What is nfc app android

What is NFC and how does it work? Everything you need to know

You’ve probably heard of it before and may even own a smartphone that features that technology, but what is NFC on a phone anyhow? Most smartphones these days are equipped with Near Field Communication technology, better known as NFC. In a nutshell, it is a proximity-based wireless communication standard. Unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, however, NFC interaction is limited to an extremely short range. Besides smartphones, you can sometimes find NFC on tablets, speakers, collectibles, and even gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.

Even though NFC may seem a bit lackluster on paper, given its short range, it is still a pretty convenient feature that many of us take for granted every day. So in this article, let’s take a quick look at what NFC is and how it works. We’ll also explore where you’re most likely to encounter the technology in the real world.

What is NFC and how does NFC work?

We gave you a brief answer to what it is already, but how does NFC work? NFC isn’t some radically new technology. It’s simply an evolution of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology that has already been around for decades. If you’ve ever used a key card to access an office building or hotel room, you’re already familiar with how it works.

Both RFID and NFC operate on the principle of inductive coupling, at least for short-range implementations. This essentially involves the reader device generating a magnetic field by passing an electric current through a coil. When a tag (with its own coil) is brought nearby, the field induces an electric current within the tag — sans any wires or even physical contact. Then, once the initial handshake is complete, any stored data on the tag is wirelessly transmitted to the reader.

The key distinction between RFID and NFC lies in their transmission ranges — the former is often used over longer distances. For example, some regions automatically collect road tolls through RFID. Tags are usually affixed to vehicle windshields and you simply have to drive through the toll booth. Communication can take place over even longer distances (think a hundred feet or more) if the RFID tag is equipped with a power source.

NFC, however, only has a maximum range of a few centimeters, at most. And in most smartphone-related applications, you’ll find that the software will only initiate communication if there’s physical contact. This is to prevent accidental triggers — especially important now that the technology is used for transferring sensitive data.

Another noteworthy point is that NFC devices can act as either a reader or tag. This bidirectional capability allows you to use one piece of hardware — such as your smartphone — for all kinds of different applications.

Which devices have NFC?

NFC has been a staple feature on smartphones for several years at this point. The Nexus S was the first Android device to include it all the way back in 2010. Apple also eventually embraced the technology in 2014 — NFC is present on every iPhone since the 6. Similarly, wearable devices, ranging from fitness trackers like the Mi Band to smartwatches like the Apple Watch, also include it.

These days, only lower-end devices tend to not come with NFC. That said, the importance of NFC may vary depending on the region. To that end, some manufacturers, like Xiaomi, omit the coil in certain markets like India due to the technology’s low adoption.

What can you do with NFC?

NFC adoption has improved significantly in recent years. Here are a few popular use-cases of the technology:

• Data transfer: With the release of Android Ice Cream Sandwich in 2011, Google introduced Android Beam. The feature allowed you to transfer whatever content or data you had on-screen to other NFC-enabled devices. All you had to do was touch the back of both devices and accept the transfer prompt. Android Beam was only recently shelved in favor of Nearby Share, which uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct technologies instead.
• Mobile payments: Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay all use your smartphone’s NFC chip for contactless payments. Most debit and credit cards these days already have an NFC tag built-in. The aforementioned apps simply emulate these tags, with permission from the issuing bank or financial institution. Once configured, all you have to do is bring your smartphone or wearable device close to the card reader.

• Quick pairing: NFC’s convenience extends to devices that don’t have a screen. Many wireless speakers and headphones use it to exchange pairing information with your smartphone. Some cameras also use it to quickly initiate a Wi-Fi Direct connection for easy photo and video transfer.
• Public transport access: Public transport in many cities, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and London, use NFC-based cards as a form of access control mechanism for public transit. Some systems are even compatible with payment apps like Google Pay so you don’t have to carry the card around.

• Gaming: Nintendo uses the technology to connect physical toys with video games. An Amiibo is like any other action figure or trading card, except that it also contains an embedded NFC chip. If you bring one of them near a Nintendo Switch or 3DS, it automatically grants you additional characters, levels, or bonus items for a particular game.
• Home automation: A few smart home platforms, including Home Assistant and Apple’s HomeKit, support NFC as well. Using apps on both Android and iOS, you can configure off-the-shelf NFC tags to control devices or automation.

NFC vs Bluetooth and UWB: How do they stack up?

NFC is far from the only wireless communication protocol. In fact, most devices already include similar technologies such as Bluetooth and ultra-wide band (UWB). So why include another?

One of NFC’s biggest strengths is that it does not require pairing or manual input to establish a connection — tapping takes less than a second. Bluetooth devices, by contrast, have to be paired to each other, which is kind of a cumbersome process.

NFC is also significantly more energy-efficient than Bluetooth and UWB since the transmission range is extremely short. Most smartphones ship with the NFC radio-enabled by default, while turning off Bluetooth is often the first battery-conserving suggestion.

In fact, NFC’s lower power draw also allows certain devices like the iPhone to enable it in emergency scenarios. This means that even if your phone runs out of juice, it will send just enough power to the NFC chip for you to access your campus, hotel room, or car.

While cars are starting to adopt UWB tech for keyless entry, it’s nowhere near as efficient as NFC. To that end, it’s not surprising that many automakers implement the latter as a fallback access mechanism. UWB is also more expensive and most applications currently served by NFC don’t need its positional precision.

Furthermore, with so many NFC use-cases already fleshed out, it’s clear that the technology has carved a niche for itself. To that end, adoption is likely only going to improve from here on out.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is an NFC tag?
A: An NFC tag is a small integrated circuit consisting of a copper coil and some amount of storage. Data can be read or written to this tag only when another NFC device is brought near it because it doesn’t have a power source. The proximity of the NFC device induces power in the tag and enables data transmission.

Q: What is an NFC reader?
A: Any powered device that has its own NFC coil (like a smartphone or tablet) can act as a NFC reader. The reader device uses its battery to generate an electromagnetic field, which powers any tag brought near it. Another common example of a reader is a payment terminal, which uses NFC to confirm the authenticate a debit or credit card.

Q: Do iPhones have NFC? What about NFC Android devices?
A: Every iPhone model released since the iPhone 5S in 2014 (6 and up) includes NFC hardware. As for Android, most mid-range and premium devices offer NFC support. You can consult the manufacturer’s website or independent reviews to determine the feature’s availability.

Q: Does my phone have NFC and how can I tell?
A: If you own a recent iPhone (from 2015 or later), it definitely has the requisite hardware for NFC. On Android, you can delve into the Settings app, and then look for NFC under the “Connected Devices” or “Network and Sharing” sub-menus. Most recent Android phones support NFC.

Q: What does NFC stand for on my phone or other NFC device?
A: NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a technology that allows wireless data transmission over short distances using radio waves.

Q: How do I turn on NFC on an iPhone?
A: You don’t have to turn on NFC on an iPhone. iOS will automatically toggle NFC for applications like Apple Pay whenever required.

Q: How do I turn on NFC on an Android phone?
A: Head into the Settings app and then look for NFC under the “Connected Devices” or “Network and Sharing” sub-menus. Alternatively, you can use the search function in your settings.

Q: How do I turn off NFC on iPhone?
A: You cannot explicitly turn off NFC on an iPhone. The feature is always on by default. The good news is that it consumes very little battery, so there’s not a lot of benefit to turning off NFC like you would with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Q: How do I turn off NFC on Android?
A: You can turn off NFC on Android by flipping a toggle in the Settings app. Look for NFC under the ‘Connected Devices’ or ‘Network and Sharing’ sub-menus. Alternatively, you can use the search function.

Q: What are NFC mobile payments?
A: Your smartphone can use NFC to mimic a contactless debit or credit card using apps like Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay. Payment terminals use NFC so your smartphone essentially emulates the data stored on your card. Only the account holder can add their card because the process involves authentication with the bank.

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What is NFC? Everything you need to know about NFC technology

NFC is a fairly common feature on most mid-range and high-end smartphones of today. It has seen an increase in uptake as the online payment ecosystems proliferate across the globe. However, many of you still have several questions surrounding it. What is NFC? What is an NFC tag? In this article, we attempt to answer most of these queries.

Shortcuts

What is NFC?

NFC is short for Near Field Communication.

Essentially, it’s a way for your phone to interact with something in close proximity. It operates within a radius of about 4 cm and provides a wireless connection between your device and another. This allows for two-way communication, with both devices involved being able to send and receive information.

What is NFC? Find out here. / © NextPit

NFC is widely used across the US, and Europe and chances are you have probably been using NFC for years now without even realizing it.

Do you know those three curved lines on your credit or debit card that allow you to make contactless payments just about everywhere these days? Well, that’s NFC. The first high street retail chain to introduce NFC was Eat, way back in 2008. Now, the same technology is available on most Android smartphones. This essentially means you can use NFC-based services for many practical, day-to-day applications.

NFC card payments, known as contactless payments, have been available for over a decade. / © Google

How does NFC work?

NFC transmits or receives data via radio waves. It’s an established standard of wireless communication. It differs from Bluetooth in that it functions through electromagnetic induction. This means there can be a passive device, such as a poster or sticker, requiring no power source of its own that can transmit data when an active device, like your smartphone, comes into contact with it.

As an active NFC device, a smartphone can send and receive data over NFC. It encompasses the full range — three modes — of NFC:

• Reader/writer (e.g. for reading tags in NFC posters).
• Card emulation (e.g., for making payments).
• Peer-to-peer (e.g., for file transfers which is no longer used as of 2021).

How to use the NFC feature on your smartphone

If you happen to own a mid-range or high-end smartphone, chances are high it comes with the NFC feature. You will, however, need to make sure you have turned the feature on for it to work seamlessly. Once NFC is turned on, the manner in which you use it will depend on what you intend to do with it.

For example, if you wanted to connect your NFC-enabled smartphone to an NFC-enabled wireless speaker, all you need to do is tap your phone to a specific area on the speaker, and the connection is automatically established. That brings us to the various real-world use cases of NFC.

Let’s take a quick look at some of those.

What is NFC used for?

NFC has been around for more than a decade now, and for the same reason, some of the things which it could do aren’t relevant anymore.

For example, file transfers used to be a thing with NFC when it was new. In 2021, however, there are faster, simpler ways of peer-to-peer file transfers, and no one really uses NFC for that purpose anymore. Here are some areas where NFC continues to be used in 2021.

Cashless payments

The most common way consumers use NFC is while making tap-to-go payments. Leading payment services, including Google Play, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay, use NFC for cashless payments in several countries across the globe. In all of these payment services, all the user needs to do is to add their card number(s) to the app.

The next time you want to make a quick payment, all you need to do is to tap the NFC tag, and the payment should be done almost immediately.NFC payments are secure, and most of these services require that you add a PIN to complete a transaction.

Connecting with NFC tags

NFC tags are small physical “tags” or “stickers” containing NFC chips that can be programmed to provide any kind of information to your smartphone. Typically, an NFC tag contains links to a web address, but it can also be set to perform certain actions with your smartphone, like turn on the Wi-Fi or turn down the ringer. Where NFC presents an advantage over current QR technology is that there is no need for a “scanner app”: the information is immediately available.

In theory, these tags could be embedded into just about anything. For example, an NFC tag could be used in a restaurant menu to make the most up-to-date version of it available immediately on your phone. All you would need to do is bring your smartphone into the proximity of the physical menu, and you could potentially browse more detailed information of certain menu items, like nutritional values or ingredients.

For personal use, NFC tags can also be set up to control devices from your phone, for example, scanning a tag with your phone could boot up your PC, or you could have a tag on your bedside table that switches your phone to night mode automatically.

If you’d like to experiment with NFC tags, there’s nothing to stop you from buying some NFC stickers and playing with the possibilities.

NFC tags can trigger predetermined actions on your smartphone. / © Sony

Connect with devices, wearables, and accessories

The past few years have seen a huge increase in the number of people using accessories that frequently connect to your smartphone for various purposes. For example, you might have a Bluetooth speaker and a smartwatch at home. You might be already aware how annoying it is sometimes to connect these devices to your smartphone using Bluetooth.

This is where NFC can come in handy. In case both the devices (your smartphone and the peripheral) support NFC, the connection can be established in seconds by a single tap. Some smartwatch and fitness ban models also support NFC for quick, hassle-free pairing.

Unlock car doors, and homes

A new use case for NFC, which saw its debut in 2020, lets users unlock car doors using just an NFC-enabled smartphone. The technology was announced by Apple in collaboration with BMW, and it made its debut with the 2021 BMW 5 series.

As you might have guessed, once this is set up and enabled, all you need to do to unlock your car would be to simply tap the door handle (which will have an embedded NFC chip), and the door will be unlocked without the need of a key.

The same principle can be used to unlock the doors of your home using just your smartphone or an NFC-enabled key.

Does my smartphone support NFC?

Most high-end and upper mid-range smartphones come with NFC support. However, several Asian manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Huawei have stopped shipping smartphones with NFC capabilities because the market dynamics in countries where these brands are popular have seen an increased preference to QR codes over NFC.

To find if your phone does support NFC, go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection Preferences (on Stock Android) and see if there’s an NFC option hiding in there.

Some older devices have a small NFC logo on their rear panels, but this is very uncommon to see in 2021. You can also type in NFC in the search bar within the settings menu and see if there are entries related to NFC on your phone.

Older smartphones used to proudly tout their NFC capabilities. This is not the case anymore / © NextPit

Is NFC safe, are there any disadvantages?

NFC communication happens over the air, and there is no real protection against eavesdropping and what is often referred to as man-in-the-middle attacks. However, due to the very close proximity required for NFC to work, these vulnerabilities are not such a big issue.

After all, a thief would have to be within centimeters of your device to skim your data via NFC. If you are using services like Google Pay, and Apple Pay, you can rest assured that your credit card number is never transmitted. Instead, an individual digital account number is used to identify your payment details.

There you have it. NFC provides the quickest way to set up connections between electronic devices. It is great for when you’re out of credit and need to make quick payments. It’s quick, easy, and bumping two phones together is fun (maybe not so much during a pandemic!)

But there are several drawbacks as well. We have listed a few below:

• Not all smartphones support NFC.
• NFC has not found widespread usage in Asian markets where QR codes are still popular.
• NFC chips are not all located in the same place, resulting in some exploratory rubbing between devices.
• NFC is too slow for peer to peer file transfers, and newer, faster methods are now available.

Do you use NFC on your smartphone? What uses have you found for it? Let us know!

This article was last updated in May 2021. Older comments have been retained.

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