I Show you how to read an RFID NFC Tag on your Phone

How to read an NFC RFID Tag with your iPhone

I want to show you in less than 5 minutes how easy it is to read an RFID tag on your iPhone, plus some of the benefits of using this technology, increasing sales, and more importantly keeping your customers happy.

A few years back if you wanted to read a RFID Tag you had to buy a reader. That all changed back in 2010 when Samsung introduced the first NFC Android phone called the Nexus S. 

This was a big moment in RFID as it meant RFID was now available to the Consumer and all you had to purchase was the NFC Tag, if you already had this phone of course. 

An RFID NFC Label peeled back showing Antenna and chip

Fast Forward nearly 10 years and an Apple iPhone Reading an NFC Tag could be a Game Changer for Marketers and Consumers, why? 

Well, there are so many things it can do, for a start it can connect your company website to a potential customers phone by as little effort as the iPhone user passing their phone over the tag….

That’s got to be easier than typing in a very long website link in! 

In the near future, You maybe sitting in your favourite restaurant, you like the sound of a new main dish, however you haven’t seen what’s in it so you don’t want to take a chance, shall I stick with my usual!!!… But…

There is a NFC tag next to the dish name, it says scan here and a website will be displayed, showing you the full dish ingredients how it’s made and more important what it looks like, plus after one click, you can buy all the ingredients from their company branded website, to make this at home. 

Late In 2018 Apple released iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and the iPhone XR. 

This was a big moment for iPhone users and Apple to welcome them to the world of NFC and RFID technology and Tags, why? Well, because the new models could read the NFC tag and display the information without the need of installing an App. 

There are a few limitations to this which we will go through on this Blog Post, but to give you an idea please see the short Video Below.

https://youtu.be/Io5RpuzptCg

Now, the earlier Models the Iphone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Iphone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and finally the Iphone X, can also do this, however YOU HAVE TO INSTALL AN APP FIRST! Not so bad, But one less step for a consumer and less hassle of installing something has to be good, Right? 

Please don’t leave yet, read on, it does get interesting and if you own a Business or simply want to Market a product, there are some very big benefits to using NFC and it could lead to higher sales, RTI and more ultimately more satisfied customers. 

Plus, NFC has been around for a long time, but as Apple has just brought in this New feature with the new 2018 additions, NFC could be about to take off big time.

Plus, it’s cheap and very easy to use. 

There is another issue! Which has not been solved by Apple yet. For all iPhone models you also need to NDEF Encode the tag! If you don’t the iPhone will NOT read the tag. 

Now, don’t worry about the technical Jargon “NDEF”, basically you have to program the bit of memory in the tag, which is very easy with the right piece of kit, I’ll show you this in a video further down.

Okay, How do I encode the tag with NDEF encoding, I hear you ask, Well with an iPhone you can’t! You will need another separate NFC Reader writer. But….

Don’t despair, you can either buy NDEF encoded tags. However, if you are serious about trying this out, then you can purchase a cheap Android Phone which has an NFC Reader/Writer and encode the tags yourself. 

Please see the Video below, which shows an Android phone NDEF encoding a NFC Tag and the iPhone reading the tag and opening a webpage. 

https://youtu.be/bF_loHnDM8E

Why would I want to buy an android phone I hear you ask? good question, well I doubt Apple will add the writing feature anytime soon, plus without having this feature, you are missing out on so many ways to use a NFC tag. 

Where can you get some tags? We usually stock starter packs of approx. 10 labels check here 

http://www.ableid.com/NFCStickerLabels30mmRoundNTAG213RFID.html

These are not NDEF encoded and if you have an iphone it won’t read them, however if you have an Android Phone you are fine, as you can program them and use them in lots of ways with the Android Phone. 

While this Blog post is about the Iphone, I won’t go into this for Android Users, however if you like this article please leave a comment, or subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

AbleID Supplies all types and sizes of NFC RFID Labels in lots of shapes sizes and colours and NFC chip types. If you are ordering over 1000pcs of labels we can usually supply the size you require and we can offer them printed with your logo and branding for a small additional cost. 

If you just need a handful, 10pcs or more, then don't despair we supply these as well, usually what we have in stock at the time.

Hope you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment, Like the video, or subscribe to our Channel and we will make more. 

Thank you very much. 

AbleID Ltd

Written by Jim Ryder