Beacon Scout
What Beacon Scout Does
Beacon Scout turns your phone into a visual tracker for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices. You can scan for nearby devices, pick the one you want to find, and connect to it. Once connected, the app continuously reads the signal strength and displays it on a radar-style screen that rotates with your phone's orientation.
As you move and turn, the signal indicator updates in real time. A fading trail shows where the signal has been strongest, helping you narrow down the device's general direction.
The Radar View Explained
The radar screen shows:
Concentric rings representing signal strength zones: strong signals appear near the center, weak signals near the edge.
A sweep line that follows your phone's rotation.
A signal point placed according to the current reading.
A fading trail that builds up as you scan, showing the history of signal strength at different headings.
Status labels indicating connection state, signal percentage, and descriptive quality (excellent, good, fair, weak, poor).
This gives you an intuitive sense of whether you are getting closer or farther away as you walk and rotate.
What It Does Not Do
Beacon Scout tracks signal strength and orientation, not precise indoor location. It does not map the device onto a floor plan or provide centimeter-accurate positioning. Think of it as a directional signal compass, not a GPS.
Scanning and Connecting
When you open the scan screen, the app discovers all nearby BLE devices. You can select any connectable device from the list. Once connected, continuous signal reads begin immediately.
If the connection drops, the app keeps trying to reconnect so you do not have to restart the flow manually.
Favorites and Recent Devices
Devices you have tracked before appear in a combined list of favorites and recent history. You can mark frequently used devices as favorites and remove old entries you no longer need. If a known device is currently in range, the list shows that visually.
Deep Links
Beacon Scout supports incoming links that specify a device by ID. When opened through a deep link, the app will scan until it finds the target device and then connect automatically. This is useful when jumping in from another app that already knows which device you want to track.
How It Works With Containd
Containd is a visual inventory app that lets you catalog physical belongings. When inventory items are associated with a Bluetooth transponder, Containd can launch Beacon Scout directly with the correct device ID. That means you can go from looking at an item in your inventory to actively tracking its signal in a single tap. And from Beacon Scout, you can send discovered device information back into Containd to create or update an item.
Platform and Permissions
Available on Android and iOS.
Requires Bluetooth to be enabled.
Requires location and motion/orientation sensor permissions.
BLE behavior can vary between devices and operating systems.
Does not work on simulators or emulators.
Get Started
Beacon Scout is free. Visit the software page for App Store and Google Play links, or subscribe to the newsletter for updates.
