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NFC technology - what is it, why did it appear in our lives and do you really need a smartphone with this mysterious technology? Let's find out today on the page of our portal.

What is this thing and what do you eat it with?

So, let's go: NFC on a phone, what is it and how to use it? NFC is a wireless communication method, literally translated from English as “near field communication”.

This technology “came out” back in 2004. (at the time of writing this is neither more nor less - (!)); 15 years ago! However, it is safe to say that its popularity came only 2-3 years ago.

The main area of ​​application of this technology is payments, then in popularity is reading information embedded in tags, and, less often, data exchange. So, precisely because of the lack of payment terminals, the NFC function that supports contactless payment did not gain popularity at first.

What about today? According to a study by Alfa Bank, in 2018, every ninth non-cash payment transaction was carried out using NFC (which is 5 times more than, for example, in 2017). Experts predict that in 2019, every sixth payment will be made using the NFC module. 👍

Plus, phones with an NFC chip at the beginning of their history were no longer cheap at all, and Chinese manufacturers (whose smartphones are relatively inexpensive) generally ignored the emergence of such technology at the beginning. However, over time, the situation has changed radically; every year more and more people use the technology.

We have collected for you some statistics on sales of phones with NFC in Russia (according to the Svyaznoy company).

• Advantages :
• almost instantaneous connection establishment (0.1 sec);
• relatively inexpensive cost (here, by the way, someone can argue, because according to data for 2018, the average cost of a smartphone with NFC was no less than 27,500 rubles);
• compact size of the chip itself;
• high level of security (unlike Bluetoth). easy setup

(we will give instructions below).

• Flaws: Very low speed
• transfers;

Payment by phone: setting up NFC

The NFC module in a smartphone is most often used to pay for purchases. Perhaps this is the opportunity I take advantage of every day. You don’t need to take your wallet with you or remember about your card, because you always have your phone with you. Setting up NFC on your phone is very easy!

Please note that the card that you plan to link to your phone must be marked Paypass, which means “contactless payment”. If your card does not have such a mark, you should contact the bank to reissue the card.

Now I’ll show you step by step how to set up NFC for payment on your phone and link a card.

• If your phone works on Android system, You need to first activate the NFC function on your phone. To do this, go to “Settings” - “ Wireless network" If you have an iPhone, you can skip this step; NFC is enabled by default.
• Iphone owners will need to go to Wallet app(it is by default). If we talk about Androids, everything is the same. For example, Samsung immediately has the SamsungPay application). Click on the plus in the upper right corner). By the way, I talked about it separately.

• We begin the process of adding a card. Add all the card data to the form that appears.

• Next, click “Accept”.

Contactless payment applications will definitely remind you that you need to lock your phone with a PIN code to protect your finances.

That's all. Are you wondering how to use NFC on your phone to pay in a store? It couldn’t be simpler - you simply place your phone on the payment terminal and confirm the operation with your fingerprint. True, for the first time I paid for a purchase by phone, I still took the card with me.

Fraud and other horror stories about NFC

Anything new is always scary and many people still don’t use contactless payments because... consider this method unsafe. But let's think together - is it much safer to carry money in your pocket or a card? Of course not, it’s just more familiar!

Even if something sad happens and the phone is stolen, payment will not be possible without you. After all, to make any payment via NFC you need a fingerprint (Touch ID) or a face scan (Face ID). Yes! I also heard stories about a cut off finger, but these are “tales” - nothing more :). I have not found a single confirmed case at the time of writing.

But if a card with a contactless payment function is stolen, the risk of losing money is higher, but it is limited to 1000 rubles. This is exactly the limit for transactions that do not require a PIN code that is established in Russia. This is exactly what scammers use in crowded places. The principle can be understood from the photo below. But again the theft will be up to 1000 at a time.

NFC for data transfer

In addition to the ability to pay, the NFC chip in a smartphone also allows you to transfer data. Of course, the opportunities for transfer here are small. You can only transfer small files, links, in general, everything that you usually send via the Internet or, in extreme cases, Bluetooth. Moreover, as I wrote above, to transfer using NFC you need to put the phones very close to each other. In addition, you also need to install the application.

NFC differs from Bluetoth in several ways:

1. Connecting via NFC is almost instantaneous. It is for this reason that technology is used for emulation bank card;
2. Very, very small range. As we have already said, this is both a plus (provides greater security), but also a minus - it may not always be convenient.
3. The NFC sensor may be in an active working state even if the main device is turned off.

To be honest, I have never used NFC to transfer any files or information, although there is an NFC module in my smartphone, I just don’t understand why this is needed, if there is Mobile Internet, Wi-Fi, but this is my subjective opinion.

Reading information using NFC

Another area of ​​application of this technology, which, by the way, is gaining momentum, but still seems like a distant future, is NFC tags. They can encrypt absolutely any information and be considered by any device with an NFC module. This is something like a QR code that is scanned by a mobile camera and then the information that was included in this code appears on your phone. (I wrote more about and even how to create them separately)

An NFC tag is a very tiny chip. It is thanks to its compact size that it can be placed anywhere, even implanted into the human body, and such cases already exist.

Today there are about 50,000 people around the world who implanted NFC tags in yourself. Someone may not think about whether he took the keys to the house or his garage. There are also those who encrypt the data of their work pass, passport or medical card into a tag. Imagine: I drove up to the barrier, put my hand on it, and it opened. There is no need to look for anything, your hand is always nearby). In Russia, for example, there lives a man who implanted an NFC chip from a Troika card into his hand. Now he definitely won’t lose her or forget her at home. Convenience or fantasy? Call it what you want, but this is today's reality. More information about this in our other article.

Another way is to go through the “Settings” section. There should be at least some mention of NFC, for example, in the “Wireless Networks” section.

If you haven’t found anything like this, then this technology has bypassed you for now.

The NFS module for the phone is installed in models of the middle and high price segment. For example, in the latest generations of Galaxy and iPhone (starting with), the creators have been adding this feature for several years. However, in most countries the use of tags is rather poorly developed.

Where is the chip located in a mobile device?

The NFC module in the phone is placed under it back cover, near the battery. It is this part that makes more sense when connecting the phone to another device.

What gadgets are equipped with an NFC module?

Well, of course, first of all, these are smartphones, and now they have begun to be installed in more budget models and in models from Chinese manufacturers. List of smartphones with NFC support You will find .

A very convenient thing is a watch with NFC. Well, imagine, standing in a store, you don’t even need to look for money, a card, or a phone - because the watch is always on hand. In my opinion, it couldn’t be more convenient! The likelihood of such a device being stolen is low, and, by the way, even if the watch is taken off your hand, you will no longer be able to pay with it.

Fitness bracelets with NFC technology are also gaining popularity. Such a gadget on Yandex.Market costs from 2500-15000 rubles.

The NFC ring is a less familiar thing to me and I did not have the opportunity to test such a gadget live. To be honest, it’s confusing that it’s so easy to lose. If anyone has experience using it, please share it with us in the comments.

In conclusion, I would like to say once again to those who are interested in this technology: The NFC function on a phone, on a watch, on a bracelet, or anywhere - it’s really very convenient, simple and safe! I hope that my material was useful to you.

NFC technology allows high-frequency wireless communication at short distances. A large number of modern devices are equipped with NFC modules - primarily the technology is focused on tablets and smartphones. In this article we will look at what NFC is in a smartphone, how NFC technology works, what advantages it has and what is the range of its applications.

The abbreviation NFC stands for Near Field Communication. The technology is based on the principle of exchanging radio signals between two devices - this technology is similar to the well-known Bluetooth. However, there is one important difference - unlike Bluetooth, which is focused on transmitting data over a distance of up to hundreds of meters, NFC is designed to exchange data at a distance of about 10 cm and closer.

The technology was announced in 2004 as an extension to contactless cards. After this, the technology gained quite a lot of popularity and can now be used in many areas.

How it works?

Let's try to figure out how NFC works in a smartphone. Two devices establish communication with each other when they touch - so, to pair two smartphones, you just need to touch them to each other.

If we delve into the technical details of the technology, we can say the following.

Communication via NFC is based on magnetic field induction - loop antennas are located within the near field and form a transformer. Frequencies in the range of 13.56 MHz are allocated for NFC operation. The supported data transfer rate can reach 400kb/s.

NFC operating modes

NFS in a smartphone can operate in two modes:

• Active mode - both devices alternately transmit information, and both devices must have a power source.
• Passive mode - the initiator of a data transmission session, by modulating its field, provides the carrier field and the response of the second device - it uses the field power of the first device to transmit data.

Passive mode allows you to create devices that do not need their own battery - so a small tag the size of a penny or even smaller can effectively communicate with another device on the short distances- just bring them together and the data transfer process will start on its own.

Benefits of NFC technology

The advantages of NFC include intuitiveness (one touch is enough to initiate data transfer), versatility (NFC has the widest range of uses), openness of the technology and its compliance with industry standards, as well as an increased level of security due to low transmitter power and low range.

Using NFC, you can set up other wireless technologies- so, to pair two devices via NFC, about 100ms is enough, while connecting them to each other via Wifi or Bluetooth takes significantly longer, but it can be done via NFC.

NFC facilitates the exchange of information - you can transfer a file from one smartphone to another by simply touching it with your smartphone. The matter is not limited to this - you can transfer a payment to your interlocutor, add him to your “friends”, or start a session of a joint multiplayer game.

Prospects for NFC

NFC as a communication technology has a wide range of applications that can constantly expand. Thus, using NFC it is possible to implement such contactless technologies as access control to premises, payments using mobile phone- including in public transport and shops, various solutions in the field consumer electronics, health care, information exchange programs and so on.

Excellent opportunities are opening up in the field of e-commerce - a device with NFC can act as a wallet, travel ticket, boarding pass, discount coupon, and so on. NFC tags in stores allow you to instantly receive Additional information about the product and other stores with such products. 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.