Let's say you found the NFC function in your phone - you don't know what it is, and you also don't know what will happen when it is activated.

In this case, the material below will be incredibly useful to you, and you will discover another dimension of its use for yours.

If you already know about NFC technology in the phone what it is and how to use it, we will try to expand the boundaries of your knowledge.

So, let's begin.

NFC abbreviation

The mysterious figure of three Latin letters in yours is not a veiled curse at all, but an indication of the use of technology, the full name of which sounds like Near Field Communication.

It appeared relatively recently, but it was most widely used thanks to mobile technologies.

As it turned out, it is the best tool that facilitates, and in some cases speeds up the life of the user with its skillful use.

Conventionally, this abbreviation can be deciphered as "near connection". She is distant in several ways.

Firstly, the transfer of information with its help can be carried out at a minimum distance between the objects of interaction, which is no more than a couple of centimeters.

And secondly, the amount of information transmitted in the process is negligible, despite the fact that this technology is used by smart devices like .

The abbreviation NFC is related to another abbreviation EMV, the name of which is not necessary to memorize.

She, in turn, is the progenitor of the technology and describes the possibility of using smart cards for contactless transactions.

If desired, the process can be studied in more detail by looking through the standard 14443.

But bypassing theory, in order to fully appreciate the benefits of technology, let's turn to practice and learn how to use NFC in a mobile device.

rice. 1 - NFC logo

Where is NFC being implemented?

Yes, indeed, NFC technology applies not only to phones, but also to other gadgets, for example, tablets can also have similar functionality, especially since the technology allows it.

The NFC transmitter / receiver takes up really little space and in some cases fits without problems between the case cover and.

You can recognize devices equipped with such a module by the corresponding logo placed on the case.

Please note: often a label with the corresponding logo directly indicates the location of the corresponding antenna, and allows you to make a connection between objects much faster

As for other objects, other everyday objects can be embedded in readers and writers.

The same technology is used when paying with travel cards in public transport, for example, in the subway.

And among household appliances, modern refrigerators with smart functions stand out as the leaders in the use of this technology.

The technology itself is not strongly limited by standards, therefore it has rather broad prospects for its development, and many manufacturers of equipment and new technologies actively use this.

This applies to both hardware and software developers, so every day new gadgets and applications appear that allow you to effectively use NFC.

Now let's look at how they are used.

rice. 2 - Connecting in Android system

Ways of interaction

The uniqueness of NFC technology is that it can be used in three different ways. These include:

  • Data exchange.
  • Reading and writing data.
  • Emulation of smart cards.

The first interaction option involves the use of equivalent devices.

In the English version, for such interaction, the Peer-to-Peer characteristic is used, which means that the data is transmitted from the same object.

In this case, both objects will have modules with receivers that can interact in two directions - reading and writing information.

A striking example of such interaction can be considered the transfer of data from a smartphone to a smartphone, or from a smartphone to. The subjects of interaction in this case can be:

The second interaction option - reading and writing data can be carried out not only between devices.

Much more often it is used to create and read labels.

The peculiarity of these tags is that they are miniature hidden chips that do not consume a lot of energy.

The last interaction option is emulation.

It involves using a smartphone as a contactless payment device for services like payment cards used to pay for travel, but in a wider range thanks to services like Google Wallet.

NFC: what is it, what is it for, how does it work?

What is the nfc function in the phone? What is it used for and how can it be used in everyday life. Description of technology and features of its operation

Hidden technology flaws

Along with such advantages of NFC as low power consumption and minimal cost of implementation, this technology has a number of disadvantages that appear immediately after the start of operation.

Some of them have to be put up with in anticipation of the improvement of technology, and some of them force us to limit the scope.

So, the first of them is a small range of the signal.

This disadvantage, on the one hand, creates an inconvenience when, for example, the user needs to create a connection as quickly as possible, but on the other hand, it can also be evaluated as an advantage.

The bottom line is that in this way it is provided quite high degree security, which minimizes the chance of accidentally executing a command, for example, in the process of reading a code or a link from a sticker label.

But there are also more serious drawbacks.

Thus, the lack of clear standards leads to an uncontrolled increase in the number of technology modifications, from which the consumer himself suffers.

For example, some companies, such as Sony, are refining the transmission technology, releasing their own consumables in the form of TecTiles, which are compatible exclusively with their devices.

And this leads to the fact that the user is driven into the framework of inconvenience.

However, there is another drawback that manifests itself when trying to master the system on your own.

Of course, progress in recent years has led to the fact that the use of NFC is becoming more and more popular and more and more people are asking questions like what is nfc in the phone for, what is it and what is the use of it.

NFC - use case, what is it for, where to buy?

Today I want to talk about possible scenarios for using NFC technology in everyday life. Payment systems, contactless payments are good, but in addition to use cases imposed by market leaders, NFC can also be used in your own tasks. This is my personal experience and only my thoughts on the matter. Only the idea matters. How you use it is another question.

NFC stands for Near Field Communication or literally "near field communication". This technology is used to transfer data between devices at a distance of up to 10 cm. Communication is maintained through the induction of a magnetic field.

NFC can work in active and passive modes. For the first, it is necessary that both devices have their own power source, and for the second, one is enough. In the latter case, one of the devices derives its operating power from the electromagnetic field of the other.

The NFC chip itself has a fairly compact size, which allows you to install it in smartphones, speakers, tablets and other mobile gadgets.

What can NFC be used for?

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Compared to technology, NFC has a very high speed of establishing a connection between devices. At the same time, the speed of the data transfer itself in the active communication mode is quite low. That is why in smartphones, NFC is usually used only to transfer contacts, links, notes, as well as coordinates on the map.

When transferring large files, the technology is used only to connect devices, and the content is sent via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This also applies to transmission. simple video or documents via the "Submit" function.

You can find out the exact location of the antennas of the chip in the instructions for the device. However, in most cases they are displayed on the back of the case. Therefore, when connecting via NFC, smartphones need to be leaned against each other with their back panels.


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Passive communication mode can be used to read information from programmable NFC chips or so-called tags. They do not have their own power source, and activation occurs from the electromagnetic field of the reader device.

The main purpose of tags is to get additional information about a product or some event. In some retail chains, NFC tags are already replacing barcodes. Leaning a smartphone, the buyer can get detailed information, expiration date and storage conditions.

Tags are also used to automate various actions on a smartphone - turning on applications, changing the sound profile, sending messages, and so on. For example, you can program a tag to launch a navigator and attach it to your car. As soon as you put your smartphone on it, the gadget will start automatically.

The tags are programmed through special applications on the smartphone, such as NFC Tools.


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Gadgets with NFC can be used to emulate smart cards used as a pass, key or travel pass. However, with the advent of payment Android systems Pay, and Samsung Pay The main purpose of the NFC chip in a smartphone was to emulate bank cards for contactless payments.

To pay for goods using NFC, you just need to bring your smartphone to the terminal at the checkout. The main thing is to pre-bind your bank card to the payment system available for your smartphone.

Android Pay has the greatest coverage by device, since, unlike similar services from Apple and Samsung, it is not tailored for devices from a specific manufacturer. However, any of these payment systems You can use it without fear or risk.

None of them transmits the card number to the terminal itself at the time of payment. Instead, a so-called token is used - a digital encrypted identifier that is generated automatically when the card is activated. It is he who will be read as the main props.

How secure is NFC

Devices with NFC can both receive and transmit data at the same time, allowing them to detect inconsistencies if the received signal does not match the transmitted one.

The risk of interception of your data is extremely small, especially given the minimum range of the technology. The same Bluetooth, operating within tens of meters, is much more vulnerable to external interference.

This also applies to payment details: the token generated for contactless payment will not allow attackers to gain access. And the very fact of intercepting an encrypted identifier looks unrealistic.

In addition, contactless payment requires verification via fingerprint, password or face scan. Without all this, the purchase cannot be made. This means that even if the smartphone is stolen, no one will be able to use it as a payment instrument.


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Once, only expensive flagships had support for this technology, but now you can buy a smartphone with NFC for less than 10,000 rubles. In any case, this applies to Android devices. Among the most affordable are Nokia 3, samsung galaxy J5, Motorola Moto G5s.

In the Apple ecosystem, the cheapest smartphone with Apple support Pay is the iPhone SE, which costs just under 20,000 rubles today. All more expensive models, starting with the iPhone 6, also have an NFC chip.

If you don't know if your Android smartphone has NFC, you can check it by searching through the settings. Usually, functions related to this technology are available in the connections sections or wireless networks. Also, the NFC icon must be present in the list of icons quick launch in the top curtain.

Today, more and more mobile device manufacturers are equipping smartphones with NFC. This chip is built into many phones of different price segments. What is this technology, and what opportunities can it open up for the user? mobile device?

Translated Near field communication (NFC) sounds like “near field communication”. We are talking about a special wireless interface, the main characteristic of which is considered to be a short range (no more than 10 m). The following distinguishing features of NFC can be distinguished:

  • Small chip sizes.
  • Ability to exchange with other smartphones.
  • Low battery consumption.
  • The setup and installation time of the chip takes only a few seconds.
  • NFC is notable for its low cost, so manufacturers are now actively installing it even in budget phone models.
  • NFC has a slow data transfer rate.

Due to its small size and low power consumption, NFC can be used in even miniature devices. The chip is usually fixed inside the back panel or on the battery cover. In order for the user to know which place to put the phone on for data transfer, the place where the NFC chip is installed is marked with a special sticker.

But NFC is just the base. For its full use, there is no clearly debugged algorithm. Therefore, manufacturers mobile applications are forced to develop their own ways of working with NFC. Therefore, when devices and applications from different manufacturers interact, problems can often occur.

How to find out if NFC is installed on a smartphone?

Almost all modern phones, both expensive models and budget options, are equipped with this chip. If you want to know if your mobile phone NFC chip, it will be enough to look at the corresponding inscription (Near Field Communication or NFC). It is usually placed on the battery or on the body of the device.

If you could not find such an inscription, then you will have to look in the smartphone itself. In modern Android phones, it is enough to lower the curtain and select the settings menu. Next, you need to enter the wireless settings section, and then click the "More" button. If the phone has a built-in chip, then in this menu you will see the NFC connection item.

Using NFC

The most common use case for NFC is contactless payments. In this case, the user just needs to attach a bank card to the smartphone, and in the future it will be possible to pay for purchases with just one touch of the smartphone to the bank terminal. In this case, you must carefully consider the safety of the phone. A stolen or lost smartphone can be a godsend for scammers.

To make a payment via NFC you need:

  • Have a card with a paypass mark on hand.
  • Install the application of the bank to which the card belongs on the smartphone.
  • Select the NFC button from the menu of this application.
  • Then you will need to attach a bank card to the back surface to read the data.
  • Get a password for making payments and remember it (sent via SMS).

NFC can also be used to exchange data. To do this, you need a special program (for Android - Android Beam, for IOS - NFC Writer). Using the application, you can easily transfer any information from one smartphone to another. However, the data transfer rate is very low, so it is best to use this function to send text messages or links.

Another way to use NFC is to write and read tags (similar to reading a QR code). This feature is ideal for use at work and at home. It is only necessary to arm yourself with special programs for recording the necessary information and clean blanks. The following actions can be assigned to the created tags: sending emails and SMS, connecting via Bluetooth, opening links, launching any applications.

Contactless: what is NFC and how can a programmer work with it

Using NFC

There are many ways to use NFC:

  • Card emulation mode allows you to use this technology for contactless payments, such as Google Wallet, or to pay or receive tickets on public transport.
  • There are several mobile applications that allow you to save the settings for the mobile device on the tags and later use them to quickly change any settings of the mobile device (switch to vibrate mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off on the mobile device).
  • Devices that support NFC are gradually appearing on the market - stereo systems, TVs that allow you to pair with a phone or tablet for remote control.
  • NFC is used in the healthcare system to store patient ID and personal records.
  • In the field of inventory management, NDEF records can be used to store information about the place of departure of goods, about their passage through various intermediate points, and the like.

Conclusion

NFC technology adds promising functionality to RFID technology. The most significant innovation is the NFC Data Interchange Format (NDEF), which provides the ability to format ordinary data into one of four NFC tag technologies. NDEF can be used both for data exchange between a device and a tag, and for exchange between devices. This makes NFC suitable not only as a method of identification, but also as a means of exchanging short blocks of data.

Paying with your smartphone has long been the norm. One movement replaced a whole chain of events: take out the card, insert it into the receiver, enter the password.

But this is not the only possible application of modern wireless technologies. For example, NFC is ready now to reduce the time spent on routine activities to almost zero.

Now I will tell you how I use this function of the smartphone.

What is NFC and how to use it?


At the heart of NFC is a continuation of the familiar RFID - an automatic identification method in which data stored on tags are read or written using radio signals. That is, this is another way of transmitting information over a radio channel.

NFC devices are able to both receive and transmit data at the same time. Thus, they can monitor the RF field and detect inconsistencies if the received signal does not match the transmitted one.

Among the main features and benefits of NFC:

  • work in passive mode without user intervention;
  • short connection setup time (even compared to Bluetooth);
  • short range (less than 20 cm);
  • compatibility with existing RFID structures;
  • the ability to work with devices that are not supplied with power sources.

NFC-enabled devices: readers and tags


In order to actively use the technology in life, devices that support it are required. Although NFC has clear advantages, there are not so few devices that support it.

Smartphones have become the main carriers of NFC. They pretend to be a card (pass or payment), read passive tags (Tag) or information from unsupported cards (Troika and analogues), communicate and exchange information with each other.


The latter function is not widely used due to the low exchange rate. And attaching smartphones to each other to exchange a link takes more time than sending in a messenger.

Locks using NFC cards instead of a key are quite common in the West. However, NFC can emulate the work of conventional RFID passes. And if they are in use in your office, you can write information to Google Pay and use your smartphone (but not always).


Occasionally, there are other devices equipped with NFC. Most of them use technology to establish a fast connection between devices (further devices reconnect to a faster communication protocol, NFC is used only to exchange key information).

This list includes wireless speakers of some brands, smart home appliances, computer peripherals (printers, routers).


About bonus and payment cards, I think you already know everything. A very convenient function: put a smartphone, logged in with a fingerprint, paid or confirmed the action.

At home or other non-professional places, it makes no sense to use pass access systems or smart locks - they are very expensive.

Another thing is the use of NFC tags in the form of stickers with a chip similar to an RFID tag, as well as similar key fobs and rings.


These small programmable information zones are capable of giving information to the attached smartphone, launching certain applications for trusted devices, and even launching a whole sequence of actions, serving as a kind of trigger for running a macro saved on a mobile phone.

My home scripts


I use NFC quite actively. Many scripts may seem redundant and even stupid - nevertheless, they make life easier for me, corresponding to certain habits and peculiarities of thinking.

Perhaps some of them will be of interest to readers. Some may seem strange. Let's discuss?

Entrance hall and common access


As my main home router, I use Xiaomi R1D with built-in 1TB storage and additional USB storage. A factory NFC tag is hidden under the top cover of the device.

The router is placed in the hall closet in such a way that it is easily accessible, but the device remains out of sight. It's not just about aesthetics.

NFC tag reveals password to guests home network Wi-Fi with permission to read the shared folders of the internal storage of the router. Archives of family photos, useful distributions and educational materials are stored here.

At work


My three-meter desktop is a treasure trove of hidden NFC tags. Each corresponds to a specific trigger, or a whole sequence of actions.

The main one is hidden in the smartphone holder: it turns on Wi-Fi and starts a chain of exchange processes - software updates, synchronization cloud services, archiving photos and files downloaded from your smartphone to your home NAS.


It also stops the playback of any content on the smartphone, be it music, a movie or an audiobook.

The second zone of the table is occupied by a 3D printer and a soldering iron. Nearby is a label that forces the smartphone to turn on loud calls and automatically receive incoming calls. It also launches the Electronic Components Reference Application.

Another label is designed to test new smartphones. It provides an administrator password for Wi-Fi, saves photos and screenshots from the device to a file exchanger, and starts downloading a software package for testing.

Front of the TV


A label is hidden in the armrest of the sofa, which puts the smartphone into vibration mode and turns on the MiTVAssistant program to control the TV.

The zone next to it hides another label that turns on Bluetooth, pairs the smartphone and the TV box, and then plays music in Google Music.

In the bedroom


Everything is incredibly simple here: the label lies on the bedside table. I put my smartphone down - the sound turned off, wireless interfaces turned on, the economical power supply turned on.

And an alarm clock, of course, which starts the reverse process.

Now I plan to glue another one next to the crib. When touched, it will have to launch a separate program with a children's audiobook.

In the kitchen


The kitchen is conditionally divided into 2 zones: the dining room and the actual place of cooking. Accordingly, the layout of the labels is more complicated than in the bedroom.

The first label hangs on the refrigerator at the entrance. If you touch it, the smartphone communicates with the wireless speaker.

The other two are hiding next to the common table. One is for my wife's smartphone, it includes audio books. The second is mine, and it forces the smartphone to open the application with the latest news and weather forecast.

In transport


I don't use a car as all my travels are now handled by public transport and taxis. Costs several times cheaper.

The bike is another matter. An NFC tag is also hidden in the smartphone holder on the steering wheel. I fixed the smartphone - the navigator started, Bluetooth (connection with headphones), vibration turned off.

Personal items


Triggers are so convenient that they have a place in clothes and bags and even a diary. The latter has 2 of them: a label is hidden under the front side, which turns off the sounds on the smartphone and turns on the application for creating tasks. On the back - a label that returns everything back.