Tech docs · Protocol

Codec 8 · 8 Extended · 16

Teltonika devices do not use a closed proprietary protocol. The entire FMC/FMM/FMB/TAT/TFT family speaks Codec 8, Codec 8 Extended or Codec 16: three documented binary protocols that any fleet platform can parse.

01 · Philosophy

Why open matters

If you switch platforms tomorrow, you take the devices with you. You are not tied to one piece of software. Where you connect them is a separate matter: parsing the protocol is one part; turning those packets into real fleet management (map, geofencing, alerts, historical reports, high availability) is a separate project.

02 · Variants

The three codecs

Codec Designed for I/O elements
Codec 8 Standard AVL telemetry 1 byte per ID (up to 255)
Codec 8 Extended CAN buses with heavy I/O (FMC150, FMC650) 2 bytes per ID (up to 65535) + variable payload
Codec 16 When the device needs to mark which event triggers the send Codec 8 + generation type per record
03 · Wire format

AVL packet structure

[Preamble:        4 bytes 0x00000000]
[Data length:     4 bytes]
[Codec ID:        1 byte  (0x08, 0x8E or 0x10)]
[Number of data:  1 byte]
[AVL data:        timestamp + priority + GPS + I/O]
[Number of data:  1 byte  (same value)]
[CRC-16/IBM:      4 bytes]
04 · Integrations

Platforms that already speak it

  • TraccarOpen source, full Codec 8/8E/16 support. Self-hosted.
  • WialonCommercial, Teltonika decoder built in.
  • FlespiMQTT broker with built-in decoder, useful if your stack is event-driven.
  • Fleet CompleteTeltonika IMEI recognised by default.
  • GPSWOX · Mapon · OneStepGPSConfirmed.
05 · DIY

If you want to parse it yourself

The device opens a TCP/UDP connection to the host:port you configure (via FOTA Web or Configurator). The server receives binary packets, validates the CRC and unpacks them. Reference parsers in Python, Go and Node are on GitHub by searching "Teltonika Codec 8" — useful as a starting point.

Going from a demo parser to a production platform is not trivial: persistent TCP sessions with thousands of devices, keepalive and reconnection, historical storage (a 200-vehicle fleet generates gigabytes of raw telemetry per month), I/O ID table different per model with its scale and unit, CAN decoding parameter by parameter, map, alerts, geofencing, reports, and downlink commands with their own CRC validation. That is why most fleets connect to a specialised platform rather than maintain their own.

06 · Configuration

How to switch codec

  • Configurator (USB) — Teltonika software for Windows. Connect the device, change the parameter and save.
  • FOTA Web — remote configuration task, applicable to a group of IMEIs.
07 · Reference

Official documentation

The Teltonika codec spec keeps the exact binary reference, packet examples and I/O ID tables by model.