Proximity beacons and wireless IoT sensors broadcast small advertisement packets (GAP data) without requiring active pairing. Whether you are deploying Apple iBeacon infrastructure for indoor location tracking or receiving environmental sensor readings via Google Eddystone-TLM, here is how to capture and parse these packets on Windows.
Understanding BLE Beacon Formats
- Apple iBeacon: Broadcasts a 16-byte Proximity UUID, a 2-byte Major number (e.g. store branch), a 2-byte Minor number (e.g. aisle or shelf), and calibrated TX Power at 1 meter.
- Google Eddystone-UID & URL: Encodes namespace/instance IDs or short broadcast web links.
- Eddystone-TLM: Telemetry frame broadcasting battery voltage, chip temperature, advertising packet count, and system uptime.
- Custom Manufacturer Data: Custom company ID payloads (e.g. Microsoft 0x0006, Apple 0x004C, Nordic 0x0059).
Capturing & Parsing Beacon Data with fTool BLE Scanner Pro
Start Passive Advertising Scan
Open fTool BLE Scanner Pro and begin scanning. Filter by RSSI signal strength to focus on nearby transmitters.
Automatic Beacon Decoding
When an iBeacon or Eddystone beacon is detected, fTool BLE Scanner Pro automatically extracts and formats UUIDs, Major, Minor, TX Power, and calculated distance estimates.
Raw Byte Breakdown & CSV Export
View the raw hex payload with highlighted data structure boundaries, and export time-series signal telemetry to CSV for analysis in Excel or Python.
fTool BLE Scanner Pro for Windows 11 & 10
The developer-grade Bluetooth LE toolkit for Windows: automatic iBeacon/Eddystone decoding, GATT explorer, raw packet inspection, and signal logging.