Can I use different company ID in the payload?

[aprosvetova]

As I can see, all the beacon examples use 0x4c00 (Apple) as a company ID in the advertisement payload.

There is also some code that checks if company ID equals 0x4c00, but only for nearby scanning.

My question: is it necessary to use 0x4c00?

I've tried changing it to 0x0100 and reports stopped appearing in OpenHaystack. Is it Apple's limitation or my fault?
If it's Apple's limitation, how would 3rd-party MFi beacons work then? I bet they won't use Apple's company IDs in adv packets.

[schmittner]

Short answer: Yes, Apple's company ID is necessary. Third-party MFi accessories use it as well, it's part of the specification (similar to iBeacons).