Anyone use NFC tags?

[pete6032]

It used to be a thing, not sure if it still is. You could buy a little sticker tag and program your phone to do certain things when it came into contact with the tag. Anyone use these? Just curious what for.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I always loved the idea. Sadly, Windows Phone does not support it :'(

Scenario?

Have two on my workplace to switch sound profiles.

Also one next to my bed to turn on airplane mode on/off.

 

[zerogear]

I used to use NFC tags, then I started using Tasker -- now it's completely automated, based on if cell towers, or if I'm connected to a WiFi AP to trigger.

 

[mrochester]

Nope, sounds like a gimmick to me with little practical use.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I used to use NFC tags, then I started using Tasker -- now it's completely automated, based on if cell towers, or if I'm connected to a WiFi AP to trigger.

How hard is Tasker to set up?

I toyed with it while I had Android, but it was kind of PITA at the time, ~2-3 years ago.

 

[Crono]

I always loved the idea. Sadly, Windows Phone does not support it :'(

Yes, it does, though it's a little more limited in what you can do versus Android because of how the OS is designed. Your specific phone may or may not have NFC... some of the lower end/older Lumias don't have NFC, I think, but there are plenty of models with NFC and there are NFC apps in the Store.

I have a few tags that I've used in the past for Android and Windows Phone, but I don't use them regularly. The last time I used them was for a scavenger hunt game, with messages put on the tags offering clues for the locations of other items. I've been meaning to use a tag for car mode for my phone, but mostly my phone is just streaming music via bluetooth in my car and I'll probably end up mounting a tablet in my car soon.

 

[Zaap]

Used em for about 2 seconds, but as others have said, tasker makes them irrelevant.

It was a fun gimmick for a while, but I struggled to find relevant real world uses for them. My best use for a time was triggering all my car mode apps when the phone was docked in the car (nfc tag behind the mount plate) but even that is done better with tasker which can simply use the car's wifi connection as a trigger.

 

[paperwastage]

How hard is Tasker to set up?

I toyed with it while I had Android, but it was kind of PITA at the time, ~2-3 years ago.

Tasker is extremely powerful because it gives you a lot of option.... Which would make it annoying/confusing to modify

Look at automateit/llama?they kinda wrap/package up frequently used stuff to make it more user friendly

I do use the NFC tag on my Sony camera (touching both devices cause the Sony app to open on my phone to transfer pics). Other than that, no use for NFC (rooted, so no Android pay)

 

[Red Storm]

Best use I've seen is a guy had NFC equipped headphones. He just tapped them to his phone and it paired right up. Made a note to myself to make sure my next headphones could do that too.

I've heard of places like bars or small shops that have NFC tags that you can tap to quickly get the wifi password. Keeps the wifi "open" without leaving it keyless.