The most modern Android mobile devices incorporate an NFC technology that until now was not widely known and used, but which provides countless advantages to users who own Android mobile devices. In this post we will let you know what the NFC technology / protocol is and how to activate it on your Android phone.
Related: How to set up and use Apple Pay on your iPhone.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. NFC is a set of standards that allow smartphones and other devices to communicate through radio signals when they are close to each other. NFC has a fairly short range as a security measure, which means that the devices that want to communicate must be quite close to each other (approximately 10 cm).
Devices with NFC hardware can communicate with other NFC-equipped devices, as well as with NFC “tags”. NFC tags are non-powered NFC chips that are activated by drawing power directly from the NFC device or smartphone that is brought close to the tag. This means that the NFC tag does NOT need its own battery or power source.
To establish an NFC connection, all you need to do is bring or touch two NFC-equipped devices. For example, if you had two NFC-equipped smartphones, you would just have to put one next to the other, touching each other so that communication with each other can take place. If you want to use an NFC tag, you will need to touch the tag on the back of your smartphone or NFC-equipped device (for example, payment terminal).
NFC is included in a wide variety of Android devices, in fact almost any new mobile device with an Android operating system has it.
What can the NFC on my Android phone be used for?
1. Mobile payments
NFC payments work in a similar way to payment functions like PayPass, included in credit cards. An NFC-equipped smartphone could be approached (or shaken) to an NFC-enabled payment terminal to make the required payment, replacing the need for a credit card.
2. Wireless data transfer
Data can be transferred wirelessly between two NFC-equipped iOS devices. Android phones with NFC have the Android Beam feature, an option that allows two smartphones to quickly share a web page, contact, photo, video, or other information. Touch two phones to each other and the content being viewed on one device will be sent to the other. File transfers are handled via Bluetooth once the transfer is started, but there is no complex Bluetooth pairing process – you just have to touch the phones and the rest will happen automatically.
The Android Beam option is the one that can be used to, for example, transfer all the information from your old Android phone to the new one. This way you won’t lose any of the data on your old phone.
3. NFC tags
NFC tags can be purchased cheaply and easily. These NFC tags can be configured with a specific action so that when your Android phone touches that tag, your phone behaves in a certain way.
For example, we can configure a label so that when our Android phone touches it, it makes our device go into silent mode. If we place this NFC tag on the bedside table in our room, when we place our phone on that tag, the phone will automatically go into silent mode, preventing notifications from bothering us.
These are just a few examples – you can take any action that an app can run on your Android smartphone.
4. As a security pass
Many companies use security cards to access different parts of their offices or to clock in or out. Thanks to the NFC technology of your Android device, you can use your phone as a security card or work arrival or departure card.
5. Transport ticket
In the same way as we use public transport passes or cards. Thanks to NFC, you can use your Android phone as a virtual subscription in which you will only have to place your Android phone on the dedicated terminal so that the race you are doing is deducted from your public transport subscription.
How to activate NFC and Android Beam.
– Unlock your Andorid phone and access Settings.
– Once here you will have to go to the option: Connections.
– Now you will be able to see the option activation switch: NFC and payment.
– Once the function is activated, you can also configure it. To do this you will have to click on the name of the NFC and Payment option.
– This will take you to a new screen where you will have the option to configure various functions such as:
- Android Beam: With which you can share files, information and data through NFC
- Press and Pay: Here you can select the NFC payment method you want to use, such as Google Pay or any other provided by your bank.
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