How to use NFC technology. NFC function on the phone - what is it and what is special about it. NFC on a phone - what is it, how does it work and where is it used?

On September 9, Apple announced iPhone smartphones 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, one of the features of which was the NFC chip and the technology based on it Apple Pay. In the presentation, the main emphasis was placed on the possibility of contactless payment for purchases using a smartphone, but in fact, the capabilities of NFC do not end there and have long been successfully used in Android smartphones to perform many different tasks, from paying for a trip on the subway to automating your smartphone.

Instead of introducing

NFC stands for Near Field Communication or “near contactless communication”, in Russian. At its core, it is a small chip that can be built into a smartphone for the purpose of transmitting data over very short distances at a very meager speed. NFC is very close to RFID technology, which has long been used to tag products in supermarkets, but is based on its more recent ISO/IEC 14443 (smart cards) standard and is designed for use in wearable electronics (read: smartphones) and performing secure transactions (read: payment for purchases).

As with the ISO/IEC 14443 standard, NFC has a range of only 5–10 cm, but the difference is that the NFC chip is capable of acting as both a tag and a reader at the same time. In other words, a smartphone equipped with NFC can be either a smart card (a metro card, for example), which just needs to be brought to the reader to pay, or the reader itself, which can be used, for example, to transfer funds between smartphone cards and convert real cards with support for ISO/IEC 14443 standard in virtual.

But this is only “one of” and the most obvious application of NFC. Due to the fact that the NFC chip is capable of transmitting data in both directions and does not require device authentication, it can be used as a simple and more convenient replacement for Bluetooth. WITH using NFC, for example, you can share links, passwords, contacts and other data between smartphones by simply bringing them close to each other.

Introduced in Android 4.0, Beam technology further expands the scope of NFC, allowing you to quickly transfer entire files and folders between devices, which is achieved by pre-authenticating Bluetooth devices via NFC and then establishing a Bluetooth connection and sending files. As in the previous case, all that is required for the transfer is simply to bring the phones close to each other. IN Samsung firmware this function is called S-Beam and allows you to use not only bluetooth as a “transport channel,” but also Wi-Fi (one of the smartphones turns into an access point).

Another possibility is the use of passive NFC tags. These tags, in the form of small stickers, can be purchased for half a dollar each and reprogrammed using a smartphone. Each of them can contain 137 bytes of information (in the case of the most common and cheapest Mifire Ultralight C tag), to read which, again, you just need to bring your smartphone. In the tag you can write the password from home Wi-Fi and stick it on the router. Or a code word to which the smartphone will respond. You can organize the automatic launch of the navigator when you install the smartphone in the holder in the car, or enable silent and energy-saving modes when the phone is on the bedside table. A small shopping list of 137 bytes will also fit quite well.

In this article we will talk about all possible applications NFC is in practice, but since payment for purchases using it has been implemented almost nowhere in our country, we will talk mainly about automation based on tags.

Smartphone support

The first phone with integrated NFC support there was Nokia 6131, released back in 2006. At that time, the built-in NFC chip was just a toy to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology created two years ago. The smartphone was equipped with software for reading NFC tags, but due to their then high cost and almost zero popularity of the technology, it was not suitable for any serious use this feature I didn’t claim a smartphone.

After some lull, NFC was popularized by Google, which released in 2010 samsung smartphone Nexus S and the Google Wallet application, which allowed you to pay with virtual credit cards using NFC. The following year, Google became a leading participant in the NFC Forum and introduced Android 4.0 and a smartphone based on it Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which now boasted the presence of that very Beam function. Later the Nexus 4 appeared, and other manufacturers finally began to catch up.

Today, almost all smartphones produced are equipped with NFC. Even ultra-low-cost Mediatek chips have a corresponding module, so most new Chinese smartphones costing 5,000 rubles are also equipped with it. In any case, the presence of an NFC chip can be easily checked by the presence of the item “ Wireless network-> NFC" in settings.

Playing with tags

Where can I get tags? As I said, the easiest option is to simply order them from China (dx.com, tinydeal.com, aliexpress.com). The cheapest tags, represented by Mifire Ultralight C with 137 bytes of memory, will cost about five dollars for ten pieces. You can also get branded tags from Sony (SmartTags), but in addition appearance and the prices, which will be three to five times higher, are no different. Another option: TecTile tags from Samsung with an even higher price tag, but also more memory (716 bytes). But here you need to be careful, the first version of the tags is only compatible with the NXP NFC controller, so they will not work with most smartphones.

It is quite possible to use tokens and subway cards as a tag for multiple trips. Often, part of the memory in them remains free for writing, so you can put any information there. But even if this is not the case, the tag can still be used as an action trigger, simply by setting the smartphone to react to the unique ID of the tag.

Without additional software, mobile operating systems have only limited support for “communication” with tags. The same Android does not offer any tools for working with them at all. All you can do is simply bring the tag to your smartphone so that the latter can read it. Depending on the type of data recorded in the tag, the smartphone can display this data on the screen (text type or not supported), open a web page (URI type), launch an application (special type android.com:pkg, supported only in Android) , open the dialer with the specified number (URI type "tel://") and perform some other actions.

There are no means in Android to change the tags themselves or the behavior of the smartphone in response to their detection, so we will have to acquire additional software. The three applications we will use are:

  • NFC TagInfo - a tag reader that allows you to obtain the most complete information about the tag and the data recorded in it;
  • NFC TagWriter is a proprietary application from leading tag manufacturer NXP Semiconductors;
  • Trigger - allows you to independently determine the reaction to a tag with the ability to transfer control to Tasker.

NFC TagInfo

First, let's figure out what kind of tags we got. The Chinese usually don’t provide any details on this matter, and I’m generally silent about subway maps. Launch NFC TagInfo and bring your smartphone to the tag. Next, tap on the Tag Information item and see (screenshot “Reading the NFC tag”) what we have:

  • UID - unique tag identifier;
  • RF Technology is a standard supported by the tag. In this case, it is ISO/IEC 14443 Type A, that is, a regular RFID tag with support for the first version of the data exchange protocol (Type A);
  • Tag Type - the type (or better said, “model”) of the tag. In this case, NTAG203 is Mifare Ultralight C, the cheapest on this moment tag. The letter C means support for data encryption. There is also Topaz 512, which holds 450 bytes of information, and Mifare Classic 1K (716 bytes), used in TecTile tags and often in metro maps;
  • Manufacturer - tag manufacturer. NXP Semiconductors - 90% of all NFC tags are made by them (Mifare family).

Now we go back and go to the NDEF information menu. NDEF is one of the NFC standards that describes the format for storing information in the tag memory and transmitting it to the reader. A tag can contain multiple NDEF messages, each with its own ID and type, which the smartphone can use to determine how to interpret the data it contains. The type is specified in the format URI, MIME, or domain:service, if we are talking about some type specific to the reader (for example, the same android.com:pkg).

In the NDEF information menu, we are primarily interested in the lines Maximum message size (useful tag size), Is tag writable (write support) and Can tag be write-protected (write protection support). The last option allows you to block tag recording for all devices except ours. In addition, a tag can be permanently locked so that it can never be written down again. In this case, the penultimate option will indicate no.

What's inside the tag?

From a technical point of view, an NFC tag is a microcomputer like those found inside SIM and bank cards. It has its own processor, RAM and permanent memory, but there is no traditional power source. It receives electric current through electromagnetic induction, which occurs between the antennas of the reader and tag, just as it happens in wireless chargers and passive radio receivers. Thanks to the ultra-low level of energy consumption, the power of such a “transformer” is quite sufficient for the normal functioning of the microcomputer.

The antenna occupies about 99% of the tag area and transmits data at a frequency of 13.56 MHz at a speed of 106, 212, or 424 Kbps. The NFC standards define several data transfer protocols, including several implementations of the data exchange protocol (they are designated by the letters A, B, and so on), which can be supplemented by the manufacturer of the tag itself. For example, the Mifare family of tags implement a number of extensions over the standard protocol, which is why it is possible to catch incompatibilities between applications and the tag (but this is rare).

Data security is ensured in several ways:

  • Short range. Ten centimeters is a very private zone.
  • Anti-cloning protection with a unique serial number.
  • Possibility of overwrite protection and password protection of data.
  • Optional data encryption in memory and during transmission.

The leading manufacturer of NFC tags is NXP Semiconductors. They produce tags from the Mifare family, which have become so popular that compatibility with them is ensured not only by other tag manufacturers, but also by manufacturers of NFC chips for smartphones (at the tag emulation level). The family includes several different models, starting from the simplest Mifare Ultralight C and ending with Mifare DESFire EV1, which have a built-in file system with cryptography support and flexible access rights.

Go to the NDEF message menu. If the tag contains any data, it will all be displayed here, broken down into messages. The remaining NFC TagInfo options allow you to view information about the tag's memory: actual volume, dump in HEX and ASCII formats, access rights to memory pages, and so on. I recommend returning to these options after writing to the data tag.

We write the data

We will use NFC TagWriter to record data. Using the application is quite simple. Launch it, tap on Create, write and store, select New, then select the type of data to be written. The most useful types: contact, plain text, phone number, Bluetooth connection data, URI and application. The list even includes a web browser bookmark and an email message, but what they are needed for is not entirely clear.


Next, fill in the required fields (for example, the website address in the case of URI), click Next and get to the options screen (screenshot “NFC TagWriter: message options”). Here you can specify the application that will be launched after reading the label (Add launch application) and set protection against overwriting by a third-party device (Apply Soft Protection). The application will also take care to inform us about tag models that can accommodate this data (in this case everything is OK, NTAG203 is in the list).


Click Next again and bring the smartphone to the tag. Voila, our data is in it. Now they can be read by any NFC-enabled smartphone. But what does this ultimately give?

Use cases

In fact, there are a lot of scenarios for using tags. For example, I use tags for storing passwords and home automation, others for automatically unlocking a smartphone and automatically starting a navigator in a car. Tags can be glued to a table, on a laptop, on a keychain, inside a book, on a business card, or sewn under clothing. Therefore, the range of their application is huge, and ultimately everything depends only on your imagination.

Home automation

The simplest and most obvious way to use tags is to simply stick them around the house in order to create some kind of automation system. There are many different options here. I will give you the most interesting and useful ones.

  • Home Wi-Fi password. We put a tag on the router and write the password into it using the InstaWifi application. It will be useful not only for those who often receive guests, but also for those who like to experiment with firmware.
  • Launch auto-sync or an application for exchanging data with a PC. The tag can be glued to a laptop or system unit and configured to launch an application for data synchronization (AirDroid, WiFi ADB and others).
  • Enable the access point. Again, we glue the tag on the laptop, then install the Trigger application. In it we add a new task, select NFC as a trigger, skip the selection of restrictions, select “Wireless and local networks-> Wifi zone”, skip the next screen (adding a switch) and on the last screen bring it to the NFC tag.
  • Turn on airplane mode at night. We glue the mark somewhere closer to the bed. Launch Trigger, new task -> trigger: NFC -> action: “Experimental -> Airplane mode”. Alternatively, instead of turning on airplane mode, you can set the data and Wi-Fi to be turned off by adding the appropriate actions to the task.

Automotive Automation

NFC tags will be very useful for those who use a smartphone as a car navigator. Just stick the tag on the smartphone holder and write down instructions for launching the navigator in it - and voila. Everything has become much easier. However, I would recommend going a slightly different route and complicating the setup by adding automatic switching on Bluetooth (for headset), GPS and turning off Wi-Fi.

To do this, we again need Trigger. Launch it, add a task, select NFC as a trigger. Add the action “Bluetooth -> Bluetooth On/Off -> Enable”. Add one more action: “Wireless and local networks -> GPS On/Off -> Enable”. And one more thing: “Wireless and local networks -> WiFi On/Off -> Turn off.” Finally, add the action “Application and shortcuts -> Open application -> select application”. We skip the screen for adding switches, on the next screen we bring the smartphone to the tag.

Now, after installing the smartphone in the holder, we will receive a smartphone fully configured for use in the car.

Unlocking your smartphone

Motorola has a pretty interesting smartphone accessory called the Motorola Skip. This is a clothing clip for quickly unlocking your smartphone without having to enter a PIN code or graphic key. The accessory is quite useful in some cases, but it only works with smartphones from the same company. Fortunately, a similar contraption can be assembled on your knee.

I won’t tell you how to make the clip itself - here everyone is free to show their imagination, you can stick an NFC tag on your hand - but instead I’ll tell you how to set up the smartphone to unlock when you touch it. There are several ways, but the simplest and most effective is the Xposed NFC LockScreenOff Enabler module. The module, like Xposed itself, requires root, but in addition to effectively solving the problem, it includes a super function - activating NFC when the screen is off.

The fact is that for security reasons, Android prohibits the use of NFC until the screen is unlocked (not just turned on, but unlocked), which negates many effective techniques for using it. NFC LockScreenOff Enabler solves this problem.

Business card

NFC tags can be used in combination with business cards. There are several companies on the market that produce them, but their price tags are such that it’s easier to stick tags on ordinary business cards yourself, and still have a lot of money in your pocket. You can write any information into a tag, including contact information (TagWriter supports this format), website address, or even the geographic coordinates of your office (the smartphone will automatically open maps to show the location). And the most important thing is that you don’t have to give the business card to the person, it’s enough for him to scan it.

Turning on the computer

This is a kind of development of the idea of ​​tags on a system unit and a laptop. The idea is to create a setting that will allow you to turn on your computer using an NFC tag without taking into account where the tag itself is located. For example, you can stick it in the hallway, so you can turn on the car even before you take off your shoes. The method is based on the WoL function, which allows you to turn on the computer by sending packets to the Ethernet port, and the Android application Wol Wake on Lan Wan, which does this via the Internet.

How to setup? First, open the router control panel and configure forwarding of ports 7 and 9 (WoL ports) to our home machine. It is very important to specify the MAC address instead of the IP, since the latter may be given to another device. Next, we go to noip.com, register and receive a free domain, which we will use to reach the router from the outside. If you have a static IP, you can skip this step.

Next, install Wol Wake on Lan Wan on your smartphone, click the Add New button and enter an arbitrary name, the computer’s MAC address and the previously obtained domain in the window that opens, and click Save. Just in case, we check the settings. Next, install Tasker, go to the Tasks tab, create a new task, select Plugin -> Wol Wake on Lan Wan as an action and select the previously created WoL profile. Save.

Now we need to link this task to NFC. To do this, launch Trigger, add a task, select NFC as a trigger, and “Scheduler -> Scheduler Task” as an action (the developers translated Tasker as “Scheduler”), then select the task created in the previous step in Tasker, skip creating switches and At the last stage of setup, we bring the smartphone to the NFC tag.

This is all. If everything is configured correctly, then when a tag is detected, Android will give control to Trigger, it, in turn, will launch a Tasker task, which will activate the profile we need in the Wol Wake on Lan Wan application, it will send the WoL packet to the router, and it will redirect it to MAC address of the computer, LAN card which... Oh well. In general, everything should just work :).

conclusions

NFC technology has a lot of applications, and I'm sure that within five years NFC tags and payment terminals will be everywhere, from advertising posters to supermarkets. And I hope that at least this time Russia will not lag behind the rest of the world by fifty years.

Initially, Near Field Communication technology ( NFC) has gained maximum popularity as a technology for making contactless payments. You can use a smart card with a built-in NFC chip as a travel card on public transport, as a payment card in retail establishments, as a “smart” business card or as a contactless key card.

However, recently, this technology is increasingly being used in devices such as smartphones and tablets: almost all major manufacturers have begun to equip their mid-range and high level NFC adapters.

What is NFC?

If we translate the name of the Near Field Communication technology from English, we get the phrase “near field communication,” which can be deciphered in ordinary language as wireless communication over short distances. Thus, we see that two NFC-enabled devices can communicate with each other when they are nearby. And indeed, the “range” of NFC is only a few centimeters.

IN mobile devices NFC technology can be used for various purposes. You can, for example, turn your phone into a virtual one bank card, use it as a pass to the pool or to the enterprise. You can also quickly exchange files and links, and even, using special applications, read and write information to programmable NFC tags or NFC smart cards.

IN operating system Android, NFC support appeared in Android versions 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich - Its built-in Beam feature allows you to share files between devices.

Why do you need NFC if you already have Bluetooth?

As you remember, NFC is most often used when paying for various goods or services, and in this case Bluetooth is not entirely suitable. Firstly, due to its large range (there is a possibility of interception of your payment data). And secondly, the connection between two NFC devices, unlike Bluetooth, occurs almost instantly.

Does your device support NFC?

Not all phones and tablets have NFC adapters. Does your tablet support NFC? How to check its availability?

Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, place the Near Field Communication message directly on the battery of their smartphones, while others, such as Sony, place the NFC logo on the device.

However, the easiest way to check the presence of an NFC adapter in your phone or tablet is through its settings menu:

Go to the settings menu of your Android device

In the Wireless Networks section, click More...

Here you should see NFC settings items:

NFC activation

If your tablet or phone has an NFC adapter, you need to allow it to be used to exchange data between other NFC devices.

Go to Settings -> Wireless & networks -> More...

Check the box next to "Allow data exchange when combining the tablet with another device"

This will turn on automatically Android function Beam.

If Android Beam doesn't turn on automatically, simply tap on it and select Yes to turn it on.

When Android Beam is disabled, it limits the ability to share NFC data between smartphones or tablets.

Sharing data using NFC

Once you have activated NFC, you can use it to transfer data. For successful data exchange between tablets and phones, pay attention to the following:

Both the sending and receiving devices must have NFC enabled and Android Beam enabled.

None of the devices should be in sleep mode or have a locked screen.

When you bring the two devices close enough to each other, a beep will sound indicating that the devices have detected each other.

Do not separate the devices until the data transfer is complete and you hear a success signal.

Data transfer via NFC

Place the backs of the devices facing each other.

Wait until confirmation appears that both devices have detected each other and the message “tap to transfer data” appears on the sender’s screen:

Click on the screen and data transfer will begin:

You will hear a sound confirmation both at the beginning and at the end of the data transfer.

Application sharing

With NFC you can't share APK files. Instead, the sending device sends a link to that app to the other device. Google Play Market, and the recipient opens a page in the Market with an offer to install it.

Sharing web pages

Just as in the previous case, the web page is not transferred from one device to another, but only a link to it is exchanged, which the recipient tablet or phone opens in its web browser.

Exchange YouTube video

Again, when sharing a YouTube video, the file itself is not transferred - the second device will simply open the same video on the YouTube website.

Using NFC tags.

In addition to exchanging information between tablets and phones, you can use your device to read (and write) data from NFC tags and smart cards equipped with an NFC chip.

NFC chips are small enough that they can be embedded anywhere - in business cards, bracelets, product labels, stickers, price tags and other items. They can contain information about the person, a URL, product information, and even commands that your phone or tablet should execute when you touch these tags.

To read data from NFC tags (or to write information to them), you will, of course, need special application.

For example, using the Yandex.Metro program you can find out how many trips are left on your disposable Moscow Metro card, and the NFC App Launcher program will allow you to program your phone or tablet to perform certain actions by placing the corresponding information in the NFC tag.

Conclusion

Most of the modern Android phones and tablets are already equipped with NFC adapters, but so far this function is in little demand and its use is still limited, mainly by the ability to quickly exchange content and contactless payment for services. However, in the future, NFC may penetrate into all areas of our lives, sometimes even completely unexpected ones.

With the increase in the number of different mobile devices and devices, the need arose to provide fast wireless communication between them. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies have been actively exploring new niches in recent years, making it possible to transfer data, share files and post them on social networks. Today, even cameras are equipped with a Wi-Fi module so that you can quickly share pictures and videos. However, these technologies still require a certain amount of time to set up the connection and pair the devices. Therefore, NFC technology was born, which allows mobile devices to connect in just 0.1 seconds and then transfer the necessary data. Many Russians are already using this technology, without even having information about what it really is and how it works.

Principle of operation

The operating principle of NFC is based on induction magnetic field: the devices have two compact antennas located within a short range relative to each other. Accordingly, when the devices are brought closer together, an air-core transformer is formed. Here there is no need for registration, configuration and any additional manipulations - just bring, for example, two smartphones close to each other and a stable connection is instantly formed between them. The distance between compact antennas built into mobile devices or digital devices should not exceed twenty centimeters. Only in this case will there be a reliable, wireless connection between devices.

In fact, NFC can be considered, in fact, a continuation of the already well-proven radio frequency identification technology RFID. As we know, RFID is widely used in contactless cards and tags. However, NFC can not only read information from any passive electronic tags, but is also capable of providing two-way wireless communication between devices.

Therefore, NFC immediately attracted attention as a technology with significant potential. After all, it can be used not only in phones, but also for making electronic payments and in other areas. The development of its own standard for this technology began in 2004, and the first specifications were published two years later. It took some time before NFC was fully ready for commercial use.

Today, the technology is based on the ISO 18092 standard. At the same time, the NFC Forum organization also develops specific requirements for the use of technology, is engaged in its development and implementation in various fields of activity. To transmit information, NFC uses a frequency of 13.56 MHz, data transfer speeds reach up to 424 Kbps. It is important that communication between compatible devices is established instantly. This has its advantages not only in terms of convenience, but also for ensuring increased security and preventing unauthorized connections.

Advantages

How is NFC fundamentally different, for example, from Bluetooth, which is also a short-range technology and is actively used in modern phones? In fact, NFC has many advantages, including the following:

— Fast connection setup speed

As we have already noted, NFC compares favorably with all other wireless communication technologies in the speed of connection establishment. Communication between compatible devices is established in less than one tenth of a second (versus about six seconds for Bluetooth). To exchange information, there is no need to “pair” the devices. Not needed manual settings to identify devices, the connection is established in automatic mode when placing devices at a certain distance from each other. At the same time, it should be noted that NFC is inferior in data transfer speed to Bluetooth - 424 Kbps versus 2.1 Mbps. However, given the scope of application of this technology, this circumstance is not a critical drawback.

— Convenience

For users, the use of NFC greatly simplifies many operations. For example, to transfer digital photos or other files, you just need to touch one device to another. The same procedure can be followed to make an electronic payment or transfer of funds. Thus, all actions are carried out literally with one touch.

- Safety

The short range of action (up to 20 centimeters) on the one hand is a disadvantage, but on the other hand it has a positive effect on the security of information exchange. This circumstance makes the NFC connection suitable for use in crowded spaces or fairly crowded places where data interception or accidental connection is possible. Also thanks to increased security small device with an NFC chip can serve as a work pass, electronic keys to an apartment or hotel room.

— Versatility

Unlike Bluetooth, this technology is compatible with contactless solutions and RFID structures. In addition, it can work even if one of the compatible devices is not equipped with a power source (in particular, the phone is turned off).

— Support for other wireless technologies

NFC can be used to initiate faster connections, significantly simplifying the setup of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

— Openness

NFC is open and compliant with widely accepted ISO, ECMA and ETSI standards, making this technology suitable for a wide range of commercial areas and uses.

Today, NFC chips are installed in a wide variety of devices, but, first of all, we are, of course, talking about smartphones and communicators. NFC technology is attracting huge interest from companies mobile communications and providers. However, the scope of NFC is not limited to this. In the next part we will dwell in more detail on the various applications of this wireless technology short range.

Application

The main area of ​​application of NFC technology, of course, is its implementation in various mobile devices - from smartphones to tablet computers and compact cameras. The first phone equipped with an NFC chip was introduced in 2006. It was a simple flip phone for today, the Nokia 6131. ​​At the moment, hundreds of mobile phones and communicators with an NFC chip have already been released, thanks to which it becomes possible wireless transmission data from one device to another with just one touch. Some modern digital camera models are also equipped with Wi-Fi coupled with NFC to instantly transfer captured photos and videos to your tablet.

With the help of NFC, it has become possible to play video stored on a smartphone on the TV screen. To do this, you just need to bring your smartphone closer to the TV remote control. For example, on Sony TVs this function is called One Touch Mirroring. Of course, in order for it to work, you must have a built-in NFC chip both in the smartphone and in the remote control itself. As we see, the scope of application of NFC technology in mobile devices and household appliances is very diverse, but even greater prospects have opened up for this technological solution in other areas, for example, in banking.

Card emulation

NFC is very attractive for making electronic payments and, accordingly, for banks, since it supports the so-called emulation mode. That is, using this technology, you can emulate the operation of a well-known bank card. In particular, the user just needs to bring his smartphone with a built-in NFC chip to the terminal and he can easily make any payment. Thanks to NFC, you can create your own electronic wallet. The advantage here is that the technology can be implemented in almost any device, be it a smartphone or a key fob.

An example is how PayPass technology works. Its essence is as follows. If the user has a phone with an NFC chip and his NFC bank card is activated in the SIM menu, then he can go to any terminal that supports the MasterCard PayPass payment function, present the phone to it at the required distance (20 centimeters) and the payment will be made. Everything is very fast and convenient. You don’t even need to interact with the payment terminal, wandering through its menu. Sound and light signals will confirm that the required funds have been debited from the bank card account. All a person needs to implement such a solution is that his phone, in addition to the NFC chip, should also be loaded with data about bank accounts. It should be noted that the main drivers of NFC distribution are mobile operators. After all, the more such services are loaded into a smartphone, the greater the likelihood that the client will not refuse the services of this operator.

Mobile commerce, electronic ticketing, electronic payments - all this is relevant to NFC technology.

Reading data

In addition to card emulation, NFC can operate in information reading mode. And here there are also plenty of opportunities for its use. Suffice it to say that NFC can be successfully used to read information from electronic boards, and also serve as electronic keys for a car, hotel room or home. The NFC chip built into a mobile device can read data from various objects through smart tags. Thanks to this, in particular, the user can obtain additional information from a movie poster or from a product label on a store counter.

One of the most promising areas of application of NFC is fare payment systems in transport. Thanks to the emulation mode, a smartphone with a built-in NFC chip makes it easy to purchase tickets for trains or public transport. You can generate a request to purchase a ticket by touching your phone to the NFC tag located on the smart poster. After this, a special application is instantly launched and a request to purchase a ticket is activated. In this case, the smartphone already works as a reading device, reading the information that is stored in the tag. Next, the user confirms the purchase, and the electronic ticket is downloaded to his phone. Moreover, the ticket data is stored in the security elements of the device, making it impossible to change it.

The ticket price is automatically debited from the user's account mobile operator or from a bank card. Fare control can be carried out using a turnstile or a controller directly on the route. To do this, the smartphone is simply brought to the reader and the ticket data is instantly sent to the processing center, which ensures the appropriate verification. After authentication is confirmed, the turnstile opens. So simple and at the same time in a convenient way the operation of a transport fare system can be organized. Such systems are now beginning to be actively implemented.

The use of NFC-enabled smartphones enables the creation of the next generation of transport applications. In this case, the phone can act as a carrier of electronic tickets, which contains information about the user, his travel history and other data useful for the transport company.

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

NFC can operate 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 receives its operating power from the electromagnetic region of the other.

The NFC chip itself is quite compact in size, which allows it to be installed in smartphones, audio speakers, tablets and other mobile gadgets.

What can NFC be used for?

atechpoint.com

Compared to technology, NFC is very high speed establishing a connection between devices. At the same time, the speed of data transfer itself in active mode communication is quite low. That is why in smartphones NFC is usually used only to transfer contacts, links, notes, and 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 even applies to transmission simple video or documents via the “Send” function.

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


androidauthority.com

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 obtain additional information about a product or some event. In some retail chains, NFC tags are already replacing barcodes. By leaning the smartphone, the buyer can get detailed information about the 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 your navigator and attach it to your car. As soon as you place your smartphone on it, the gadget will start automatically.

Tags are programmed through special applications on a 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 arrival of payment systems in Russia Android systems Pay, and Samsung Pay The main purpose of the NFC chip in a smartphone is 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 first link your bank card to a payment system available for your smartphone.

Android Pay has the greatest coverage across devices, since, unlike similar services from Apple and Samsung, it is not tailored to 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 requisite.

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 your data being intercepted is extremely low, especially given the technology's minimal range. The same Bluetooth, which operates 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 confirmation via fingerprint reading, password or facial 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 upon a time, only expensive flagships supported 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 today costs just under 20,000 rubles. 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 by searching through the settings. Typically, technology-related features are available in the connections or wireless sections. Also, the NFC icon should be present in the list of icons quick launch in the curtain at the top.

The modern mobile industry offers smartphone users of any price category a variety of technologies that they really need. However, not everyone knows about NFC technology, and even more people don’t even use it. But this module is extremely important and convenient.

What is the essence of near-field technology?

It is most fully called “near field communication” - this is the literal interpretation of the English phrase “near field communication” or NFC for short. This technology is based on wireless information transfer. It has a limited operating radius, so data transfer from device to device occurs at a distance not exceeding 10 cm. More to the point in simple language, then using NFC gadgets exchange data contactlessly. The main thing is that at this moment they are at a close distance from each other.

NFC is an extension of the ISO 14443 standard for contactless cards. This technology combines a smart card and reader interface into one device. Operates at an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz. Supports the minimum time required to establish communication between exchanging devices - no more than 0.1 fractions of a second.

Physical components supporting NFC technology are very compact in size and have low power consumption. Therefore, “near field” is actively used even in modest-sized mobile devices. To prevent users from having difficulties using NFC in practice (not everyone understands which side to apply the gadget for the technology to work), the location of the chip is often indicated on the device with a special sticker.


How to understand if there is NFC in your gadget?

Due to its small size, communication is used in many gadgets, not just phones: for example, in payment terminals; found in cards intended for travel payments; present in bank plastic. Now they even started releasing household appliances, equipped with “near field” technology, in particular, Smart refrigerators.

But how do you understand that NFC is present, for example, in a mobile phone?

First of all, it is worth examining the gadget itself. Manufacturers often leave an indication on the body of the equipment in the form of an emblem resembling antennas. A similar icon will appear in the pop-up menu mobile phone.

In addition, you can look into the settings by selecting the “Wireless Networks” section. Then you need to click on “More” - and if there is an indication of the presence of NFC, then you should check the box next to its icon to activate it.


Areas of application NFC

Today there are 3 main industries where “near-field communication” is in demand:

  1. Contactless payments. To do this, you need to link a bank card to your smartphone, so that you can then simply touch the gadget to the payment terminal to debit money from your account. As a result, you will not need to carry payment plastic with you. In addition, this payment method is considered one of the safest, since NFC has a very short range. This means that attackers will not be able to intercept the signal.

Activating this technology for calculations is very simple:

  • You must have a card from the bank that supports the “paypass” mode;
  • you need to install the appropriate application from the issuing bank;
  • after that you need to enter “ Personal Area"and there select the item "NFC";
  • further to back cover A bank card is attached to the device so that all information on it can be read by the sensor.
  1. Information exchange. To implement this function, you need to install a special application, in particular, “Android Beam”. It will allow you to transfer the most different files from one device to another. But do not forget that the transfer speed via NFC is quite low. Therefore, it is better to send only links, and not the files themselves.
  2. Reading marks. To do this, you also need to install a special application. It can be found at Play Market. As a result, the user gets the opportunity to find out, for example, the composition of food products and their expiration date, only by holding up a gadget with NFC to read the barcode from the goods.

Despite this limited scope of application, NFC technology has proven to be very convenient. And that’s why it is now actively being introduced into budget gadgets, expanding their list every year.