How to enable smartphone to read NFC tags?

This article provides a brief introduction to NFC and related know-how. By the time you read this article carefully, you will have a basic understanding of the uses and limitations of the NFC protocol.

A Brief Introduction to NFC

How to enable smart phone to read NFC? NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a two-way communication protocol used to establish a connection between devices. For example, NFC can connect two smartphones or between a phone and a smart watch.

The NFC protocol provides a low-speed connection between two electronic devices over a short distance (typically 4 cm or 1.5 inches or less).

Like any other “Proximity Card”technology, NFC is also based on inductive coupling between signal receivers of two NFC chips.

NFC establishes a connection with a simple setup and launches more complex and advanced wireless connections. You don’t need to turn on both NFC-enabled devices to exchange data.

It is sufficient to provide a power source for only one NFC device. It can activate another NFC tag by inductive coupling.

The first NFC patent was issued in 1983 to Charles Walton. In 1997, the first use of NFC technology was in Star Wars character toys (for Hasbro).

And in 2004, Nokia released the NFC-enabled Nokia 5140 phone, followed by Samsung in 2010 and iOS in 2014.

Application of NFC technology

NFC offers a two-way communication channel between two endpoints. It does not require the cumbersome process of finding and pairing devices (such as Bluetooth).

Based on the above, NFC has a wide range of applications. Below are a few examples of the application of NFC technology.

• NFC devices can act as a carrier for electronic identification (identity card and key cards).
• Contactless payments (CTLS NFC or NFC CTLS) – You can pay or receive payments through NFC. For example, the increase in contactless payments/transactions during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has replaced cash and credit/debit cards with NFC smartphones and a payment terminal.
• Payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay support NFC payments.
• NFC can be used to share small files. It can also run advanced and fast wireless links that allow you to transfer large file data.
• NFC can also transfer your e-ticket and boarding passes.
• Product Description. In stores, every product is equipped with NFC tags and is programmed to communicate the product description to customers who have NFC tag readers.
• Sports – The Adidas Telstar 18 soccer ball is equipped with an NFC tag. Players can interact with the ball using a smartphone (having an NFC tag reader).

How does NFC work?

NFC is a variation or evolution of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). It uses short-range radio waves to identify and exchange data over a secure two-way communication channel (two devices are side by side).

Every NFC-enabled device has an NFC chip (attached to the antenna) called an NFC tag. Below is an image of an NFC tag showing the schematic diagram and the actual NFC tag/chip.

An NFC tag is a small, powerless chip that is small enough to be embedded in stickers, movie tickets, product labels, and more.

NFC features are available in almost every electronic device such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, payment terminals, Bluetooth devices, etc.

NFC tags have little to no effect on battery life if they are passively enabled. Thus, NFC tags consume a negligible amount of energy.

And the best thing about NFC tags is that you don’t have to activate both tags in order to establish a connection (like Bluetooth pairing). Thanks to inductive coupling, your smartphone can passively activate another tag and establish a data link.

Let’s say you want to get a description of a product in a supermarket or large store and check the store’s inventory.

You take out your smartphone, launch the NFC tag reader app, and hold it close to the product of your choice. Your smartphone’s NFC tag creates a magnetic field by passing current through the NFC coil.

Place your smartphone next to another NFC tag and it passively generates electrical current through inductive coupling.

Then, after the initial handshake, a link will be established and the stored product description will be transferred (in NFC data exchange format) to your smartphone.

How to enable NFC on Android smartphone and read NFC tags?

• Launch the Settings app on your Android phone.
• Navigate to “Connected Devices”-> “Connection Settings”.
• In the preference list, check if the NFC option is displayed.
• If you find the NFC option, your Android device supports NFC.
• Turn on NFC. Click the toggle button next to the option. When turned on, it will turn blue/green.

• If your Android has a built-in NFC tag reader, you can see the transmitted data when you hold your Android device close to the NFC tag.
• But if you don’t have a pre-installed NFC tag reader on your Android, you can download a third-party reader app from the Google Play store.
• After you finish downloading and installing the reader app, launch the app and scan the opposite NFC tag.

Note. Android Beam (used in conjunction with NFC capabilities) has been replaced with Ambient Sharing.

This feature is similar to Apple’s AirDrop[. You can transfer data wirelessly or share data with nearby devices.

How to enable NFC on iOS devices and read NFC tags?

• Launch the Settings app of your iOS device (here it’s an iPhone).
• Navigate to General->NFC.

• Turn on NFC on your iPhone. Click on the switch button. It will turn green when NFC is enabled.
• Return to the main screen of the Settings app.
• Now you need to add the NFC Tag Reader to the Control Center. This will allow you to quickly access the tag reader from the Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner of the screen).
• Go to Control Center. Add the NFC tag reader to the list of enabled controls.

• Close the Settings app and go to the home screen.
• Open Control Center.
• Click the NFC Tag Reader icon and hold your iPhone near the opposite NFC tag. The data stored in the tag will be transferred to your iPhone.

Conclusion

NFC (Near Field Communication) is an evolutionary technology of RFID technology. You can also say that NFC is a mixture of RFID and Bluetooth with a shorter transmission range (less than 4 cm or 1.5 inches).

NFC is fast, secure and efficient for transferring small amounts of data such as payments, ID, key cards, boarding passes, etc.

To use the NFC tag service, you need to determine if your smartphone (Android or iOS) supports NFC.

Models released in 2015 and later are equipped with NFC tags for iPhone owners. On the other hand, some Android manufacturers build NFC hardware into their smartphones, while others do not.

To check if your Android has an NFC option, open the Settings app and navigate to Connected Devices (Network and Sharing) -> Connection Settings.

If you see the NFC option listed on the screen, your Android smartphone supports NFC.

FAQ

Can a smartphone read NFC?

Only an NFC-enabled smartphone (equipped with an NFC circuit) can read NFC tags. Apple has equipped iPhone (2015 or newer) with NFC tags. So if you have a new iPhone, it will have NFC hardware. On Android, go to Settings -> Connected devices/Network and Sharing and check if the NFC option is listed.

How to enable NFC on my phone?

On iPhone, launch the Settings app. Navigate to General->NFC. Press the toggle button to enable NFC (disable is gray, enable is green). On Android, go to “Settings”-> “Connected devices”(or “Network and Sharing_”) -> “Connection settings”. Check if the NFC option is available. If it is on the list, turn it on by pressing the toggle button.

What is NFC tag and NFC tag reader?

An NFC tag is a powerless chip (a small integrated circuit with a copper coil and storage) small enough to be embedded in stickers. Using NFC tags, two electronic devices can establish a low-speed two-way communication channel and transfer data. NFC works at a short distance (usually 4cm or less). An NFC tag reader is required to read the data stored in the NFC tag reader.

Should NFC be enabled or disabled?

Depending on how often you use NFC-related services, you can either turn them off or leave them on. Also, for NFC app apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay, you don’t need to enable NFC every time you explicitly make payments. Just allow or grant permissions to these apps to use the NFC option.