BLE Micro-Spot Relay - Pairing Process

The BLE Micro-Spot Relay needs to be paired with a compatible Smartspot in order for it to function. A maximum of eight external BLE-connected reader devices can be paired to a single Smartspot. Pairings are always bound to a (virtual) antenna number on the Smartspot, so that the device can be treated as if it were a physically connected reader antenna.

Smartspot Checklist

1. The chosen Smartspot should be capable of BLE device pairing. The Smartspot BLE Only comes with this feature. Other Smartspot products may support it as a custom hardware option. In Brain versions 2.8 and later, Smartspots capable of BLE device pairing have a  button in the Device Manager.
2. The Smartspot should be favourably positioned. BLE is similar to WiFi in this aspect, so guidelines for optimal WiFi access point placement can be used. Pairing with devices on a different floor level is not recommended in most environments.
3. The Smartspot should have the following settings in most situations (see How to change Smartspot settings):
   • Basic - Automatic hold time: Disabled.
   • Basic - Fixed hold time: 10 seconds.
   • Aggregator - Antenna presences: Enabled.
   • Aggregator - Antenna report interval: 50 deciseconds.
   • Bluetooth Smart - Receive beacons: Enabled.

How to Pair a Device

There are several ways of pairing devices with Smartspots. These will be described in the following sections, ordered from simple to advanced.

With some pairing methods it is technically possible to pair one device to multiple Smartspots. This should be avoided at all times because it will lead to unpredictable behavior.

Option 1: Automatic pairing with pinhole button

The Intellifi BLE Micro-Spot Relay has an automatic pairing mode. Automatic pairing is done through the following steps.

1. Power both the BLE Micro-Spot Relay and the Smartspot to pair with. Wait for the Smartspot to connect to the Brain. This can be checked in the Device Manager of the Brain Management Console.
2. Place the BLE Micro-Spot Relay on top of the Smartspot. If this is not possible, hold it close to the Smartspot.
3. Using a SIM removal tool, paperclip or similar object, press the pinhole button of the BLE Micro-Spot Relay(located on the side with the power connector).
4. The connection LED should pulsate red and blue alternately to indicate the device is now in automatic pairing mode. Additionally, in Brain versions 2.8 and later, a blue notification message should appear in the Brain Management Console, confirming that automatic pairing is initiated. Wait until it stops pulsating; this should take about half a minute.
5. After 5-30 seconds, a followup green or red notification message should appear in the Brain Management Console to indicate that the pairing succeeded or failed. The connection LED may pulsate a bit longer and will eventually return to normal.
6. The pairing procedure is now complete. The Smartspot may reboot.

Automatic pairing will assign an unused antenna number in the 50-60 range and create a default location. If pairing was successful, the assigned virtual antenna and location should show up in the Location Editor as soon as the Smartspot (re)connects to the Brain.

When automatic pairing is successful and the device was previously paired to a different Smartspot, the old pairing will be removed. However, it is not possible to completely remove a device using automatic pairing.

Option 2: Edit pairings in Device Manager

This option requires Brain version 2.8 or later.

In Brain, Smartspots capable of BLE device pairing have a  button in the Device Manager. Clicking this button opens the BLE pairing editor for that Smartspot:

This dialog shows a table with paired devices (MAC address and mapped antenna number). It also shows the current connection status: a colored signal strength indicator if the device is connected, ∅ if the device is not connected or a question mark if the Smartspot is not online.

Added or removed pairings in this dialog will only take effect after clicking the Apply button. The Cancel button discards all changes.

Option 3: Edit pairing list using the Brain Web API

Each Smartspot has BLE device pairings stored in the bt_antenna_map property in its configuration. Pairings can therefore be managed by editing this property. The Bluetooth antenna map is a JSON object with device BLE MAC addresses as keys and antenna numbers as values. For more information, refer to:

• Smartspot Configuration Reference: bt_antenna_map
• How to change Smartspot settings through the Web API