Tech Bulletin

Jan 09, 2014

Manufacturer ID

We have received several questions about manufacturer IDs: what they are used for, who needs one, and how to get hold of one. So, here’s everything you need to know...

A manufacturer ID is a 2 byte value assigned by the ANT+ team to represent a particular manufacturer. The 2 byte value is associated with a fixed string that can be displayed to a user so that they can recognise the manufacturer of a particular device. For example: 0x0001 => garmin, 0x0010 => dynastream, and 0xFF => development. You can find the full list of assigned manufacturer IDs in the Profile.xls spreadsheet in the FIT SDK. (For more information see: ANT-FS and FIT) Download the latest FIT SDK from the downloads page, open the Profile.xls spreadsheet, check you have the ’Types’ tab in focus, and search for ’manufacturer’ in Column A.

You will see that this list is relatively small compared to the number of ANT+ member companies. This is because not every company needs a manufacturer ID and because OEM products often keep the manufacturer ID of the original equipment manufacturer.

So who needs a manufacturer ID and who doesn’t?

• • Companies manufacturing sensors generally need a manufacturer ID.
• • Companies manufacturing displays that create FIT files usually include their manufacturer ID.
• • Everyone else has no use for a manufacturer ID and does not need one.

The ANT+ Device Profile for each sensor type describes how the manufacturer ID should be used. Typically it is included in Common Page 80 – Manufacturer’s Information.

If your company requires a manufacturer ID and is an ANT+ annual member, then please use the manufacturer ID request form. Just let us know which string you would like to represent your company. Lower case letters and underscores may be used, but no spaces or special characters.

If your company is not an ANT+ annual member then you should become a member and then request a manufacturer ID as described above! This helps support the development of the ANT+ ecosystem and gives users the best experience when interacting with your product. Alternatively, you may choose to use the ’development’ manufacturer ID 0x00FF. This is sufficient for your product to pass ANT+ Certification. However, there are a couple of disadvantages to using the development ID:

• • Displays or online systems will not be able to show your company name when they find your sensor.
• • Manufacturer specific page numbers should not be used because of not being able to uniquely identify the specific manufacturer.

If you have any further questions or feedback, please use the Developer Forum. Thanks!

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