Develop Bugs

Any NFC apps on here at all?

I know Google Wallet isn't on here yet but aren't there supposed to be some basic NFC apps to read tags? Am I confused?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

There are some.
This one has been used by people on the Nexus S, and is the official app for NXP semi, who make heaps of NFC tags.
Unfortunately, that app (as well as several others) refuse to write tags with my Galaxy Nexus. They can read them fine, but they can't write them.
I think we just need to wait for software devs to add support for the galaxy nexus.

Niksko said:
There are some.
This one has been used by people on the Nexus S, and is the official app for NXP semi, who make heaps of NFC tags.
Unfortunately, that app (as well as several others) refuse to write tags with my Galaxy Nexus. They can read them fine, but they can't write them.
I think we just need to wait for software devs to add support for the galaxy nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried using NFC Task Launcher? It works on the Nexus S running ICS so you might give it a try if you haven't already.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

Niksko said:
Unfortunately, that app (as well as several others) refuse to write tags with my Galaxy Nexus. They can read them fine, but they can't write them.
I think we just need to wait for software devs to add support for the galaxy nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a bit more than that. Right now the class utilized to format tags to NDEF that aren't previously NDEF (read ANY blank tag you receive) can't be used with ICS.
This is because these tags no longer report the tech NdefFormatable. Without this tech reporting the class refuses to operate on them (returns a null object when you try to get an instance on which to operate from the incoming tag) - rendering all current apps unable to format them to NDEF.
There's NO notes on this in any API changes (3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 4.0) and no other API able to be used to accomplish this task that I can find. It's not yet known if this is an intentional change or not. I've got an issue raised in the issue tracker to try to get some more information.
If you purchase pre-formated tags they work fine as they are already formatted for NDEF. Tags that are truly "blank" are dead in the water right now on ICS.

Wait GoogleWallet doesn't work on the GN?

krohnjw said:
It's a bit more than that. Right now the class utilized to format tags to NDEF that aren't previously NDEF (read ANY blank tag you receive) can't be used with ICS.
This is because these tags no longer report the tech NdefFormatable. Without this tech reporting the class refuses to operate on them (returns a null object when you try to get an instance on which to operate from the incoming tag) - rendering all current apps unable to format them to NDEF.
There's NO notes on this in any API changes (3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 4.0) and no other API able to be used to accomplish this task that I can find. It's not yet known if this is an intentional change or not. I've got an issue raised in the issue tracker to try to get some more information.
If you purchase pre-formated tags they work fine as they are already formatted for NDEF. Tags that are truly "blank" are dead in the water right now on ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really interesting information. This is what I'm experiencing, as my tags were previously blank.
Thanks for the info, and hopefully somebody makes an API that will allow us to write to these uninitialized tags.

Niksko said:
This is really interesting information. This is what I'm experiencing, as my tags were previously blank.
Thanks for the info, and hopefully somebody makes an API that will allow us to write to these uninitialized tags.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent the last hour or so trying to get around this to no avail. I can successfully "spoof" the tag tech by grabbing it via reflection and altering it at runtime so I can get an instance of the class - it throws an IO exception when connecting though So I'm still stuck there - I'll see if I can devise a work around this week. I am not super optimistic though.

[Q] NFC smart cards like Mifare DESfire or SmartMX

Hi,
I'd like to create a App which I want to unlock with a NFC based smart card like a Mifare SmartMX or DESfire. So the user needs the card to do certain stuff within the application.
After the smart card is programmed with "java card" for example, is it possible to communicate with android? Is android even possible to deal with the cryptosystems?
Has anybody tried that before or knows something about it?
Thanks very much for ur help..
At the moment I'm using a galaxy nexus with android 4.0.4
cheers
-eiMer

I know NFC TagInfo ( play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.mroland.android.apps.nfctaginfo&hl=en ) is able to communicate with Desfire card (among with a lot of other kinds).
It can even read the secured data if it is given the correct keys.
The android SDK provides classes to handle Mifare Classic card but not Desfire AFAIK. I don't know if the used an external Desfire library or if they implemented the whole protocol by themselves (it seems to be a very big research group - founded by NXP - so they might have) but it is definitely possible to use Desfire cards with Android.

Thanks for your help.
Ill try to find out how they managed the communication.
If I get some results Ill post them here.

eiMer said:
After the smart card is programmed with "java card" for example, is it possible to communicate with android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smartcards and also DESFire communicate using the ISO14443-4 transmission protocol (also known as ISO-DEP). Android provides the class IsoDep to communicate with these cards. Depending on the card, you would then exchange either ISO7816-4 APDU commands (e.g. with your JavaCard applet or with the DESFire card in ISO 7816-4 framing mode) or proprietary commands (e.g. with DESFire native command set).
eiMer said:
Is android even possible to deal with the cryptosystems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Android API already provides support for a wide range of cipher suites, hash functions ... If that's not sufficient for your type of card, you could also implement your own algorithms.
Gildas35 said:
I know NFC TagInfo is able to communicate with Desfire card (among with a lot of other kinds).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I've implemented support for DESFire. For the moment, however, only authentication with the default key (DES, all zeros) is supported.
Gildas35 said:
The android SDK provides classes to handle Mifare Classic card but not Desfire AFAIK. I don't know if the used an external Desfire library or if they implemented the whole protocol by themselves (it seems to be a very big research group - founded by NXP - so they might have) but it is definitely possible to use Desfire cards with Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've implemented the protocol myself (on top of the IsoDep class). The original DESFire protocol is pretty straight forward and there's lots of help on the web. When it comes to the EV1 extensions (improved cryptography) things get a bit more difficult.
br
Michael

problem with infineon my-d nfc

i have a galaxy s3, and today i got an infineon myd nfc (SLE 66R32P), but i can't store anything on it. i tried to use the programs nfc retag, nfc task launcher and the nxp tag writer, but none work. i've attached some screenshots.
(the text on the first says: "tag not supported. it's no NDEF-tag or NDEF-formatable tag.)
i know that it is not write-protected. the documentation of the tag says:
documentation
NFC Tag Operation
• Support of NFC Forum™ - Type 2 Tag Operation Specification
• Up to 2048 bytes NFC memory available
– organized in static or dynamic memory structure
– pre-defined memory size for NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag Operation (up to two 1 kByte sectors)
• Pre-configured NFC memory with empty NDEF message (INITIALIZED state)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

wergor said:
i have a galaxy s3, and today i got an infineon myd nfc (SLE 66R32P), but i can't store anything on it. i tried to use the programs nfc retag, nfc task launcher and the nxp tag writer, but none work. i've attached some screenshots.
(the text on the first says: "tag not supported. it's no NDEF-tag or NDEF-formatable tag.)
i know that it is not write-protected. the documentation of the tag says:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, can only speak for NFC ReTag
the tag specification says : "Pre-configured NFC memory with empty NDEF message (INITIALIZED state)" ---> so it should be already NDEF pre-formated and the NFC ReTag error message "already NDEF-formated" should be correct .... Have you tried to write a special NFC ReTag tag ?
btw. you can pm me in german for further support , if you want ....

ascsa said:
Ok, can only speak for NFC ReTag
the tag specification says : "Pre-configured NFC memory with empty NDEF message (INITIALIZED state)" ---> so it should be already pre-formated and the NFC ReTag error message "already NDEF-formated" should be correct .... Have you tried to write a special NFC ReTag tag ?
btw. you can pm me in german for further support , if you want ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried that too, it says "Tag is write protected, blocked or not formated! nothing done! you can try to format the tag if the error persists!"

wergor said:
i tried that too, it says "Tag is write protected, blocked or not formated! nothing done! you can try to format the tag if the error persists!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm Ok,
unfortunately this is the NFC ReTag message, if the app could not write your tag .... Normally it occurs when the tag is not NDEF formated or you write-protected the tag ... I assume this is a new tag, and you never write-protected it .... ?
Strange, according to the tag specs this tag should work ... unless i missed something obviously ....
EDIT: had a look at the tag documentation, found this on page 7:
Infineon's my-d™ NFC family convinces with fast communication speed and high robustness. Furthermore, the
SLE 66RxxP family can be operated as NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag.
and this on page 11:
The my-d™ NFC are delivered with pre-configured NFC memory; the Capability Container bytes are programmed
and the data area holds an empty NDEF message; this represents the NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag INITIALIZED
state within the tag life cycle. With this pre-configuration the my-d™ NFC can be immediately used in NFC
infrastructures.
For further details regarding the NFC initialization of my-d™ NFC please refer to the Data Book and the Application
Note “How to operate my-d™ devices in NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag infrastructures” available at Chip Card &
Security " Attention: This pre-configuration can be over-written to any value. Initial shipments of the my-d™ NFC
devices have been delivered without this configuration."
So, perhaps you got one of these initial shipment tags .....

ascsa said:
Hmmm Ok,
unfortunately this is the NFC ReTag message, if the app could not write your tag .... Normally it occurs when the tag is not NDEF formated or you write-protected the tag ... I assume this is a new tag, and you never write-protected it .... ?
Strange, according to the tag specs this tag should work ... unless i missed something obviously ....
EDIT: had a look at the tag documentation, found this on page 7:
Infineon's my-d™ NFC family convinces with fast communication speed and high robustness. Furthermore, the
SLE 66RxxP family can be operated as NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag.
and this on page 11:
The my-d™ NFC are delivered with pre-configured NFC memory; the Capability Container bytes are programmed
and the data area holds an empty NDEF message; this represents the NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag INITIALIZED
state within the tag life cycle. With this pre-configuration the my-d™ NFC can be immediately used in NFC
infrastructures.
For further details regarding the NFC initialization of my-d™ NFC please refer to the Data Book and the Application
Note “How to operate my-d™ devices in NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag infrastructures” available at Chip Card &
Security " Attention: This pre-configuration can be over-written to any value. Initial shipments of the my-d™ NFC
devices have been delivered without this configuration."
So, perhaps you got one of these initial shipment tags .....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i think it is one of those... guess i need a nfc reader for pc to initialize the tag...

wergor said:
Yes, i think it is one of those... guess i need a nfc reader for pc to initialize the tag...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, but I´m not sure if anybody other than the manufacturer can initialize these tags ...
Anyway ,you should be able to use this tag (without initializing) with NFC ReTag ... writing a special NFC ReTag tag is not possible, but you only need that for better dispatching process and everything else should work without writing something to the tag

ascsa said:
yep, but I´m not sure if anybody other than the manufacturer can initialize these tags ...
Anyway ,you should be able to use this tag (without initializing) with NFC ReTag ... writing a special NFC ReTag tag is not possible, but you only need that for better dispatching process and everything else should work without writing something to the tag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, the tag IS initialized, but only with zeros (see screenshots) and not with a NDEF message.
documentation said:
The my-d™ NFC are delivered with pre-configured NFC memory; the Capability Container bytes are programmed
and the data area holds an empty NDEF message; this represents the NFC Forum™ Type 2 Tag INITIALIZED
state within the tag life cycle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i understand it, "initializing" (what i want to do) just means writing any ndef message to the tag (and set those "capability container bytes").
if i had an nfc reader i could test this, i already found a program (for pc) can write NDEF messages to tags. but i somehow doubt that works. it's never that easy maybe android just doesn't support that particular tag...

NfcV tags crashing Nexus 10 (/4?) NFC function - solved on 4.3

Hi,
due to my app NFC ReTag, I experiment a lot with write-protected NFC tags (like lift tickets/ski pass, library cards, company badges etc.) and I have a large collection of these tags. One of the latest tags I got, is a ski pass with android.nfc.tech.NfcV tag tech (no other tech on it!). This tag works as expected on all of my testing devices exept the Nexus 10 (couldn´t test on a nexus 4 so far, but I assume it will be the same).
On the nexus 10 the tag not only isn´t recognized, but also breaks the NFC function ....After taping this tag to the device, NFC is not longer working on the device -> any other tag will not be recognized ! ...
It´s not a big deal, because disabling NFC, and enabling it again will fix it (using the lock screen will also do the trick!) but this is annoying ...
Checked my nfc tag collection and found another NfcV tag with the same behavior. The nexus 7 with JB 4.2.1 has NO problems, so I think this related to the Broadcom NFC controller ....
...and unlike the Mifare classic tags issues, this is not a lack of support (which is OK, because of the proprietary NXP protocol) but an annoying bug from my point of view.

ascsa said:
Hi,
due to my app NFC ReTag, I experiment a lot with write-protected NFC tags (like lift tickets/ski pass, library cards, company badges etc.) and I have a large collection of these tags. One of the latest tags I got, is a ski pass with android.nfc.tech.NfcV tag tech (no other tech on it!). This tag works as expected on all of my testing devices exept the Nexus 10 (couldn´t test on a nexus 4 so far, but I assume it will be the same).
On the nexus 10 the tag not only isn´t recognized, but also breaks the NFC function ....After taping this tag to the device, NFC is not longer working on the device -> any other tag will not be recognized ! ...
It´s not a big deal, because disabling NFC, and enabling it again will fix it (using the lock screen will also do the trick!) but this is annoying ...
Checked my nfc tag collection and found another NfcV tag with the same behavior. The nexus 7 with JB 4.2.1 has NO problems, so I think this related to the Broadcom NFC controller ....
...and unlike the Mifare classic tags issues, this is not a lack of support (which is OK, because of the proprietary NXP protocol) but an annoying bug from my point of view.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is an exception being thrown in the log (either Android internal class or jni)? Can you capture that if it is?

krohnjw said:
Is an exception being thrown in the log (either Android internal class or jni)? Can you capture that if it is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, logcat shows nothing ....no NativeNfcTag tag, no dispatching message etc. ...

ascsa said:
Nope, logcat shows nothing ....no NativeNfcTag tag, no dispatching message etc. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything from BrcmNfcJni?

krohnjw said:
Anything from BrcmNfcJni?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope .... nothing ....if I clear the log, and scan the tag, I don´t get a single entry ...

If anyone's curious we have confirmation it's a known issue. Some NfcV tags don't implement an optional part of the protocol that the Broadcom stack is looking for and it's hanging as a result. It's a known issue, there's a fix for it and it will be pushed in an update eventually.

Android 4.2.2 update ...still the same issue...so perhaps with the next update

Official Bug link?
krohnjw said:
If anyone's curious we have confirmation it's a known issue. Some NfcV tags don't implement an optional part of the protocol that the Broadcom stack is looking for and it's hanging as a result. It's a known issue, there's a fix for it and it will be pushed in an update eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there an 'official' bug raised for that issue?
h ttps://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list

8y5 said:
Is there an 'official' bug raised for that issue?
h ttps://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
afaik, no. I made some logs and krohnjw discussed this issue directly with the responsible person ...

solved in JB 4.3
OK, just for the sake of completeness: Seems that the android JB 4.3 Update fixed the problem. So, apparently the broadcom NFC stack got the update.
and to the broadcom/android guys: I know how you "fixed" it ... not ideal, but it works

Just a Few Questions

I was really wondering how much memory does a few lines of command take up? I just ordered some 144 kb tags because I can't use mifare classic cause I have a nexus 4. I was just wondering if that would be enough for a few toggles.

cfmusicman said:
I was really wondering how much memory does a few lines of command take up? I just ordered some 144 kb tags because I can't use mifare classic cause I have a nexus 4. I was just wondering if that would be enough for a few toggles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
144Kb tags!?? Are you going to store a whole library in it?
Assuming you ordered some 144 Bytes tags, the memory you need is just a few bytes more than the commands you are actually writing on it.
Also, some bytes are used internally, based on the tag technology.
Example (using MiFare UltraLight, which has only 64 bytes):
NDEF Command: Open site "http://www.google.com/"
--> 16 Bytes were used for MiFare UltraLight (UID, Access Conditions, etc.)
--> 8 Bytes were used for NDEF structure
--> 22 Bytes were used for your data (the link itself).
TOTAL: 46 Bytes used.
I'm using some apps on my Galaxy Nexus phone, that are really useful:
- NFC TagInfo --> Useful to show the raw data and some more technical information;
- Tagstand Writer --> Easiest app I found to write NDEF tags;
Hope I could help you.

cfmusicman said:
I was really wondering how much memory does a few lines of command take up? I just ordered some 144 kb tags because I can't use mifare classic cause I have a nexus 4. I was just wondering if that would be enough for a few toggles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean 144byte tags right?
As for how much memory a few commands take up, I've attached a couple of images that should help you. These toggles were programmed onto 144byte NTAG203 tags.