IoT Creators Integration

IoT Creators Integration connects ThingsBoard to IoT Creators (Deutsche Telekom’s NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity platform, also marketed as T-Mobile IoT CDP). When a device sends an uplink, IoT Creators forwards the data to ThingsBoard via an HTTP subscription callback, where it is decoded and stored as device telemetry and attributes.

• A ThingsBoard PE or Cloud account with permission to create integrations.
• An IoT Creators account with at least one registered NB-IoT or LTE-M device.

The decoder receives the full IoT Creators subscription notification as payload and converts it into the ThingsBoard data model.

Sample payload:

{
  "deviceId": "352656100301398",
  "timestamp": 1710495000000,
  "temperature": 23.5,
  "humidity": 60,
  "battery": 3.7,
  "rssi": -85,
  "snr": 5.2
}

deviceId is the device IMEI. Sensor readings are flat JSON fields. rssi and snr are radio quality metrics reported by the NB-IoT/LTE-M network.

The decoder function used in this tutorial:

// Decode an IoT Creators subscription notification
// payload - array of bytes (the HTTP POST body)
// metadata - key/value object

/** Decoder **/

var json = decodeToJson(payload);

// Use IMEI as the device name
var deviceName = 'NB-IoT-' + json.deviceId;
var deviceType = 'NB-IoT Sensor';

// Telemetry from sensor fields
var telemetry = {
temperature: json.temperature,
humidity: json.humidity,
battery: json.battery
};

// Radio quality metrics as device attributes
var attributes = {
integrationName: metadata['integrationName']
};
if (json.rssi != null) { attributes.rssi = json.rssi; }
if (json.snr != null) { attributes.snr = json.snr; }

var result = {
deviceName: deviceName,
deviceType: deviceType,
attributes: attributes,
telemetry: {
ts: json.timestamp,
values: telemetry
}
};

/** Helper functions 'decodeToString' and 'decodeToJson' are already built-in **/

return result;

// Decode an IoT Creators subscription notification
// payload - array of bytes (the HTTP POST body)
// metadata - key/value object

/** Decoder **/

var json = decodeToJson(payload);

// Use IMEI as the device name
var deviceName = 'NB-IoT-' + json.deviceId;
var deviceType = 'NB-IoT Sensor';

// Telemetry from sensor fields
var telemetry = {
temperature: json.temperature,
humidity: json.humidity,
battery: json.battery
};

// Radio quality metrics as device attributes
var attributes = {
integrationName: metadata['integrationName']
};
if (json.rssi != null) { attributes.rssi = json.rssi; }
if (json.snr != null) { attributes.snr = json.snr; }

var result = {
deviceName: deviceName,
deviceType: deviceType,
attributes: attributes,
telemetry: {
ts: json.timestamp,
values: telemetry
}
};

/** Helper functions **/

function decodeToString(payload) {
return String.fromCharCode.apply(String, payload);
}

function decodeToJson(payload) {
return JSON.parse(decodeToString(payload));
}

return result;

To adapt this converter to your device:

• Device name — replace 'NB-IoT-' + json.deviceId with any identifier present in your payload (e.g. a device label sent by the application layer).
• Telemetry fields — list the specific fields your device sends, or use toFlatMap to map all remaining fields automatically.
• Timestamp — the decoder uses json.timestamp as Unix milliseconds. If the timestamp is an ISO 8601 string, use new Date(json.timestamp).getTime() instead.
• Binary NIDD payload — if your device sends raw bytes (base64-encoded in the notification), decode with base64ToBytes(json.data) in TBEL and parse the byte array according to your device protocol.
• Attributes — add or remove fields from attributes as required. Store frequently changing values as telemetry, and static device properties as attributes.

The IoT Creators integration wizard creates the uplink converter inline — you write the decoder function in step 2 of the wizard without leaving the dialog.

1. Go to Integrations center ⇾ Integrations and click + Add integration.
2. Basic settings:
   • Set Integration type to iotcreators.com (T-Mobile – IoT CDP).
   • Enter a name (e.g. IoT Creators Integration).
   • Enable integration and Allow create devices or assets are on by default.
   • Click Next.
3. Uplink data converter:
   • Select Create new. A name is pre-filled — change it if needed.
   • Replace the default decoder with the function from the tab below.
   • Click Next.
4. Connection:
   • Base URL is pre-filled with your ThingsBoard instance URL.
   • Copy the generated HTTP export URL — you will configure IoT Creators to POST to this address.
   • Optionally, expand Advanced settings to add metadata or a description.
   • Click Add to save the integration.

Basic settings — set Integration type to "iotcreators.com (T-Mobile – IoT CDP)", enter a name, and click Next. Uplink data converter — Create new is selected by default. Replace the decoder with your custom function and click Next. Connection — copy the HTTP export URL. ThingsBoard will receive IoT Creators subscription notifications at this address. Click Add to save.

Base URL

Your ThingsBoard instance base URL (e.g. https://thingsboard.cloud). This is pre-filled automatically and is used to construct the HTTP export URL.

HTTP export URL

The unique endpoint generated by ThingsBoard for this integration. Copy this URL and configure your IoT Creators subscription to POST device uplinks to it. The URL is stable as long as the integration exists.

Execute remotely

When enabled, ThingsBoard generates an Integration key and Integration secret that allow the integration to run outside the ThingsBoard cluster — useful when your ThingsBoard instance is not publicly reachable. See Remote Integration.

Create a subscription in the IoT Creators portal to push device uplinks to the ThingsBoard endpoint.

1. Log in to the IoT Creators portal.
2. Go to Subscriptions and click + Add subscription.
3. Set the URL to the HTTP export URL copied from the ThingsBoard integration.
4. Set Method to POST and Content type to application/json.
5. Configure the subscription body to include at minimum deviceId, timestamp, and your sensor fields.
6. Under Device filter, select the specific device or choose All devices to forward uplinks from the entire account.
7. Click Save to activate the subscription.

After your NB-IoT or LTE-M device sends an uplink:

Device — go to Entities ⇾ Devices. A device named NB-IoT-<IMEI> is automatically provisioned on the first message. Open it and check:

• Latest telemetry — temperature, humidity, and battery should reflect the values from the uplink.
• Attributes — rssi, snr, and integrationName are set from the subscription notification.

Integration events — go to Integrations center ⇾ Integrations, open IoT Creators Integration, and check the Events tab. An Uplink event with Status: OK confirms the message was processed. Click … in the Message column to inspect the raw payload received from IoT Creators.

Converter events — go to Integrations center ⇾ Data converters, open the uplink converter, and click the Events tab. Inspect the In (raw payload), Out (decoded result), and Metadata columns to verify the decoder output.

The SODAQ Universal Tracker guide demonstrates an end-to-end IoT Creators setup: a NB-IoT tracker sends hex-encoded GPS and sensor data over T-Mobile, the uplink converter decodes it into ThingsBoard telemetry, and a Tracker Alarms rule chain fires alerts based on configurable speed, voltage, and temperature thresholds.

• Integration Overview
• Uplink Converters
• Downlink Converters
• Rule Engine
• ThingsBoard Expression Language (TBEL)