***Special Alert - this information also applies to the new Samsung Galaxy S4 phone!***
What NFC Tags do and don't work with the new Nexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 Tablet and Why?There's been a lot of confusion about the new Nexus 4 and 10 and NFC compatibility especially with the Mifare Classic 1K NFC Tags which are the most popular tags around. With some help from a Nexus 4 owner, we've conducted extensive testing, and now have the final real world answers to the Nexus 4 & 10 NFC compatibility questions. Here they are!
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What's the issue?
Can NFC Mifare Classic Tags be used at all with the Nexus 4 and 10?
What NFC Tags are fully compatible with the Nexus 4 and 10?
Can I use another phone to write something to a Mifare Classic Tag then use the Nexus 4/10 to read it?
I don't have a Nexus 4 or 10 - is there any reason I would want to use an NTAG203 NFC Tag?
How can I find out how much data I need for a specific tag?
Why are your NTAG203 NFC Tags only available in one style/color?
Does this issue affect other Nexus devices?
See our About NFC Tags info page for more general information about NFC Tags and feel free to Contact Us if you have a question we have not answered here.
- NXP has been one of the leading manufacturers of NFC hardware and pretty much all Android phones up to this point used NXP hardware. The NFC Forum has established protocols for NFC so that any hardware and any microchip (NFC Tag) that adheres to this protocol will be compatible. NXP created the Mifare Classic 1K Chip outside of the NFC Forum Protocols. While these chips are compatible with NXP hardware which covers about 95% of the NFC equipped phones and tablets on the market, the chips are not necessarily compatible with any phone that uses other manufacturer's hardware. On the Nexus 4 and 10 phones, Google decided to use a different manufacturer's NFC hardware (Broadcom). Because of this only chips which adhere to the NFC Forum's Protocols are completely compatible meaning the Mifare Classic chips are not. They can be detected by the Nexus 4 and 10, but can not be written to or fully read.
Can NFC Mifare Classic Tags be used at all with the Nexus 4 and 10?
- YES! And no. While Mifare Classic Chips can not be written to or fully read by the Nexus 4 or 10, their UID (a unique identification code) can be detected and read. So Mifare Classic Chips can be used with the Nexus 4 or 10 along with an app such as AutomateIt which simply uses a tag's UID to trigger events/settings saved on the device. (ReTag & NFC Task Launcher also can just use a tag's UID but also have the ability to write to writable tags.) The down side to this is that because the tag can not be written to, if you have more than one of these types of NFC apps on your phone, tapping the tag will bring up a box to ask you what app you want to use. But if you only use one NFC app for all your Tag Events/Settings/etc., then this is not a problem and would allow you to make use of Mifare Classic tags for this purpose.
What NFC Tags are fully compatible with the Nexus 4 and 10?
- Any NFC tag that complies with the NFC Forum's protocol will be compatible with the Nexus 4 and 10 and there are plenty of them! They just tend to be more expensive for the amount of memory you get. The most popular NFC Forum tag right now is the NTAG203. These tags have about 140 bytes of usable memory. While much less than the 700 bytes found on the 1K Mifare Classic tag, this is more than enough for most apps which only record a small amount of info on tag so that ties the tag to the specific app and then allows the app to store the various settings and events. However, there might not be enough memory for some longer "text-based" generic tags (tags that can be read by other phones) especially vCards that contain a lot of data or extremely long text messages or url's as they can hold about 130 characters. But for most applications the NTAG203 will have enough memory and work just fine.
Can I use another phone to write something to a Mifare Classic Tag then use the Nexus 4/10 to read it?
- No. The Nexus 4 or 10 will ONLY be able to read a Tag's UID code. It will not be able to read any other information on the tag.
I don't have a Nexus 4 or 10 - is there any reason I would want to use an NTAG203 NFC Tag?
- If you're using tags for your own personal use (to launch apps, change settings, etc.) then you should definitely stick to the Mifare Classic 1K tags if your phone is compatible (and most are). With 700 bytes of usable memory you get about 5 times the memory of the NTAG203 - even if you don't plan on using that much, it's better to have it and not need it than the other way around.
- If you plan to use tags to store and share your website address, Facebook Page address, Twitter Feed address, or anything where you want anyone and everyone to be able to tap and read the tag, then you'll probably want to go with the NTAG203 since it is compatible with all NFC enabled phones including the Nexus 4 and 10.
- If you're using the Samsung Tectile App - you definitely DO NOT want to use NTAG203 tags. The Samsung Tectile app is an NFC Memory hogger and there is not enough memory on the NTAG203 chips for use with that app.
How can I find out how much data I need for a specific tag?
- Many NFC apps, including NFC Smart Q will let you know how much memory is needed for a tag you're creating. You can download these apps and create tags (without actually having tags) to see how much memory you need for things you want to do.
Why are your NTAG203 NFC Tags only available in one style/color?
- Since more than 95% of the NFC enabled Android phones on the market are compatible with the Mifare Classic Tags and they have 5 times the memory for the same price, it makes more sense to provide more of those tags as they will be the ones sought after the most. If the demand for the NTAG203 increases, I may consider adding other color variations. Of course, as mentioned above, even with the Nexus 4 or 10 you can use Mifare Classic tags to trigger events with NFC ReTag or NFC Task Launcher using the tag's UID, which is an option if you only plan on using one NFC app for all your NFC tags.
Does this issue affect other Nexus devices?
- No. Previous Nexus devices have NFC hardware from NXP so Mifare Classic tags (as well as NTAG203's) will work with those with no problem. This issue only affects the Nexus 4 and 10 though going forward it might affect other devices if other companies decide to use NFC hardware not made by NXP.
See our About NFC Tags info page for more general information about NFC Tags and feel free to Contact Us if you have a question we have not answered here.