes power even when broadcasting empty frames.

Anyone working with large deployments will usually need models with replaceable batteries and should take advantage of power-saving modes that automatically adjust settings based on usage patterns.