NFC (Near Field Communication) is a technology that allows devices to communicate by bringing them close together. It's what makes contactless payments (like apple pay) work. It also lets you share files by tapping your phone, pairs devices effortlessly and even lets you access information by tapping on NFC-ready tags.
In Papertrail.io, you can use NFC to easily scan equipment and manage your assets and equipment easily and efficiently. Just tap your NFC-enabled device to the tag to associate it or search for assets and perform inspections or other actions.
You can use an NFC reader on your desktop or an Android or iOS smartphone with NFC capability.
NFC is widely integrated into phones today. There are 3 billion NFC-enabled devices, most of them are smartphones but not all phones have NFC.
You can also use an NFC reader device to use NFC on web applications and Papertrail such as this one.
No, NFC tags are cheap! Buying in bulk reduces the price per tag even further. Papertrail supports a wide range of tags to be as flexible and offer you as much choice as possible.
You can buy many different types of tags (stickers, tokens, cards, keyrings and rope labels). Check out the Papertrail Shop now to see a range of NFC tags available .
If you have an iPhone 7 or newer then you have NFC, almost all modern Android devices have NFC.
Most new smartphones have NFC but you will need to check in settings that it is turned on. The best (and easiest) way to check is to open up settings and search for “NFC” and tap it to turn it on.
For Android
For iOS (iPhone 7 or newer will have NFC)
That's it! Following these simple steps should enable NFC on your Android or iOS device.
The NFC antenna in smartphones may be situated at the top, middle, or bottom of the phone, with its location typically not specified on the phone case. In modern smartphones, it is common for the NFC antenna to be integrated at the top of the device.
The NFC antenna has a short range for scanning (within a few centimetres). Touch the NFC tag with your smartphone antenna to improve chances of a successful scan.
When scanning a tag natively (without app) it's worth noting that phones intermittently check for nearby NFC tags. This frequency varies by phone make and model, meaning some phones may detect the tag faster than others.
Using NFC with the Papertrail app gets the best results for a successful scan and you can use it to assign equipment, assets and groups to an NFC tag.
Possible NFC Scanning Issues
If you are having difficulties check that your NFC tags aren't directly on a metal surface as it can interfere with the NFC communication.
Add NFC tags to records
Adding tags is a breeze. Simply select one or multiple records, assign the tag, and you're done! Our user-friendly interface makes the process quick and simple.
Scanning NFC tags in Papertrail
The easiest way to scan NFC tags is with the inbuilt NFC functionality in the Papertrail mobile application. However, you can also use an NFC reader to work with the web application, providing flexibility and convenience in your workflow.
Where can I buy NFC tags?
The Papertrail Shop has a range of NFC tags for various applications.
Papertrail universally support any NFC Tags that support the following formats:
NDef, NFCA, IsoDep, ICode Slix Technology Compatible Tags, NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216.