NFC tags. What do "you" use them for?

[shotinthenads]

Does anyone know or have tried Samsung Tectiles and the Tectile software? Are the Tectile brand tags required for using the Tectile software?

Edit: From what I just read, it seems that Tectiles are pretty limited in their functionality (at least the software).

I have the Tec Tiles and decided not to use the Samsung App. I am using the Task Launcher App to program them. The Samsung app is pretty limited in my opinion.

 

[ylexot]

From my experience the 48 byte tags are way too small. I found that there is not enough room on them to program any tasks. I have the 1k and the 68 byte and I have found that I can't do anything with the smaller ones.

+1 48byte tags can be used with re-tag, but that's about it.

 

[metnix1]

Are there any universal tasks/switches that can be sent to a phone without the programming app? I was surprised to see a friend's tag that simply toggled Wifi asked me to download Task Launcher first. It seems silly to have anyone who wants to use it install an app first, if the function is basic.

 

[metnix1]

Bump?

 

[szgtr]

My Verizon S3 won't actually send the text, it'll compose it but I have to look at the phone and hit send. Is this the way it should work? Thanks

I think you have to install the NFC Task Launcher SMS Plugin from Tagstand in order for it to automatically send without user interaction, but it isn't working on my S3. It freezes at the sms screen then I get an error.

From the description on Google Play store:

This is a plugin for NFC Task Launcher that will allow the "Text Message" functionality to automatically send a text message rather than pre-populate the SMS data in a text message application.
You must have NFC Task Launcher installed for this to work. These plugins are supported as of 3.7.3​

 

[KeyserSoze]

You can only toggle ringer state (ring, vibrate, silent) not volume level.

If you use NFC task launcher you can set ringer volume to a certain value, here's how I do it in a "switch" setting. Create two tasks. One is called 'work' and one called 'leaving work' for example.

In the 'work' task "set ringer volume" to 1.

In the 'leaving work' task "set ringer volume" to 10.

Then back out to the main menu without programming the tag (hit back or tap the top left of the screen after you click done and it waits to program the tag).

Hit "New Tag"
"New switch"
Assign "Work" to the first slot and "leaving work" to the second slot.
Done
Program
Voila!

 

[KeyserSoze]

In my experience I do need a metal-proof tag for some things. My monitor stand at work is aluminum and a tag cannot be read when it's stuck there.

Having trouble with tags in a vertical position as well.

Having trouble reading tags with a gel case on my phone.

Otherwise, when they do work I have them set for most of the same things that are already mentioned.

One that may have been skipped so far is turning on and off the notification LED. I hate lights while I'm sleeping so my night stand tag turns off the LED and back on in the morning (the night stand is set up as a switch between night mode and home mode).

Basically my lifestyle has modes for the phone.
Home
Car
Work
Sleep

I turn on and off ringers, LEDs, screen brightness and data methods accordingly.

I love that I can tweak the tags as I realize other actions I want out of certain tags.

 

[scrabbley]

One that may have been skipped so far is turning on and off the notification LED. I hate lights while I'm sleeping so my night stand tag turns off the LED and back on in the morning (the night stand is set up as a switch between night mode and home mode).

How do you do that? I use NFC task launcher and it can't turn off the LED. I used the setting for disabling LED but it didn't work so I contacted the developer who said it doesn't work on S3 because Samsung have messed with the settings of the LED.

 

[KeyserSoze]

How do you do that? I use NFC task launcher and it can't turn off the LED. I used the setting for disabling LED but it didn't work so I contacted the developer who said it doesn't work on S3 because Samsung have messed with the settings of the LED.

Mine seems to work. The option is under display and disable makes the light stop flashing. Sorry it's not working for you. :-(

 

[scrabbley]

Mine seems to work. The option is under display and disable makes the light stop flashing. Sorry it's not working for you. :-(

Yeah, I used that setting and it didn't work... Have you ever received a notification while the LED was supposed to be disabled? I checked NFC Task Launcher on google play and it doesn't look like they have updated this yet, the developer said they were looking into fixing it for the S3.

I really wish I could disable it automatically. Tasker doesn't disable it either. I keep waking up to flashing lights in the middle of the night! I turn off wifi, mobile data and sync so that nothing can notify me that way but I get battery notifications and sms still.

 

[RookTheKlown]

Does anyone know or have tried Samsung Tectiles and the Tectile software? Are the Tectile brand tags required for using the Tectile software?

Edit: From what I just read, it seems that Tectiles are pretty limited in their functionality (at least the software).

I use the Tectile app, but only for tags that update my Facebook status. I wish NFC Task Launcher had that functionality, cause that's what I use for all my other tags.

 

[Lulu3]

Can someone explain to me in lamens terms what NFC tags are? I keep seeing the term come up and it seems a lot of you have them? I googled the term but I don't really understand what it does and what the benefit is. Are these tags already installed on my phone? What are they used for? Should I set them up?

 

[kct1975]

Check out this link...
http://m.engadget.com/2011/06/10/engadget-primed-what-is-nfc-and-why-do-we-care/

It does a really job of explaining NFC technology.

 

[scooter1942]

NFC stands for near field communication, and it is a method of transferring data over short distances. NFC tags are small stickers with NFC chips embedded into them. You can buy them here. you can use apps like nfc task launcher (seems to be the most widely used) or others to use the tags to launch apps, change settings, and coupled with tasker (another app, about $6.50 if memory serves) automate just about every basic function on your phone, and maybe some more advanced ones. tasker is also very handy just on its own for various purposes. the two instances ive read about that i can recall are someone using it to email them a picture of someone who has tried to unlock their phone unsucessfully twice in a row, and to turn off audio when launching the camera and then restoring it when the camera is closed (to eliminate the shutter noise)

 

[KeyserSoze]

Yeah, I used that setting and it didn't work... Have you ever received a notification while the LED was supposed to be disabled? I checked NFC Task Launcher on google play and it doesn't look like they have updated this yet, the developer said they were looking into fixing it for the S3.

I really wish I could disable it automatically. Tasker doesn't disable it either. I keep waking up to flashing lights in the middle of the night! I turn off wifi, mobile data and sync so that nothing can notify me that way but I get battery notifications and sms still.

Holy crap. I'm 99.9 percent (where the heck is the percent symbol in Swiftkey haha) sure that my nfc Tasker actually turns off my notification led I sure hope it keeps doing so. At least half of the reason I got the s3 was for ics's ability to turn off the LED without rooting

It's weird, this may be the first time EVER that something has worked for me when it's not supposed to. It's always the other way around. I'm sorry it's not working for you. I feel your pain.

 

[AntimonyER]

Also check out this existing thread in the S3 forum, talking about what other members here are using their NFC tags for: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/570565-nfc-tags-what-do-you-use-them.html?highlight=tags

 

[scooter1942]

Holy crap. I'm 99.9 percent (where the heck is the percent symbol in Swiftkey haha) sure

longpress the "@" in the main symbol section

 

[scrabbley]

Holy crap. I'm 99.9 percent (where the heck is the percent symbol in Swiftkey haha) sure that my nfc Tasker actually turns off my notification led I sure hope it keeps doing so. At least half of the reason I got the s3 was for ics's ability to turn off the LED without rooting

It's weird, this may be the first time EVER that something has worked for me when it's not supposed to. It's always the other way around. I'm sorry it's not working for you. I feel your pain.

I'm gonna try it again and see if it works. I can turn it off at night with LightFlow but that messed up too much other stuff so I uninstalled it. It's not a massive problem, I can turn it off manually, it'd just be nice if my NFC tag could do it for me

btw, the % symbol is above the @ in the number keyboard!

 

[KeyserSoze]

Thanks scooter and scrabbley. I figured it had to be in there somewhere.

After a couple weeks using 5 different tags of 3 different kinds (all from taglands starter kit) I am officially reporting that they work 60-70% of the time when I'm not using a case. Out of the two cases I have used only the super thin hard skin allows these nfc tags to work. Has anyone had better luck with tectiles?

 

[RookTheKlown]

Thanks scooter and scrabbley. I figured it had to be in there somewhere.

After a couple weeks using 5 different tags of 3 different kinds (all from taglands starter kit) I am officially reporting that they work 60-70% of the time when I'm not using a case. Out of the two cases I have used only the super thin hard skin allows these nfc tags to work. Has anyone had better luck with tectiles?

Mine all work fine. I'm using the 1k ones from tagstand, on my galaxy nexus, with the kickstand hard case that Verizon sells. There's 4 that I use regularly (at least once daily), all with no issues. I also have 2 that get used less often (once a week or less), which also have seen no issues.

 

[yorklab]

For those using the NFC tags for your car dock.

Are you putting this tag somewhere in the car OTHER than the car dock? So you scan the phone, put the phone in the car dock; when finished, you take the phone out of the car dock then scan it again (to switch it back to its original state).

Or are you putting the tag on the car dock, so you don

 

[ylexot]

I have my tag in a different location from my dock.

 

[scrabbley]

Thanks scooter and scrabbley. I figured it had to be in there somewhere.

After a couple weeks using 5 different tags of 3 different kinds (all from taglands starter kit) I am officially reporting that they work 60-70% of the time when I'm not using a case. Out of the two cases I have used only the super thin hard skin allows these nfc tags to work. Has anyone had better luck with tectiles?

After about 2 weeks of proper use, mine work 100% of the time. I got them from RapidNFC, they're the NTAG203 kind. I have one of those rubberised hard cases on the back of my phone and it hasn't caused any problems. I think I am officially impressed by NFC tags, still cannot get the LED to turn off though which is frustrating, or get them to put Driving Mode on but that's not the tags or the app's fault.

 

[ylexot]

After about 2 weeks of proper use, mine work 100% of the time. I got them from RapidNFC, they're the NTAG203 kind. I have one of those rubberised hard cases on the back of my phone and it hasn't caused any problems. I think I am officially impressed by NFC tags, still cannot get the LED to turn off though which is frustrating, or get them to put Driving Mode on but that's not the tags or the app's fault.

FYI, I was able to trigger Driving Mode from an NFC tag, but it took three apps: NFC Task Launcher, Tasker, and Driving Mode Widget.

 

[akita]

FYI, I was able to trigger Driving Mode from an NFC tag, but it took three apps: NFC Task Launcher, Tasker, and Driving Mode Widget.

So much for simplification eh