Navigating the Maze of IoT Certifications: Lessons From the Field

Apple Ko
Apple Ko
October 7, 2025
📖 4 min read min read
Navigating the Maze of IoT Certifications: Lessons From the Field
Photo of engineers in a lab with an IoT tracker on the table, overlaid icons for FCC, CE, PTCRB, and GCF representing certification compliance.

When I first joined the IoT world, I assumed that building a smart tracker was all about clever circuitry and polished firmware. It didn’t take long to realise that getting a device from the lab into someone’s hands – or onto a container crossing the Pacific – is just as much about navigating regulatory checkpoints as it is about hardware design. After spending several years helping Eelink bring new trackers to market, I’ve learned that certifications aren’t box‑tick exercises; they’re part of a promise we make to our customers and partners.

Why certifications matter

Eelink’s devices travel to every corner of the globe. They’re tucked inside cold‑chain boxes of vaccines heading for rural clinics, bolted onto shipping containers rolling through ports and embedded in rental bikes in European capitals. In each of these places, the devices connect to local networks, transmit data and – crucially – must not cause interference or pose a hazard. That’s why there are several layers of approvals.

When you assemble a product for the world stage, you quickly discover how interwoven these programmes are. PTCRB certification often depends on FCC approval for radio emissions; GCF certification frequently accepts PTCRB test results; and the CE mark requires careful documentation of battery transport compliance and recyclability. There’s a lot of jargon, but at the heart of it all is a simple question: will this device operate safely and reliably in the wild?

From design sketch to compliance lab

One of the hardest lessons for any hardware team is that certification isn’t something you can bolt on at the end. Early on, we worked on a tracker that combined a cellular modem, GNSS module and Bluetooth. We built the prototypes, got excited about the form factor and only then contacted a test lab. The first emissions sweep flagged out‑of‑band noise; our PCB trace lengths had inadvertently created little antennas of their own. Reworking the design added weeks to the schedule.

Since then, we have changed our approach. For every new product, we sit down with a certification checklist before we lock the design. We double‑check that our antenna choices cover the frequency bands required by the FCC and European regulators, that the housing meets ingress‑protection levels demanded by customers and that our lithium batteries are certified to UN 38.3. We also try to leverage pre‑certified modules where it makes sense; a modem that already carries PTCRB and GCF approval can dramatically simplify the process.

A day at the test facility

Watching an engineer run our device through a climatic chamber makes the abstract language of standards very real. For the CE Low Voltage Directive, the tracker is powered on and subjected to voltage spikes to make sure it doesn’t overheat or fail. Radio tests involve chambers lined with grey absorbing foam; the device is mounted on a rotating turntable while automated equipment measures emissions at dozens of angles and frequencies. Battery packs are charged and discharged at extreme temperatures, then hit with a hammer to confirm they won’t catch fire in transit.

Compliance testing is rigorous by design. It forces us to think about things we might otherwise ignore – like how a poorly shielded PCB might interfere with GPS reception or how the plastic enclosure will age when exposed to UV light on a truck roof. Passing isn’t a given, but when you finally receive that grant of certification, it reflects months of attention to detail.

Bringing it home to our customers

The benefit of going through this process isn’t just a sticker on a box; it’s confidence. Our partners don’t need to worry about a shipment being held up in customs because a tracker lacked a proper FCC ID. Logistics companies rolling out devices across continents know they can order a single SKU and deploy it on different carriers without wondering if it will connect. When a client in Germany asks about compliance with the new cybersecurity provisions in the Radio Equipment Directive, we can point them to a technical file and show that we’ve thought about encryption and data integrity from the start.

By treating certification as a core part of product development, we’ve also uncovered new opportunities. During PTCRB testing of our latest Cat‑ 1 tracker, we identified a firmware bug that occasionally caused the modem to drop to 2G fallback. Fixing it improved performance for all customers. The network operators’ lab also suggested tweaks to our attach procedure that reduced signalling overhead – a small change that saves battery life when thousands of devices ping the network simultaneously.

Looking ahead

Regulatory landscapes don’t stand still. Europe is rolling out new cybersecurity requirements for radio devices, and the U.S. is evaluating stricter rules on the handling of location data. That might sound daunting, but I see it as a chance to build better products. Our customers depend on us not just for devices that work today but for hardware that will still meet standards five years from now.

As someone who spends most days toggling between design reviews and compliance spreadsheets, I’ve learned to appreciate the balance between innovation and regulation. Approvals from the FCC, CE bodies, PTCRB and

To dive deeper into the practical steps for FCC, CE, PTCRB and GCF approvals, check out our detailed guide on the wireless certification process. the GCF aren’t hurdles to be resented; they’re mile markers that show we’re on thright road.

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#Asset Tracking #certification #IoT Logistics #asset tracking devices

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