NFC is required in smartphones. What is NFC in smartphones? Activating the NFC function

Contactless: what is NFC and how should a programmer deal with it?

Wikoristanny NFC

Unlimited possibilities of the NFC wiki:

• Card emulation mode allows you to use I give technology for contactless payments, such as Google Wallet, or for paying or issuing receipts in public transport.
• There are a number of mobile add-ons that allow you to save the settings for the mobile device on the labels and later use them to quickly change any settings of the mobile device (switching to the vibrating mode, enabled (or turn off Wi-Fi on your mobile device).
• Devices that support NFC are increasingly appearing on the market - stereo systems, TVs that allow pairing with a phone or tablet for remote control.
• NFC is used in the health care system to save patient ID and special records.
• In the field of material and technical resource management, you can use NDEF records to save information about the place where goods are sent, about their passage through various intermediate points, and so on.

visnovok

NFC technology adds rich functionality to RFID technology. The most significant innovation is the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF), which makes it possible to format original data into one of several NFC tag technologies. NDEF can be used for both data exchange between the device and the tag, and for exchange between devices. NFC is important not only as a method of identification, but also because it allows for the exchange of short blocks of data.

NFC technology allows high-frequency, dart-less communication over short distances. A large number of NFC modules are equipped current outbuildings- First of all, the technology is oriented towards tablets and smartphones. In this article we will look at what NFC does in a smartphone, as it works NFC technology, What are the advantages and what is the spectrum of stagnation.

The abbreviation NFC stands for Near Field Communication - near contactless communication. The technology is based on the principle of exchanging radio signals between two devices - this technology is similar to all Bluetooth devices. However, there is one important point - in contrast to Bluetooth, which is aimed at transmitting data over distances of up to a hundred meters, NFC is intended for exchanging data over distances of up to 10 cm or closer.

The technology was announced in 2004 as an extension for contactless cards. After this, the technology became very popular and could immediately become popular in many areas.

How does this work?

Let's try to use how NFC works in a smartphone. Two devices communicate one by one when they are connected - so, to get two smartphones, you just need to touch them one to the other.

If you get lost in the technical details of technology, you can say it’s coming.

Communication via NFC is based on the induction of a magnetic field - frame antennas are placed between the near field and form a transformer. For NFC robots, frequencies are seen in the range of 13.56 MHz. Data transmission speed is optimized and can reach 400kb/s.

NFC robot modes

NFS in smartphones can be used in two modes:

• Active mode - the device transmits information through the device, in which case the device is responsible for the food supply.
• Passive mode - the initiator of a data transfer session for the modulation of your field will ensure that the same field is transmitted to another device - it also reduces the strength of the field of the first device for data transfer.

Passive mode allows you to use devices that do not require their own battery - for example, a small mark the size of a copy of a coin, or it can interact less effectively with other devices at small distances - keep them close and the data transfer process will start on its own.

Advantages of NFC technology

The advantages of NFC can be called spontaneity (to initiate the transfer of data, it takes one dot), versatility (NFC has the widest range of signals), transparency of technology and its compliance with industry standards, as well as advances This ensures a low intensity of transmission and a low radius of action.

In addition to NFC, you can connect to other droneless technologies- so, to connect two devices using NFC, it takes about 100ms, while connecting them one to one via Wifi or Bluetooth takes significantly more than an hour, which can be done via NFC.

NFC makes it easier to exchange information - you can transfer a file from one smartphone to another by simply touching it with your smartphone. If you don’t have a border on the right, you can transfer a new payment, add him as a “friend,” or start a session of a rich rich game.

NFC prospects

NFC, as a communication technology, has a wide range of applications that can be gradually expanded. Thus, with the help of NFC, it is possible to implement such contactless technologies as control of access to premises, payments for another mobile phone - including in public transport and shops, various solutions in the field of consumer electronics, health protection 'I, information exchange program and so on .

Various possibilities arise in the field of electronic commerce - devices with NFC can act as a receipt, a travel ticket, a boarding pass, a discount coupon, and so on. NFC tags in stores allow you to easily retrieve additional information about the product and other stores with such goods. An NFC tag can be installed in a museum, gallery or exhibition hall - when the tag is read, you will receive information about the object.

On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones, one of the features being the NFC chip and the new Apple Pay technology. The presentation's main focus was on the possibility of contactless payment for purchases on a smartphone, but in reality the possibilities of NFC do not end there and have been successfully used in Android smartphones for a long time to conquer impersonality. different orders, Starting with paying for a trip on the subway and ending with smartphone automation.

Replacement of introduction

NFC stands for Near Field Communication or “near-field contactless communications”, as in Russian. At its core, this is a small chip that can be inserted into a smartphone by transferring data in a very short time with very little speed. NFC is very close to RFID technology, which has long been used for product identification in supermarkets, but is based on the larger ISO / IEC 14443 standard (smart cards) and is designed for use in portable electronics (read: smartphones) and the Vikonanny of the careless transactions (read: payment for purchases).

As per the ISO / IEC 14443 standard, the NFC range is only 5-10 cm, the difference being that the NFC chip built in has the tag function and reads instantly. In other words, an NFC-equipped smartphone can be either a smart card (a metro card, for example), which can be brought to the reader to pay, or the reader can use it, for example, to transfer money between smartphone cards and transform real maps supported by the ISO / IEC 14443 standard in virtual ones.

There is only one thing and the most obvious is the stagnation of NFC. Due to the fact that the NFC chip is designed to transfer data to other parties and does not require device authentication, it can be used as a simple and more manual replacement for Bluetooth. With the help of NFC, for example, you can share messages, passwords, contact information and other data between smartphones, simply by matching them one by one.

A major feature in Android 4.0 is that Beam technology further expands the range of NFC capabilities, allowing you to seamlessly transfer entire files and folders between devices, which can be achieved with the help of advanced authentication of Bluetooth devices via NFC. Further installation of Bluetooth connection and file transfer. As before, all that is required for the transfer is simply to bring the phone one to another. In Samsung firmware, this function is called S-Beam and allows you to use not only bluetooth, but also Wi-Fi in the “transport channel” (one of the smartphones turns into an access point).

Another possibility is the use of passive NFC tags. These tags, which look like small stickers, can be purchased for more than a dollar apiece and can be reprogrammed using an additional smartphone. Each of them can contain 137 bytes of information (as compared to the widest and cheapest Mifire Ultralight C tag), to read which you just need to lift your smartphone. You can write your home Wi-Fi password into the tag and stick it on your router. Or the code word, the smartphone will respond. You can organize the automatic launch of the navigator when you install the smartphone in the car or turn on silent and energy-saving modes when the phone is on the bedside table. A small shopping list of 137 bytes can fit entirely.

In this article we will talk about all the possible implementations of NFC in practice, and since in our region payment for purchases using it is sold almost anywhere, it is important to talk about automation based on tags.

Support in smartphones

The first phone with integrated NFC support was Nokia 6131, released back in 2006. In this case, the NFC chip is nothing more than a toy to demonstrate the capabilities of two different technologies. The smartphone will be equipped with software for reading NFC tags, but looking at their current travel and perhaps zero popularity of the technology, it is not seriously stagnant given specialness I didn’t claim a smartphone.

After a lull, NFC was popularized by Google, which released the Samsung Nexus S smartphone in 2010. Google addon Wallet, which allowed you to pay with virtual credit cards, vikoryst and NFC. In the current year, Google became a leading participant in the NFC Forum and introduced Android 4.0 and the basis for the new smartphone Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which can now boast of the visibility of this very Beam function. Later, the Nexus 4 appeared, and other devices began to catch up.

Today, almost all released smartphones will be equipped with NFC. The latter module is found in high-budget Mediatek chips, so a large part of new Chinese smartphones costing 5,000 rubles are also equipped with them. In any case, the presence of an NFC chip can easily be verified by the obvious point “ Bezdrotov's measures-> NFC" in settings.

Graemo with tags

Where to take the tags? As I already said, the simplest option is to simply buy them in China (dx.com, tinydeal.com, aliexpress.com). The cheapest tags in the Mifire Ultralight with 137 bytes of memory will cost about five dollars for ten pieces. You can also acquire branded tags from Sony (SmartTags), despite the new look and price, which will be three to five times higher, but they won’t interfere with anything. Another option: TecTile tags from Samsung with an even higher price tag, as well as a large amount of memory (716 bytes). But here you need to be careful, the first version of tags is only available with an NFC controller from NXP, so most smartphones will not experience the problem.

As a tag, you can generally use tokens and metro cards for multiple trips. Most often, part of the memory in them is no longer available for recording, so any information can be placed there. However, this is not the case, the tag can still be modified in the context of an action trigger, simply by adjusting the smartphone’s reaction to the unique ID of the tag.

Without additional software in mobile OS there is no support for “spilling” with tags. The same Android does not offer any tools for working with them. All you can earn is just to touch the tag to your smartphone to read the rest. Depending on the type of data recorded in the tag, the smartphone can display the data on the screen (the “text” type or any other type is not supported), open the web page (URI type), launch the add-on (special type android.com:pkg, supported only in Android) , open the dialer with the assigned number (URI type "tel: //") and cancel other actions.

There are no options for changing the behavior tags of a smartphone, as they are found in Android, so we will have to acquire additional software. Three additional additions that we will use as vikors:

• NFC TagInfo - a tag reader that allows you to view more information about the entries and entries in the data;
• NFC TagWriter - a proprietary add-on from the NXP Semiconductors wired tag generator;
• 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 tags we got. The Chinese do not provide any details about this drive, and I’m already talking about subway maps. Launch NFC TagInfo and bring the smartphone to the tag. Next, tap on the Tag Information item and you’ll see (screenshot “Reading NFC tag”) what we can see:

• UID - unique tag identifier;
• RF Technology - standard, supported by the tag. In this case, it is ISO / IEC 14443 Type A, which is the primary RFID tag with support for the first version of the data exchange protocol (Type A);
• Tag Type - the type (or, more simply put, “model”) of the tag. In this case, the NTAG203 is the Mifare Ultralight C, the cheapest tag at the moment. The letter C means support for the data cryptologist. There is also Topaz 512, which contains 450 bytes of information, and Mifare Classic 1K (716 bytes), which is featured in TecTile tags and often in metro maps;
• Manufacturer - tag creator. NXP Semiconductors - 90% of all NFC tags are silent (Mifare family).

Now let's turn 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. The tag can be placed as an NDEF notification, depending on its identifier and type, for which smartphone you can determine how to interpret it in the new data. The type is specified in the format URI, MIME or domain: service, as well as any type specific to the reader (for example, the same android.com:pkg).

In the NDEF information menu, we ask you to select the rows Maximum message size, Is tag writable, and Can tag be write-protected. The remaining option allows you to block the tag entry for all devices except ours. In addition, a tag can be blocked permanently, so that nothing else can be recorded. In this case, no will be indicated in the given option.

What's in the middle of the tag?

From a technical point of view, an NFC tag is a microcomputer that is located in SIM and bank cards. It has its own processor, operational and permanent memory, but there is no traditional life support. The electrical current is generated by additional electromagnetic induction that occurs between the reader and tag antennas, just as it occurs in gunless devices. charger and passive radio receivers. Due to the light body's ability to absorb energy, the strength of such a “transformer” is completely sufficient for the normal functioning of the microcomputer.

The antenna occupies approximately 99% of the area and transmits data at a frequency of 13.56 MHz with a speed of 106, 212, or 424 kbps. NFC standards define a number of data transfer protocols, including a number of implementations of the data exchange protocol (they are designated by the letters A, B, and so on), which can be supplemented by the transmitter of the tag itself. For example, tags from the Mifare family implement a number of extensions over the standard protocol, which can lead to inconsistencies between the add-ons and the tag (or rarity).

Data security will be ensured by the following steps:

• The range is short. Ten centimeters is a very private zone.
• Protection against cloning using a unique serial number.
• Possibility of protection from overwriting and protection of data with a password.
• Optional encryption of data in memory and during transmission.

Wired NFC tag generator - NXP Semiconductors. They are generating tags from the Mifare family, which have become so popular that not only other tag generators, but also NFC chip generators for smartphones (as well as tag emulation) can handle them. The family includes a number of different models, starting with the simplest Mifare Ultralight C and ending with the Mifare DESFire EV1, which can be equipped with a file system supported by cryptography and finely adjusted access rights.

Go to the NDEF message menu. In order to take into account any given data, all of them will be displayed here, separated by information. Selecting the NFC TagInfo option allows you to view information about the tag memory: actual data, dump in HEX and ASCII formats, access rights to memory pages, and so on. I recommend turning to these options after writing to the data tag.

writing tributes

To record data, we will use NFC TagWriter. It’s easy to get started with an additional supplement. Launch, Tap on Create, write and store, select New, then select the type of data to be written. The most colorful types: contact, simple text, telephone number, Data for Bluetooth connection, URI and additional information. The list has a web browser bookmark and an email notification, but it’s not entirely clear what it’s for.

Next, fill in the necessary fields (for example, website addresses in the URI box), click Next and select the option on the screen (screenshot “NFC TagWriter: notification options”). Here you can specify an add-on that will be launched after the label is read (Add launch application) and install protection against overwriting by a third-party device (Apply Soft Protection). There is also an addition for those who inform us about the models of tags that can be included in this data (in this case everything is OK, NTAG203 is in the list).

Press Next again and bring the smartphone to the tag. Voila, our data is in the new. Now they can be read by any smartphone with NFC support. What does it give in the end pouch?

Wikoristan scripts

Actually scenarios vikoristannya tags masa. For example, I use tags for saving passwords and home automation, such as 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, in the middle of a book, on a business card, or sewn under your clothes. That’s why their range is great, and in the end it all depends only on your imagination.

Home automation

The simplest and most obvious way to create tags is to simply stick them around the house, thereby creating some sort of automation system. There are a lot of different options here. I will bring the greatest fruits and berries.

• Home Wi-Fi password. We attach the tag to the router and write down the password using the additional InstaWifi add-on. It will benefit not only those who often receive guests, but those who like to experiment with firmware.
• Launch auto-sync or add-ons for exchanging data from a PC. The tag can be glued to a laptop or system and registered at the next hour when running programs for data synchronization (AirDroid, WiFi ADB and others).
• Access point enabled. I re-adhesive the tag to the laptop, then install the Trigger add-on. We have added a new setting, as the trigger is selected by NFC, we skip the selection of communication, as we select “Dartless and local measures-> Wifi-zone", skips the first screen (added jumper) and on the remaining screen goes to the NFC tag.
• The function of switching to the low-flow mode. Glue the mark somewhere close to the bed. Launch Trigger, new -> trigger: NFC -> action: “Experimental -> Flying mode”. Alternatively, instead of turning on the flight mode, you can configure data and Wi-Fi connections by adding the following activities to the settings.

automotive automation

NFC tags will be even more useful for those who use a smartphone in the Yoke car navigator. Just stick the tag on your smartphone's trimach and write down the instructions for launching the navigator - and voila. Everything has become much simpler. I would recommend singing in a slightly different way and complicating the setting by adding to it automatically switched on Bluetooth (for headset), GPS and Wi-Fi connection.

Let's get started, we need a Trigger again. We launch it, add the data when the trigger is selected by NFC. Add the action “Bluetooth -> Bluetooth On / Off -> Enable”. We add one more action: “Dartless and local measures -> GPS detection / detection -> Enable.” And one more thing: “Bezrotovy and local merzhi -> WiFi On / Off -> Turn it on.” Once you have found it, go to the “Add-on and shortcuts -> Open add-on -> select add-on” option. We skip the screen for adding switches, and on the next screen we bring the smartphone to the tag.

Now, after installing the smartphone in the morning, we can remove the settings for installing the smartphone in the car.

Unlocking your smartphone

Motorola has a new accessory for smartphones called the Motorola Skip. This is a clothes clip for quickly unlocking a smartphone without the need to enter a PIN code or graphic key. The accessory in some cases is brown, but only works with smartphones from the same company. Fortunately, a similar contraption can be assembled on a knee.

I won’t tell you how to create the clip itself - here you can show your imagination, you can stick an NFC tag on your hand - but instead I’ll tell you how to get your smartphone unlocked when you do it. There are many ways, but the simplest and most effective is the Xposed module NFC LockScreenOff Enabler. The module, like Xposed itself, requires root, and then, in addition to its effectiveness, it includes a super function - activating NFC when the screen is off.

On the right, for security purposes, Android blocks the use of NFC until the screen is unlocked (not just turned on, but unlocked), which allows for more effective methods of using it. NFC LockScreenOff Enabler is causing this problem.

business card

NFC tags can be used in combination with business cards. There are a number of companies on the market that are engaged in their production, and their price tags are such that it’s easier to just stick tags on your own business cards, and you’ll still end up losing a bunch of pennies. You can write any information into the tag, including contact information (TagWriter supports this format), website addresses, or send the geographic coordinates of your office (the smartphone will automatically open maps to show the location). And most importantly, it is not at all obligatory for people to give a business card, wait for them to check out.

computer turned on

This is a kind of development of the idea of ​​tags on the system and laptop. The idea is to create a setting that allows you to turn on the computer with the help of an NFC tag without specifying where the tag itself is located. Yogo, for example, can be glued in front of the room, so that you can turn on the car even before you wake up. 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 add-on Wol Wake on Lan Wan, How to work through the Internet.

How to set it up? To get started, open the router control panel and set up ports 7 and 9 (WoL ports) on our home machine. It is important to set the MAC address to replace the IP, so that the rest may be given to another device. Then we go to noip.com, register and select a free domain that we will use to reach the router. If you have a static IP, you can skip this step.

Next, install Wol Wake on Lan Wan on your smartphone, press the Add New button and enter more name, MAC address of the computer and the previous domain in the window, press Save. In case of any problem, we check the settings. Next, install Tasker, go to the Tasks tab, create a new task by selecting Plugin -> Wol Wake on Lan Wan and selecting creations before the WoL profile. Let's save.

Now we need to link this task to NFC. For which we launch the Trigger, we add a task, as a trigger, we select NFC, and in the context of the action - “Planner -> Planner task” (the developers translated Tasker as “Planner”), then we select the task created at the advanced stage in Tasker, creation of remixers and on At the remaining stage of setup, we connect the smartphone to the NFC tag.

That's all. If everything is set up correctly, then when the Android tag is detected, you can control the Trigger, or, in turn, launch the Tasker task that activates the profile we need in the Wol Wake on Lan Wan add-on, then send the WoL package to the router, and then redirect it to The MAC address of the computer, the merzheva card... Well, oh well. Zagalom, everything is just to blame :).

visnovki

NFC technology is becoming increasingly popular, and I hope that within five years NFC tags and payment terminals will be everywhere, from advertising posters to supermarkets. And I am confident that Russia will not be separated from the rest of the world for fifty years.

You have already heard about such functions as NFC on a phone. She is pleased with the expansion of Nina, which is equipped with many flagship devices (smartphones, anniversary devices, etc.), and is gradually reaching inexpensive devices. On NFC, it is not uncommon to lose emphasis on manufacturers and sellers who attribute the most important and brown possibility. However, not everyone knows what NFC is, its main functions in phones and other devices. Today we will try in detail and get information about this technology.

NFC in phones - what is it?

People first started talking about NFC back in 2004. At that time, three giants of the mobile industry Nokia, Philips and Sony set out to create a drone-free interface that would work when the two devices were closely deployed. Once the forum was organized, work began.

NFC, Near field communication ("near contactless communication") - technology dartless transmission According to this data, simple rice has a small radius of action (up to 10 centimeters).

Essentially, the technology is applied to contactless cards that comply with the ISO 14443 standard. Such cards are used to differentiate access to different locations or pay for services. NFC, having become an extension of its standard, will be aimed primarily at mobile phones.

technology specifications

In order for you to better understand the concept of NFC technology, you cannot do without the technical characteristics of the technology. Don’t boast, just finish everything:

• The key standard is ISO / IEC 14443 - describes frequency ranges, modulation methods and data exchange protocols for near-range contactless cards based on magnetic field induction
• Induction coils are used to communicate between two NFC devices
• NFC operates at 13.56 MHz
• Data transmission speed should be no more than 400 Kbps
• It only takes 0.1 seconds to set up an NFC connection
• NFC has a very compact size and low energy consumption, which allows the interface to be embedded in various gadgets.

Why is NFC needed in a phone or other device?

Since many consumers close their eyes on the specifications (wanting to read the information), it is unlikely to miss information about the fact that NFC is often needed in today’s smartphones.

• First of all, a phone or other NFC-enabled device can replace a contactless card to pay for travel on the subway or access premises, or for other similar purposes - simply place the device on the turnstile.
• In another way, NFC is used to connect a phone to another phone that also has the same interface; Other devices today include other devices, such as other machines; Receipt makes it possible to transfer data between devices, however, through low speed this method is irrelevant (such speed is sufficient to transfer any commands from the device to the device).
• Finally, your phone or date card with NFC can replace your phone or bank card. Yak? Everything is very simple: many terminals in stores today encourage contactless payments, so you no longer need to show your smartphone to pay for purchases. It’s quite easy, but in our region the technology is just gaining popularity.

NFC is now required, as well as Bluetooth and other interfaces

Many people try to equate NFC and Bluetooth to one type of interface, but this is wrong. So, we have two droneless technologies, and the other is more popular. The key difference is the radius of the action. While Bluetooth can reach tens of meters, NFC in phones transmits data within centimeters (which means that the devices need to be close together). So is Bluetooth better?

Not at all. A great radius of action is not always necessary, and in some cases the interface becomes insufficient. Do you remember that NFC on your phone allows you to pay for purchases? With this device, it is practical to keep the terminal close (the radius is small), which guarantees maximum protection for the transfer of your bank card data. When choosing interfaces with a large radius, which can cover tens of meters, there is a risk of information overload.

The same can be said about the speed of transmission, which with NFC is quite low in today's world. However, the technology is not directly aimed at transferring large files, as with Bluetooth. And in this, let’s face it, there are two advantages - reliability and less energy consumption. The low speed of data transfer prevents criminals from quickly “snatching” important information from your smartphone.

Another obvious advantage of NFC in phones is low energy consumption. The technology consumes significantly less energy, lower interfaces, and saves valuable components from the life of the smartphone.

When talking about the advantages of NFC in a phone, one cannot help but mention the low cost of installing an interface on the device. It's amazing that we still see each other so rarely.

not enough

Regardless of the advantages that seem at first glance, the sheer magnitude of technology, NFC has a number of unpleasant disadvantages. The most obvious ones are the speed of transmission and the radius of action that a skin lesion must deal with. Well, as has already been stated, these features can now be attributed to the advantages of NFC.

There are more serious problems associated with technology. You can get in with them first and the width is wider. What's so nasty about it? The truth is that a large company, having recognized the potential of NFC, began to independently modify the interface, introducing proprietary versions in its products. It is clear that changing standards cannot boast of universality - they only work on their own kind. The mercenaries suffer because of this.

No matter how hard NFC vendors try, scams are constantly emerging that could be malicious scammers. So, in 2012, at one of the conferences, security system officials managed to deploy a special exploit (), which took control of devices. Naturally, from that moment the spill was corrected.

Merezha has an hour-by-hour and other information about NFC security. In most cases, the stench is imaginary. For example, there is an idea that with the help of jammers (radio electronic warfare features) it is possible to modify the data on the device, but this is not practically possible due to the impossibility of establishing connections in this way.

Finally, you can say that NFC on a phone is one of the most secure technologies. At least, until now there have been no massive attacks by malware through interface vulnerabilities.

How to check if your phone has NFC

Therefore, with NFC, its specifications and features have been expanded. Now let's move on to checking your smartphone to support this technology. There are a number of ways for this:

• Review the technical specifications of the device on the Internet or on the official website of the manufacturer - pay attention to the “Interface” or “Connections” section (as a rule, the manufacturer does not waste the opportunity to announce NFC support again).
• If your smartphone supports NFC, this item will appear in the “Directless Connections” section in your phone settings.
• Some models of smartphones, which have a dismountable housing, allow special use of NFC. As a rule, the transmission is located under the cover, connecting special contacts to the battery. Look for the recognition sign - this can also be used for dartless charging.

Often at the mercy of tablets, reasonable hours With other technology, you can detect a special indicator on the case, which confirms the presence of NFC. Before the word, if you get the image itself, you need to bring another device.

Some phones have NFC

Almost every day, the flagship has NFC, increasingly the interface can be updated in the middle segment, and if necessary, you can find the right one budget smartphones with the support of technology. For the butt axle you have a number of models:

• Among the flagships: iPhone, starting with the iPhone 6S model; Samsung Galaxy S, starting with S3, LG, starting with G4 (and a number of K-series solutions), Xperia X line from Sony; Any other mobile phone manufacturer might want a couple of flagships with NFC.
• Average available segment(Up to 20,000 rubles) : remaining models smartphones Samsung Galaxy A and J, Honor 8, Huawei Nova, Nokia 5 and 6, as well as many others.
• Among the most available: Nokia 3, ASUS ZenFone 2, (one of the cheapest smartphones with NFC), also rich Chinese phones support NFC.

How to use NFC on your phone

Let's move on to the NFC wiki. To start working, we need to transfer the technology to an active stage. For which the following instructions follow:

1. go to “Customization” on your phone;
2. go to the section “Drotoless connections and measures”;
3. move the toggle switch to the active mode opposite the “NFC” item.

That's all, after which we can tweak the interface.

Transferring files using NFC

As has already been stated, the NFC interface is not suitable for transferring large files over low speeds. Besides, no one will want to have smartphones next to each other while the film is being broadcast. However, NFC is well suited for small files (notes, messages, contacts, addresses from cards, etc.), which have a high rate of receipt.

To transfer data via NFCPhones are responsible for supporting technology, in addition, they must be active. It is also not your fault to use smartphones if they are blocked.

The transfer process seems to indicate Siemens watches and IR ports:

Until recently, the ability to make contactless payments could only be boasted by flagship smartphones, and not by any other company. On the right, this function requires not only NFC, but a separate security program.

on vikoristApple Pay- Even as payment methods expand in America, they are also gaining great popularity in Russia.SamsungVlasna was also one of the first to introduce payment system I'll give you a simple nameSamsung Pay. In addition to these market giants, corporate payment systems operate in other companies.

Just recently, there was a big news for Android device owners - the Android Pay add-on was introduced. It has become universal, allowing you to make payments for any Android phone with NFC.

How to add a card to Android Pay to pay for purchases via phone

1. To pay for an additional phone and NFC, we will need, of course, a special supplement;

These can be branded, designated products, or universal Android Pay. Everything is available free of charge in online stores. We are currently talking about Android Pay.

1. When installing programs, you must give it the necessary permissions, connect to the cloud account (you can use Google);
2. Now we need to provide bank cards from which payments will be made;

You can find out about the participating banks that provide services by opening the Android Pay context menu (three dots on the top right) and selecting the required item.

1. to add a card, press the plus at the bottom with your right hand;
2. From the registered options (“Add a debit card”, “Add a card regular client"І" Add a gift card ") select the required one;
3. at the end, when the camera appears, you need to place your card in the frame;

You can also enter the card number and other data manually by pressing the follow button.

1. Having entered all the necessary information, Android Pay prompts you to confirm the connection (for which you will receive an SMS notification where your bank has found the code, or a company add-on, for example, “Sberbank Online”).

That’s it, you can save the hamanets with one card, as you won’t need it now. In the same manner, add other cards, so as not to burden them with you.

How to pay for Android Pay on a phone with NFC

Everything is so simple here. Chi is stuck, as it seems, like a child, a smut, so that you can use NFC on your phone.

Please note that the terminal is required to support the contactless payment function. indicated by won special character(For Android Pay, the visible green robot is featured). As a rule, such terminals are already in every great shopping center, but still not through.

Payment is due in two days:

1. Unlock your phone with NFC;
2. bring it to the terminal;
3. continue until a tick appears.

As soon as everything has passed, emergency notifications will appear on the terminals. Your bank card will be debited as soon as possible. The write-off is carried out from the same card as the main one is installed.

As you know, paying with NFC on your phone is very easy. You do not need to enter a password (not again).

If the purchase price is over 1000 rubles, or it will be activated for the fourth time after payment for additional Android Pay, the system will require a password. This was done, as it’s difficult to guess, for safety purposes.

The technology “NFC” (Near Field Communication) is becoming increasingly common in the specifications of current smartphones and tablets. In this article, we will try to look at this interface from the point of view of a practical wiki, so that readers can independently learn about the need for its presence in their phone.

We tested two models of smartphones, which were already reviewed in detail on our resource: Acer CloudMobile S500 and Sony Xperia acro S. We would also like to appreciate that more information, including program descriptions and scenarios ї vikoristannya, will be installed only on smartphones Android based. The operating system itself is today the most “friendly”, if there are robots with NFC on the right.

Enter

At first glance, you might think that the numerous drone-free interfaces today already cover all possible popular tasks and scenarios, so another option is simply not needed. However, if you look at the development of current technologies, you can notice that more and more respect is being paid to energy storage, especially as we talk about mobile devices. Zokrema version 4.0 of the current family of Bluetooth protocols is specifically focused on reducing battery consumption. Another point that is worth noting is that it is not for skin care that a long range of operation is required. It happens by chance - I want to clearly demarcate the space between the devices. There is an obvious decrease in life expectancy, which also affects security. The same kind of respect can be earned about the obligations of the transfer of data. So the idea of ​​a simple drone-free interface that works at small distances and consumes low energy consumption is entirely valid.

The beginning of the history of NFC development can be taken in 2004, since Nokia, Philips and Sony agreed to develop and standardize the interface between different devices, based on the fact that . However, the first versions of the specification were created a little earlier. Perhaps, in today's world, technology can be used even by young people (if you don't trust the history of RFID), but it will often appear in real products and services. Zokrema, at the end of the fierce Mobile World Congress 2013, this topic was devoted to many stands and demonstrations.

This sign can be displayed on devices with NFC technology

Formal characteristics of the interface: operation on a distance of several centimeters, maximum speed of information exchange is approximately 400 Kbps, full-duplex data exchange is supported, operating frequency 13.56 MHz, installation hour connection does not move for 0.1 s, robot mode - dot - dot. It is clear that these parameters radically differentiate NFC from other popular drone-free interfaces.

As we speak about devices, in addition to active controllers in NFC there are also passive options (they are called tags), which can be used to distinguish food in a non-dart way from an active controller. One of the applications is daily maps for traveling on public transport. The tags are just a bunch of data, which doesn’t exceed 4 KB. Most often, only read mode is provided for them, as well as options with support for writing.

One of the simplest options for a passive NFC tag

The compact size of the controller and its low latency make it possible to implement NFC in such small devices as SIM cards or microSD memory cards. However, for full-fledged operation it is necessary to use a special antenna. Phones may have a battery cover on the door or built into the back panel, since the device does not carry a large battery.

The NFC antenna is often placed on the back of the smartphone

A small radius of action can have a negative impact on selected tablets - finding the right place for “application” may not be as easy as you would like. To solve this problem, manufacturers indicate the location of the antenna with a special sign. As far as range is concerned, in our series of connections I worked on the distance no more than a few centimeters - both between phones and with a passive label.

From a security point of view, the distributors did not implement elements of protection against overcrowding and relay attacks. This makes it extremely difficult to implement safe solutions, which also results in greater protection from the additives themselves. high level. It is significant that in reality the same procedure applies to such a common protocol as TCP / IP. So from a practical point of view, it is more unsafe to spend a phone without additional zakhist with customized payment systems programs, lower communication overload.

Perhaps, most of all, it is necessary to know about NFC today, given that the interface itself does not provide any real practical scenarios for choice or solution. For example, with Bluetooth, profiles that clearly describe how to transfer a file, how to connect a headset, or how to secure edge access, NFC is only the basis, and all robotic scenarios are supported by additional software that works through it. On the one hand, this opens up a wide range of possibilities for developers, and on the other hand, it poses a problem for them when ensuring the interaction of various add-ons and devices.

Well, whatever programs are installed on your smartphone or tablet can be registered in operating system As if you are using NFC, you will be presented with a standard menu “What do you want to do with this?”. Some of the NFC usage scenarios respect manual automation of actions and should not override devices with such utilities.

The NFC forum wants to help, in this regard, by standardizing protocols for simple scenarios (NDEF for saving short messages on tags and SNEP (Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol) for exchanging information between devices yami), due to the practical significance of specific devices, it is difficult due to the lack of detailed information in laboratory and diagnostic methods. Another supporter here is the Google company, as it promoted in the rest Android versions Vlasnu Android experience Beam. It allows you to exchange various types of information between different devices.

Android Beam

To start, you need to reconnect, so that the device may have NFC turned on, Android Beam active, and their screens unlocked. On the models we tested, NFC only works when the screen and devices are completely unlocked. Or perhaps other devices will use a different algorithm. In any case, the active interface requires very little battery energy for the work, and while the descriptions of the approach seem quite reasonable. One of the simpler options is to turn on the screen lock. In this case, to register a tag, you will simply need to turn on your smartphone. Another inconvenience is the need to confirm the operation with a touch screen after the devices recognize one another. It’s not easy to work without damaging the connection, especially if the device is on the vase in the hands of two different people.

Now you will need to select one of the add-ons on the device for which you plan to transfer. Zokrema can be used:

• Google Chrome - streaming of hidden messages;
• YouTube client - Adding to the video clip (it appears sent);
• Google Maps- transfer of information to the route;
• Contacts - transfer a card to a contact;
• Google Play - transfer of additional content;
• Gallery - transfer of photographs.

Further you are approaching the one to one structure. When a partner is detected, you will hear a signal on the sending device, and the image on the desktop will change. At this point, you need to touch the screen image and shake your finger until you feel another signal - about a successful transfer.

We tried the options listed in the list, and almost all of them work effectively. It’s fair to say that our devices were produced by different manufacturers, they didn’t care to know the correct language. A few comments are still worth making. There are no problems with routes in Google Maps, and the option with a place is not even better, since only the current map view is transmitted. The dot is marked on the screen of the exit phone and will not be lost until the user receives it. The situation is corrected by the “Addresses” program, which transmits data correctly. When sending contacts, a photo is transferred, but from a technical point of view, the transfer format corresponds to vcf text files. Speaking of add-ons, you can send not only those installed on your phone, but also simply open cards in Google Play. Books and other content from the store are supported in the same way. Naturally, the language is about the transfer of the message, and not the acquisitions themselves, but rather the purchased elements. There was a problem with sending photos: the Sony device was found to be unauthorized to handle this type of data. The official wording is “The owner's devices do not support the transfer of large data via Android Beam.” This is the first sign of youth for the interface or lack of detail technical specifications outbuildings Formally, we have it in both devices, NFC and Android Beam, but in practice, their real capabilities vary widely, and it can only be determined as a result of verification. What is already being said about lesser-known manufacturers - their version of the implementation of this technology may not be transferable at all.

Let's talk about what the Android Beam robot itself is worried about. The description of the technology states that to transfer data, a connection with Bluetooth is established after initial pairing via NFC. Looking at the fact that all those who work in formats allow for a very small amount of data transfer, for them the speed of NFC was completely gone, and the axis for photographs would be clearly small. So we can assume that Sony has not yet implemented the switch to a larger Swedish interface. It seems impossible to understand whether this is a software problem (I guess the device has Android 4.0.4 installed on it) or a hardware problem.

We also tried to send loud music and video in a similar way from the required add-ons, but nothing showed up when received.

Reading and writing marks

Descriptions Android Beam improves the ability to transmit and process short information messages. However, in reality, they can not only be transmitted from the phone, but also read from passive tags. In the singing sense, this technology is similar to the familiar QR codes that are read by a phone camera. In this case, valuable information (for example, sent to a website) takes up literally dozens of bytes. Tags can be used by companies, for example, to promote their goods or services. Looking at the compact size of the passive mark (more precisely, the paper item drawn behind the arch - through the antennas the area will still be significant, no less than a five-ruble coin), it can be placed practically in any place: on a box with goods, in a magazine, at the information station and other places.

Passive NFC tags can be produced in the form of key fobs

If we are talking about the manual preparation of marks, then this is a whole good scenario. To do this, you need to prepare clean blanks and use special programs for your phone to record the necessary information on them. For the butt, we bought a number of different options: a minimum quality sticker, a plastic mug, and keychains. All of them have a very small memory footprint - only 144 bytes (4 KB options available on the market). The number of rewrite cycles was not specified, but for most stagnation scenarios this parameter is not critical. To work with tags, we can recommend NXP Semiconductors programs - TagInfo and TagWriter.

First, let you import data from the tags and decrypt information using the NDEF standard, and the other will help you create your own tags. In this case, a number of NDEF sub-options are supported: contact, mail, text, SMS, email notification, phone number, Bluetooth connection, geographical distribution, send to local file, program launch, URI. Please note that when making a record, you need to ensure that your data is saved. For example, a photo to a contact can take up a few kilobytes, and a message or text can easily take up 144 bytes. Before speaking, the NFC TagInfo program of the NFC Research Lab company with a special plugin can read and show you a color photo from a biometric passport. When transmitting data of a dozen kilobytes, reading it via NFC takes about 20 seconds. In addition, in this case you will need to enter certain passport details to read data from the chip.

It is important that the automatic processing of treatment marks located in the content. Zokrema, as well as the required additional confirmation for the operation itself. For example, in case of SMS, a completed notification form is displayed, but it is up to the customer to confirm the sending. And the axis is recorded web-message can be immediately opened in the browser. Whether automation is associated with a loss of control, so the descriptions of the possibilities should be carefully preserved, otherwise by simply replacing or reprogramming the tags, criminals can redirect you to a fake site instead of the original one. We haven’t found any regular setup of the OS for an exchange similar to autostart (as long as you don’t enable NFC itself).

Another important point when changing tags in public places is protection from overwriting. When recording a tag, you can set a security order that will block all attempts to change information, otherwise it will no longer be possible to remove it. So the mark will be displayed in the “read only” mode in the future. For home cleaning, most of the breakdowns are not that critical.

We can guess a few more programs for recording marks:

A selection of ready-made tags for device control

One of the active participants in the process of promoting NFC is Sony. These devices come pre-installed with Smart Connect, which supports operation with original Sony tags. Using the SmartTag Maker utility, you can create them yourself from blank blanks. For the robotic system, the NDEF URI format is used with the encoding of the number / color of the label in the text message. In total, the system transmits up to eight tags, which are designated as “wake-up”, “office”, “car”, “bedroom”, “listen”, “play”, “activities”, “watch”.

Option of original tags Sony SmartTags

The Smart Connect program itself works not only with NFC tags, but also with other devices that connect to the phone, including headsets, a living unit, I'll add Bluetooth. It is clear that the regular adjustments no longer correspond to the most important scenarios. In this case, the koristuvach can reprogram all the circuits; in each of them the set of mind and action is indicated.

As soon as you can select the corresponding markings or connect the device, you can additionally interconnect the working circuits. The range of actions is wide, including launching programs, opening messages in the browser, starting music, adjusting volume and mode, connecting to a Bluetooth audio device, sending SMS, calling, managing drone-free interfaces, adjusting brightness and other activities. Moreover, they can also be called out of this mode, which occurs after re-recognition of the mark, after a new voice / mark, or at the end of the designated time interval.

However, it is really not necessary to replace Sony branded tags - you can find that the tags are sealed, which prevents the information from being overwritten. For example, you can use vikoristan transport cards. On the right is that each of them has a powerful unique identifier that can be associated with special programs. Possible reactions may include operations such as changing the profile, enabling/disabling interfaces, and deactivating others.

The Play Store has a number of utilities for this scenario, let’s think of a couple of them:

We guess that it is not easy to install a number of similar programs at once. This mode is not easy to use; when a mark is detected on the phone screen, the fragments will appear in a dialog box with a choice of programs for processing.

By the time I searched for programs for working with tags, we also got involved with another class of utilities that can be useful depending on the detection of recorded tags. These programs will use the original format of recordings that only you can use. In this case, the set of possible actions may not differ from the descriptions above:

We would like to remind you that at this time the tag can only be read when the device is unlocked. So the scenario of “coming home, putting the phone on the bedside table - automatically switching the profile, turning on the call and Bluetooth, setting the alarm clock” can be used as a tool for the user’s actions. This behavior still limits the program's capabilities to a limited extent.

Exchange of information between devices

Most of the scenarios described in Android Beam involve using one phone with a tag or a special terminal. If we are talking about direct connections between devices, then the main food here is madness. Of course, since the products are from one manufacturer, especially a great one, it is possible to simply install an additional program into the firmware. If the devices were released by different manufacturers, everyone will have to use new utilities. And it’s not at all a fact that your partner will have the same program installed as you.

Considering that the speed of NFC is very low, for fast file transfer you need to rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and NFC works only at the stage of customizing connection parameters and establishing a connection. To verify this scenario, we tried on our devices a number of programs for transferring files that claimed to support NFC.

Send! File Transfer (NFC) in the free version allows you to exchange photo, music and video files. To establish a link, you can use NFC or QR code. The transmission takes place via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (unfortunately, the devices support Wi-Fi Direct, which did not appear on the tested Sony phone). We were able to achieve a speed of around 65 KB/s with the pouch, which is obviously not enough for photographs.

Blue NFC, as the name suggests, will also simplify file sharing via Bluetooth, replacing the steps of turning on, searching and receiving a Dot while exchanging information with NFC. The speed of the robot is not very great - on par with the known things of the program.

File Expert HD also uses Bluetooth, but the speed is already 100-200 KB/s. However, it is fair to note that this program also has a lot of other file sharing modes.

visnovok

In the spring of 2013, we can say that NFC technology is already taking a place in today’s top- and mid-range smartphones. By the way, the interest in it can be appreciated for the number of programs in the Play Store: there are already hundreds of cat-free projects alone. Looking at the market dominance (especially for the number of models) of the Android platform, it itself is today the most popular for NFC devices. IN iOS staff Features for NFC have not been transferred, and Windows Phone 8 may essentially share the ability to work with NFC for third-party add-ons.

The NFC technology itself has a number of features that allow it to occupy a unique position:

• contactless data transfer;
• work only in small areas;
• the ability to exchange information with other devices or passive tags;
• low level of decision;
• low energy consumption;
• low fluidity data transfer.

At the moment, for smartphones and tablets, there are three most relevant options for using NFC: exchanging data between devices (contacts, messages, messages, photos and other files), reading tags with special information It is also possible to change modes / set up / profiles of the device, you can get it from peripheral devices (for example, headsets). For the first time, you can try using the standard Android program Beam or install alternative options. Stinks may be present if high exchange rates are required (via Wi-Fi), but may become obvious however, the program on a skin device.

Passive labels can be used practically everywhere - from posters to magazines and tags on goods. They can record information about the product, sent to the site, Wi-Fi settings, Contact information, geographic coordinates or other minor information. The expansion of this method of exchanging information will definitely depend on the number of large devices among correspondents. This scenario can be compared with expanded QR codes, which today are perhaps simpler in terms of implementation and more popular.

For change system adjustments You can work with some programs to create tags without being able to write, so many users can try such a scenario. However, it is necessary to note that in such a situation, the selection of options will be records in specific device, If it is transferred to another device there may be problems. Most utilities of this type still extract data from tags, which allows them to save all the necessary information in an encoded form directly in the database (or hmara), so that the data Setting up on another device will require you to use the same program on a new one.

We did not see in this article such scenarios as the use of NFC, such as payment systems, electronic payments and micropayments, receipts and coupons, transport cards and passes. These, especially the first ones, deserve a lot of attention. We will try to reach them if there is evidence of reader interest and broader similar solutions.