Develop Bugs

Nfc tags for dummies (I'm the dummy)

Hello,I heard great things about nfc tags like put one on door entrance so when you get home,scan phone and it turns on Wi-Fi, increases ringer or whatever your home profile may be. How do I do this? I see tags on eBay....getting my nexus but how easy is it to set up so I can have a sticker at home or car etc..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using Tapatalk

+1 I want to know it too

Looks like you might need this app.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jwsoft.nfcactionlauncher
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Just got my tags today, got them from tagsfordroid.com. You need to be running Android 4.0.3 to be able to write them.
The tags i got are small discs, like 3 cm diameter, all white with a green android. They are rewritable and i can write to them stuff like text, a URL, a contact card, send an SMS or make a call. With NFC Tasker, i can add actions like turn wifi on, connect to a wifi network, etc.. pretty flexible. You just write the tag and then you can read it back, its basic.

NFC sounds amazing, I have just ordered 10 Stickers. Will test the functionality when they will arrive and maybe when I'm successful, write a small howto.
greets from austria

streilu said:
maybe when I'm successful, write a small howto.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please! x 10

got my tags from tagage.net.
they have a nice starter pack which includes different form factors/sticker types and different memory sizes.
(ask them to NDEF format them for you as this might not be possible with ics < 4.0.3)
the nfc functionality works pretty good as far as I've played around with my tags. reading a tag is more or less instantaneous and if an app is associated with the data type you've put on the tag, this app is launched and the corresponding action, e.g. opening an url, is executed without hardly any waiting time.
for personal use the app NFC Task Launcher is the way to go as you don't want to scan url/sms/text/vCards all the time. With this app you can automate your daily routine, e.g. turning wifi on when you arrive home.
NXP has two apps in the market that are really helpful. NFC TagInfo by NXP is for getting information about a tag (pretty technical) and NFC TagWriter by NXP is (as the name suggests) for writing tags (contact/url/plain text/sms).
If you have any questions regarding nfc feel free to ask. maybe I will write down my personal experience some time in the future.

A lot of good information here. Where to buy tags, how to get the formatted properly, etc.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1359057

Awesome...sounds great, but why do I need 4.03?
This wont work on 4.01??
I might as well wait, not sure how long before my new nexus updates, i think next update is 4.02

nevermind...read up on why , 4.03 allows formatting.
I shall wait

Bigal77 said:
Awesome...sounds great, but why do I need 4.03?
This wont work on 4.01??
I might as well wait, not sure how long before my new nexus updates, i think next update is 4.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just install a custom rom?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Bigal77 said:
nevermind...read up on why , 4.03 allows formatting.
I shall wait
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can order the tags preformatted as NDEF. Buynfctags will format them for $0.05/pc. I got 5 sticky tokens formatted and shipped for less than $10.00.

I bought 14 tags from tagstand.com. They have a wide variety of tags (as small as 25mm I believe), as well as "outdoor" styled tags. Their prices are competitive ($1.00 USD/ea), and they have an option to pre-format the tags for you.
I should receive the tags in a week, and I'll post back if they work well.

brobits said:
I bought 14 tags from tagstand.com. They have a wide variety of tags (as small as 25mm I believe), as well as "outdoor" styled tags. Their prices are competitive ($1.00 USD/ea), and they have an option to pre-format the tags for you.
I should receive the tags in a week, and I'll post back if they work well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought some of the outdoor ones from them as well, I can't wait to play around with them

Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

TulpiX said:
Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.jwksoftware.com/nfc-tags

TulpiX said:
Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These guys are in Finland, and it looks like they are doing some pretty cool stuff with custom logos and such. I have no idea about how good/bad they are to do business with though...
http://www.tagage.net/tagage-shop/

It looks like the big ones are jumping on the ship as Sony has presented xperia tags.
w ww.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/accessories/overview/xperia-smarttags?cc=gb&lc=en#view=overview
I can't post links yet...

s.m.knipe said:
These guys are in Finland, and it looks like they are doing some pretty cool stuff with custom logos and such. I have no idea about how good/bad they are to do business with though...
tagage.net/tagage-shop/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a new user account for their shop. three minutes later I got an email stating that I should have a look at some page where the problems around unformated tags and the galaxy nexus are explained. and they format them for free if you ask them to do so.
i'm living in hamburg, germany, they are from finland. ordered on the 4th of january, got them on the 9th. (I ordered the starter pack)
so from my point of view I would totally recommend them.

Thanks.
I will look into that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Q]NFC App's

Hi there,
Is there any NFC Apps that i can make use of the NFC hardware, i downloaded a few apps from the play store, but it seems like all they do is read the tags. How about replacing my contactless credit card that my phone can read to use my phone as the card?
Any idas guys

Only people I know that are doing it right now are Orange together with Barclays. The One X isn't supported however as you need their special app which isn't loaded on the phone and doesn't appear on the market.
http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/contactless/overview
Apart from Orange+Barclays, nobody else seems to be doing it. There are plans for a joint NFC wallet system from Orange + Voda + O2 but nothing has happened yet.
http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3345939/orange-o2-voda-mobile-wallet-nfc-plans-go-to-eu-regulators/

thanks for the info, i thought as much but wasnt sure.

alicechong89 said:
I am using the HTC Amaze, NFC tags from buynfctags.com and the NFC Task Launcher App.
With the NFC Task Launcher App, you can program the tags to do one single task or multiple tasks all on 1 sticker. You might need to get NFC Tags that can store more data (like the NFC tags with the NTAG or 1K chip).*
I've tried creating tags to turn my phone to vibrate and turn off wifi and tags to do the opposite. I even have tags to set my alarms and open up my Facebook App.*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to go a stage further you can combine this with tasker.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

NFC Task Launcher seems a great idea.
But if you use tags in public places (say to automatically connect to a secured customer only network at a coffee shop), I can think of numerous potential security issues.

At the moment the only use for NFC tags for this phone is for your own purposes. So you could stick one near your bed...and in your car and things like that to automate daily tasks.
I am sure in the future you will be able to use it to pay in places like Starbucks or McDonalds, but its not quite there yet.
I think there are also plans to embed NFC tags in posters in train stations etc so you can wave your phone at it, and get some publicity on your phone.
I had some Xperia S tags so I tested the One X with them just to make sure NFC was working.

Here is some more info about reading and writing NFC tags. The purposes are endless. So much cool things you can do!
http://www.nfclabels.com/

pnnorth said:
If you want to go a stage further you can combine this with tasker.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried to assign a Tasker Task to an NFC using NFC Task Launcher ?
It's not working for me on the One X

wait, Google Wallet won't work? i was ordering this next week with the assumption i could use Wallet and pay for gas somewhere.

i use this app called nfc hunter it is fun https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.hayatoinformation.nfchunter&hl=en

Tiersten said:
Only people I know that are doing it right now are Orange together with Barclays. The One X isn't supported however as you need their special app which isn't loaded on the phone and doesn't appear on the market.
http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/contactless/overview
Apart from Orange+Barclays, nobody else seems to be doing it. There are plans for a joint NFC wallet system from Orange + Voda + O2 but nothing has happened yet.
http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3345939/orange-o2-voda-mobile-wallet-nfc-plans-go-to-eu-regulators/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
O2 wallet will go live in the next couple of weeks. We've been testing it around the offices for months now and all is working perfectly. Some lucky customers got to try it early too

spookamiester said:
O2 wallet will go live in the next couple of weeks. We've been testing it around the offices for months now and all is working perfectly. Some lucky customers got to try it early too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about the NFC-enabled O2 Wallet? If not, O2 Wallet has been available on the Android market for three weeks now

Evangelion01 said:
Are you talking about the NFC-enabled O2 Wallet? If not, O2 Wallet has been available on the Android market for three weeks now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NFC
In the description it also says "This is just the start, There's still lots more to come soon"

spookamiester said:
NFC
In the description it also says "This is just the start, There's still lots more to come soon"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting. If it's working so well, I don't understand why they didn't just release it with NFC. Now I've been left with a negative view of the application, as well as many other people (check all the reviews on the Play Store). As it is, the application doesn't realistically provide better options than Pingit. Launching with NFC would've made O2 the first company to officially enable NFC payments on a Android phone in the UK, but now that's not so sure.
Speaking of which, are you using the HTC One X to test it? Or the Galaxy Nexus? Also, I'm curious about if O2 are using the embedded secure element or the UICC. Did you have to get a new SIM card for NFC payments to work?
Just to confirm, have you tried paying for items outside of your office, in McDonald's or Greggs for example?

jonstatt said:
I am sure in the future you will be able to use it to pay in places like Starbucks or McDonalds, but its not quite there yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Evangelion01 said:
Just to confirm, have you tried paying for items outside of your office, in McDonald's or Greggs for example?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the future is almost here. Google Wallet works like a charm outside the office/house
Not only that I paid a McDonalds menu & a pack of cigarettes, but I also did it in Romania, a European underdeveloped country
Head over Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S forums for more "success stories" regarding GW and NFC payments.

pupilov said:
Actually, the future is almost here. Google Wallet works like a charm outside the office/house
Not only that I paid a McDonalds menu & a pack of cigarettes, but I also did it in Romania, a European underdeveloped country
Head over Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S forums for more "success stories" regarding GW and NFC payments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, we're aware of that - I've used Google Wallet many times myself. There's no equivalent service in the UK; we were talking about the O2 Wallet.

My bad. I was reading in diagonal

Lol you like glasses? right to read ><'

Some cool ideas:
1) Put a tag in the car mount, match with Tasker to enable Bluetooth for handsfree and disable WiFi without draining battery via location sensing...
Profit!
2) Sew a tag in your jacket pocket. When no tag has been in contact for 10mins consider it stolen and enable Prey
More ideas?

Wallet
Google Wallet is great and with a rooted phone you can definitely use it on almost any device. I have the CDMA (Verizon) Galaxy Nexus and it works just fine. Anywhere they have the quickpass mastercard scanner thing. You see it as a little pad on top of the credit card reader. Anywhere you can scan you credit card without swiping you can use wallet.
You get $10 free from google for using it, the only problem is unless you have a certain mastercard, you have to load up money to a google gift card from another source ahead of time to use wallet.
It's not that big a deal since you can do it from your phone. It has a pin for protection to keep you secure, in case someone scummy enough to steal a phone has the mental capacity to know what google wallet is.
Has anyone used it with the screen off or while the app is closed? I have only used a few times and both times I'd already typed my pin. If you do it with the phone screen on but haven't opened wallet, it asks for pin right?
It's scary the first time you use it, I almost didn't believe it would work, but it DID!

NFC - only active when phone is on?

today my nfc tags arrived and i intend to use some of them to activate different profiles.
e.g. one tag is in my car - on 1st touch it turns wifi off, bt on and brightness to 100%, 2nd touch wifi on, bt off and brightness to "auto"
so, the only problem i have... nfc on my hox only works when the phone is turned on and unlocked. simply turn on the screen is not enough, it must be unlocked.
so is there any way to use nfc while the phone is off? otherwise nfc seems useless to me. iirc the nexus s recognized nfc tags even when it was turned off.
someone with an idea?

I'd say its either a bug, or security feature, most likely the latter
Reason being I think because of the whole NFC wallet thing, you wouldn't want somebody to be able to take your money just by getting close to you for instance
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

It's a change introduced in ICS for security, the phone must be unlocked to use NFC.
I'm not aware of a way to bypass it. I thought a solution on my Galaxy Nexus would be to use tasker and widget locker but couldn't quite get it to work - I might have another look at it.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

lawrence750 said:
Reason being I think because of the whole NFC wallet thing, you wouldn't want somebody to be able to take your money just by getting close to you for instance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a reasonable explanation, nevertheless using nfc for changing profiles it isn't very convenient if i have to turn the phone on and unlock the screen.

pnnorth said:
It's a change introduced in ICS for security, the phone must be unlocked to use NFC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know where you got that from but i have to disagree with you. On my Galaxy Nexus the NFC works even when the phone is locked. Sometimes i put my GN on top of my wallet and it scans my credit cards.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

What can you do with One X:s NFC, I can't think of anything usefull
Sent from my Desire HD

Nubzori said:
What can you do with One X:s NFC, I can't think of anything usefull
Sent from my Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easily share stuff from one phone to another nfc enabled phone.
Use it to scan nfc tags that has been programmed to do something specific to your phone.
Quickly pair your phone to an NFC enabled bluetooth speaker. (I think Nokia has one speaker with NFC).
Wireless payments (google wallet).
Im sure there are more...
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

bimmerboii said:
I dont know where you got that from but i have to disagree with you. On my Galaxy Nexus the NFC works even when the phone is locked. Sometimes i put my GN on top of my wallet and it scans my credit cards.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange it doesn't work on mine, or at least it didn't last time I tried it (maybe on 4.0.2). I'll have another look when I get back tonight.
Edit...My GN definitely doesn't read tags when when the screen is off/phone is locked. It was the same with my Nexus S once I switched from GB to ICS.
What rom are you running on your GN?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

NFC tags?

Has anyone done anything cool with NFC tags yet, I've bought some off eBay and i'm looking for inspiration

use one to send out texts to companies telling them they are entitled to PPI and accident claim insurance.

waz000000 said:
use one to send out texts to companies telling them they are entitled to PPI and accident claim insurance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOVE IT

Use it in your car holder to make it active as in attached image Works like a charm.
1x, xda premium hd

lolleq said:
Use it in your car holder to make it active as in attached image Works like a charm.
1x, xda premium hd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the only useful thing I've done with NFC too.

Here are some general things you might like to do:
Beside bed to configure powersave options
Beside pc to configure sync and other transfer software
what else is possible ?

I've got 1 by my front door which turns my WiFi off and mobile data on when I go out and vice versa when I come in
sent from my One X using xda venom premium

bogfather said:
I've got 1 by my front door which turns my WiFi off and mobile data on when I go out and vice versa when I come in
sent from my One X using xda venom premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive never ever used NFC. How do you set it up?
Sent from my HTC One X

Via NFC Task Manager, check on Google Play - it's free app.
1x, xda premium hd

tadas_max said:
Ive never ever used NFC. How do you set it up?
Sent from my HTC One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using NFC task launcher from the play store, use the app to pick what you want the tag to do then touch the tag on the back if your phone to write to it.
sent from my One X using xda venom premium

bogfather said:
NFC task launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, my mistake.
1x, xda premium hd

I got one to use when i enter my house. Turns mobile data off, wifi on, waits 5 seconds, and then turns on my computer with wake on lan. Its a Tasker task setup with NFC task launcher.

I also have a tag on my car dock and I'm using NFC Task Launcher. I have a switch tag for it so when I place it in the dock it turns WiFi off, turns bluetooth on, turns media volume up all the way, turns auto brightness off and turns brightness all the way up. I take it out and it does the opposite of all that. Love it.
Sent from my HTC One X

I have a tip for all you NFC lovers.
If you do not have new NFC Tags you can useNFC ReTag on "old" or already used one's you can't alter.
Most people already have NFC tags around and don't even know it. Your best bet for NFC tags is in ID cards, Passport, driving license, door Key cards, public transport cards. Just try some.
Maybe some soda our beer company handed some out that have been in a drawer or closet. Because once you've seen your phone going to there website, well what else can you do with these?
With NFC Retag you can now scan you're "newly" found, already programmed for something else, NFC tags and let them do a totally other thing than they were intended to do. NFC ReTag can be set to do a hole number of things. It's even good for the environment. Reuse old tags.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.widgapp.NFC_ReTAG_FREE
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

does Xperia Tags works for our phones? anybody tried those?

rion21 said:
does Xperia Tags works for our phones? anybody tried those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine arrived the other day. They work well. BUT... they only have 46 bytes capacity. Only enough space for maybe 2x toggles and 1x app launch. ANything more complicated is too big.
The tags look good, but I regret getting them honestly. I wish I bought some 1K byte tags instead

kylec said:
Mine arrived the other day. They work well. BUT... they only have 46 bytes capacity. Only enough space for maybe 2x toggles and 1x app launch. ANything more complicated is too big.
The tags look good, but I regret getting them honestly. I wish I bought some 1K byte tags instead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:/ oh well, thanks for the info

rion21 said:
:/ oh well, thanks for the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem
If you only plan to use them to say toggle WiFi, toggle data and launch one app. All in one tap, then that will be fine.
But it wouldn't let me togge my WiFi, data, volume, launch email and turn on my computer lol
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium HD app

kylec said:
The tags look good, but I regret getting them honestly. I wish I bought some 1K byte tags instead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search for terms Mifare and MifareC, second is enough for most simple tasks... Ordinary Mifare is to small, you're right.
1x, xda premium hd

Would buying tags from ebay work? They seem to be really cheap like 1.50 for a sealed protected tag and 1kb like above poster mentiond... I'd post link but i cant since im new.

Xperia NFC Smart tags(Do not buy)

Just got my Xperia NFC tags looking to set it up to launch application but the tags only have 46bytes memory and the memory it takes to launch an App is at least 60bytes so the most you can do with these things is store a few URLs.
So I'm have to go on eBay again to find some no-name 1kb tags to do the job.

These work awesome for me usIng NFC Task Launcher. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006TGVPL2/ref=mp_s_a_5?pi=SL75&qid=1348853544&sr=8-5
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

That sucks.
Btw, does anyone know where to buy a package of 5 or 10 all black NFC stickers?
I found packages that have several colors, but not all one color.
I could probably just use a black marker on them but that would look, dorky.

As far as I know those xperia tags are only made to trigger a procedure saved on the xperia phone and nothing more.
You can try samsung tectiles but they are only available in the us, so is the official app over playstore. (5 pcs about 15$)
Samsung is starting pi***ng me of with the accesories.
Sent from my GT-N8000 using xda app-developers app

Just ordered 2 1kb tags for £1.10 each from eBay and they should do the same job as more expensive tags because it's mainly just memory capacity that matters.

CZ Eddie said:
That sucks.
Btw, does anyone know where to buy a package of 5 or 10 all black NFC stickers?
I found packages that have several colors, but not all one color.
I could probably just use a black marker on them but that would look, dorky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't seen black but there's a few all white 5 packs of NFC stickers on eBay for around $5.30

Crap i bought those and they are on the way
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Hi,
You could take a look at AutomateIt (Pro). It has the possibility to trigger a list of tasks, like launching apps, when scanning an NFC tag.
As far as I know, the NFC Tag can even be formatted, AutomateIt only needs the tag ID, so size shouldn't be an issue here.
Bye,
Lutz

I've bought bulk NFC tags from www.tagstand.com and www.tagsfordroid.com
Both have worked without any issues using Tasker or NFC Task Launcher and they're pretty cheap. Haven't seen any all black NFC tags (Besides the Xperia ones) but you could ask them about it. I know tagstand does do custom type tags but you need to email them.

Jainyankee1993 said:
Crap i bought those and they are on the way
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm almost never taken in by brand names but I bought these without thinking because they cheap and got the Xperia brand on, and I feel a bit stupid for not doing my research on NFC tags.

Geordie Lad said:
Just ordered 2 1kb tags for £1.10 each from eBay and they should do the same job as more expensive tags because it's mainly just memory capacity that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get them? I can only find the ones that claim to be original..

All tags that are not locked write protected and can be reprogrammed regardless of size, even those from xperia, sometime one app is unable to perform certain functions, whiles other can.
I had these NFC tags which I got from china shenzhen metro for USD 0.32 each, yes these tags are used to travel on the metro link, just like buying a ticket, but can be used for NFC functions, but only have 24kb usable space, can only be used enough for a few url, toggle BT, wifi or simple functions.
With certain app, it will not allow me to format and reuse them, including the NFC task launcher, other app will work and once formatted, it will work with most apps including NFC task launcher.
hope this helps.

Jammy959 said:
Where did you get them? I can only find the ones that claim to be original..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For all I know it is fake, but it doesn't matter because it holds the same memory as original and the point I'm making is they completely useless for doing much of anything, and I bought it from eBay.

Mifare 1k NFC Tags from Ebay
Ebay is where I got Mifare 1k NFC Tags: www ebay.com/itm/150885916919
It ships from China, and takes about 2-3 weeks to ship it to US.
I have used both NFC Task Launcher and AnyTag and works flawlessly.

I am a bit surprised by the original post in this thread.
I took delivery of an Xperia T 2 weeks ago and bought a set of 4 Xperia Smart Tags last week.
When I get in the car the tag turns on my bluetooth and starts up sygic navigation.
And this is not using any third party software just the smart connect that was on the phone when I got it.
So the tags are certainly big enough to launch an app if used on the phones they were intended for.
This sounds like a limitation of the S3 not the tags