Updated: March 1, 2023
Blackline Safety’s Indoor Location Technology is getting an upgrade in order to support new G7c hardware. With this transition, there are a few important things to note – outlined below.
Why are the Location Beacons changing?
With the release of new G7c hardware, G7c will no longer support ANT technology. Our current Beacons use this technology to tell G7c where they are located, so the two will no longer be compatible. New Beacons will instead leverage Bluetooth technology to transmit locations to devices.
This new G7c hardware became available in mid-October 2018.
How will I know which Location Beacons are new and which are old?
New Beacons feature a black label and their Unit ID begins with either 13691 (NA) or 13701 (EU). New beacons are compatible with all Blackline manufactured monitoring hardware.
Old beacons feature a white label and their Unit ID begins with either 13690 (NA) or 13700 (EU). Old beacons are not compatible with new G7 devices manufactured after October 2018
Will my current devices work with new Location Beacons?
Our new Location Beacon will support both Bluetooth and ANT technology, so all previously purchased devices — whether that be G7c, G7x, M6/M6i or Loner 900 — will all be compatible with Beacon.
New G7c will no longer be compatible with Blackline’s old Location Beacon. They will not see these Beacons and therefore this location won’t be communicated to Blackline Live. This is important to remember, as these G7c devices won’t look any different than those you may already have and this could have an effect on response time.
For a visual breakdown of which devices are supported by which Beacon, see the diagram below.
How will I know which G7c are new and which are old?
You can check if G7c is new by checking your unit ID located on your the back of your device, found near the bottom of the product label. If your device starts with 3567 or 3569 you have a new G7c that is only compatible with Location Beacon with black label. If your unit ID starts with 3566 or 3568, your G7c is compatible with all Beacons, with both white and black labels.
If you are still unsure or need help, give our Customer Care team a call.
What if I have old Beacons, and need to order new ones to support new devices?
If you have old Beacons and need to replace them to support new G7c or Loner Mobile, you can give our Customer Care team a call and they will walk you through your options.
When can I expect to see new Location Beacons?
The new Location Beacons and new G7c devices are both available for purchase now.
