BEACONS ARE BUGGED.... they don't give buffs once set up.

Set up a normal beacon using either, Iron, Gold, Diamond or Emerald in 3 by 3 or at bigger stage...

Then place the iron or gold ingot, diamond, or emerald into the GUI Slot and click the green arrow, and it will close the beacon menu, and you won't get any buff's

I tested this on multiplayer and single player.