# fav NFC tag ideas



## KRUSH101 (May 2, 2012)

So I just picked up a pack of nfc tags at fry's (didnt know they even sold them!) so far the only tag i set up turns on car mode when i dock my gnex.

What have you guys been doing with nfc tags? and is there a way to create more fully fledged tags than NFC Task Launcher?


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## DrMacinyasha (Jun 6, 2011)

NFC Task Launcher is the best app. I use tags to launch Foursquare venues (Using Bit.ly to shrink Foursquare venue URLs, then perma-write them to Ultralight tags), as well as set in-the-car and at-home profiles (turn wifi on/off, set brightness, launch Car Home, etc.).


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

If you compile this into the android source, you can turn your Nexus into a direct NFC emulator and work with other NFC reader devices. Google cripples it by default for security reasons so it only works with their software (like google wallet). Mainly only useful if you want to somehow play with having one device transmit to another that you might own (like another Nexus).


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## Jubakuba (Sep 8, 2011)

I use mine with NFC Task Launcher and Tasker combined.

I modified a few of the downloadable Tasker profiles...
And came up with a "speak weather" and turn wifi off sound all the way on when I leave the house.
It also turns off my auto-reply tasker task that tells people I'm sleeping (or tapping my sleeping tag a second time does this as well.)
I have one on my work badge to say I'm at work...
One in my car to turn on music...

Simple stuff, really.
I'm not all that creative.


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## topsecretninja (Aug 14, 2011)

Get one of the sticker type tags and stick it to the side of your nightstand or bedrail. Swipe the phone to put it in silent mode for the night


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## chopper the dog (Aug 6, 2011)

Got one in mah homemade bedside pogo charging dock that turns screen brightness down, lowers volume, turns off sync and enables rotation. Also I have one right by the dock that un does all of that for when I wake up and pull from the dock.

I also have one by the computer that is a switch tag. 1st pass turns on wifi (if not already on) and launches wifi file transfer pro. 2nd pass boots right to recovery. And there is another under the mouse pad that just toggles wifi.

good day.


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## alatedseraph (Jan 23, 2012)

if i wanted to use a tag to start up my ftp file transfer program how would i do that?


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## billymaloney3 (Nov 24, 2011)

I really want to get a bunch of these but I have no idea how to program them. Is it hard? Also can you rewrite tags or is it permanent?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## Jubakuba (Sep 8, 2011)

billymaloney3 said:


> I really want to get a bunch of these but I have no idea how to program them. Is it hard? Also can you rewrite tags or is it permanent?
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Not at all hard, no.
The app literally does it for you.




The app itself is basic.
Changes volumes.
Launches applications.
Turn on/off radios.
Sets alarms.
That's about it...except that it can also launch a tasker profile.
Which allows for infinite customization.
Try tasker out and use widgets to set the profiles (which would be tags if you bought them) and see if you can figure some useful stuff out.
They can be re-written...or locked to disallow re-write if you wanted.


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## billymaloney3 (Nov 24, 2011)

Are the tags expensive and where and which ones should I buy?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## jmart518 (Dec 31, 2011)

billymaloney3 said:


> Are the tags expensive and where and which ones should I buy?
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


They are inexpensive, just ordered the starter pack last night, around $18 shipped

Find them http://www.tagstand.com/


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## DrMacinyasha (Jun 6, 2011)

They typically sell for $1.00-1.50 each.


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## gardobus (Jun 6, 2011)

Do you guys know of any retail stores that sell them? I know someone said Fry's but we don't have one here (assuming you mean Fry's Electronics and not Fry's Food lol).

I'd like to pick up a few to play with.


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## gardobus (Jun 6, 2011)

Oh and does anyone know how many bytes are needed by the NFC Task Launcher app? The anti-metal stickers sound nice (want to stick one on my computer case) but only have a 48 byte capacity, is that enough to do everything mentioned in this thread?


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## billymaloney3 (Nov 24, 2011)

do you have to buy them pre programed with anything ?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## MisterEff (Jan 2, 2012)

I have the same question. Get them blank or encoded with one of the two options?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## k.electron (Aug 17, 2011)

can someone make a guide with required equipment and whatnot for a car dock nfc tag such that the phone turns on bluetooth and gps, pairs with the car bluetooth, opens the podcast app and on removing from the dock, turns bluetooth and gps off.

thanks in advance.


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## DrMacinyasha (Jun 6, 2011)

*Ultralight: *48 bytes, good for a short URL (eg, bit.ly). I like these for bit.ly'd Foursquare venue URLs, which in turn open the Foursquare app, or linking to my resume site. You could get away with a single NFC Task Launcher action, maybe two. They can be made write-locked (i.e. no longer written to).
*Classic: *1KBytes, good for vCards, NFC Task Launcher tasks/switches, longer URLs, URI's (send texts, etc., think similar to a large QR code). They *cannot* be made write-locked.
You do *not* need to buy formatted tags, NFC Task Launcher can format tags just fine. I've been able to format 30 tags I got off Tagstand (2x of the starter kits) without any issues using NFC TL.



k.electron said:


> Oh and does anyone know how many bytes are needed by the NFC Task Launcher app? The anti-metal stickers sound nice (want to stick one on my computer case) but only have a 48 byte capacity, is that enough to do everything mentioned in this thread?


One thing to keep in mind is even the metal-resistant stickers won't work if there's an electric current on the other side of the metal. For example, at my work I tried placing stickers on the doorframes of the public doors. Unfortunately, there's wiring inside the doorframes for the automatic door opener and panic bars (to signal the magnetic door locks to release).


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## milan616 (Jun 21, 2011)

NFC Task Launcher can work with Tasker, so while you limit the tasks to just yourself at that point (or any phone you install said tasks on), you can do some pretty crazy things.


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## gardobus (Jun 6, 2011)

DrMacinyasha said:


> *Ultralight: *48 bytes, good for a short URL (eg, bit.ly). I like these for bit.ly'd Foursquare venue URLs, which in turn open the Foursquare app, or linking to my resume site. You could get away with a single NFC Task Launcher action, maybe two. They can be made write-locked (i.e. no longer written to).
> *Classic: *1KBytes, good for vCards, NFC Task Launcher tasks/switches, longer URLs, URI's (send texts, etc., think similar to a large QR code). They *cannot* be made write-locked.
> You do *not* need to buy formatted tags, NFC Task Launcher can format tags just fine. I've been able to format 30 tags I got off Tagstand (2x of the starter kits) without any issues using NFC TL.
> 
> ...


Awesome post. Looks like I need some classics. They don't need to be write protected because they won't be for the public, just for me. And screw the anti-metal ones, I'll just stick it to my desk haha


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## k.electron (Aug 17, 2011)

DrMacinyasha said:


> *Ultralight: *48 bytes, good for a short URL (eg, bit.ly). I like these for bit.ly'd Foursquare venue URLs, which in turn open the Foursquare app, or linking to my resume site. You could get away with a single NFC Task Launcher action, maybe two. They can be made write-locked (i.e. no longer written to).
> *Classic: *1KBytes, good for vCards, NFC Task Launcher tasks/switches, longer URLs, URI's (send texts, etc., think similar to a large QR code). They *cannot* be made write-locked.
> You do *not* need to buy formatted tags, NFC Task Launcher can format tags just fine. I've been able to format 30 tags I got off Tagstand (2x of the starter kits) without any issues using NFC TL.
> 
> ...


what if i move it to system/app?


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## JagoX (Jul 6, 2011)

DrMacinyasha said:


> NFC Task Launcher can't toggle GPS (only apps in /system/app that know how to can), and can't force the phone to pair to a Bluetooth device. However, it can toggle Bluetooth on, and open your podcast app. You could then make the tag into a switch with a second Task which turns off Bluetooth.


If you create a Tasker profile & use the app Secure Settings, you can auto-enable GPS, location services (tho you'd need to still hit "Agree"), Bluetooth, etc. If bluetooth is getting enabled to connect to a headset or car stereo, as long as that device is enabled it should connect automatically after authorizing the connection


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## DrMacinyasha (Jun 6, 2011)

k.electron said:


> what if i move it to system/app?


NFC Task Launcher itself won't. It doesn't know how, because it assumes it's not going to be a system app.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

The ideal use case for RFID for me would be keeping track of items around your house (in case you misplace them). However, that involves a much larger signal range than NFC and what the phone itself can do.


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## DrMacinyasha (Jun 6, 2011)

yarly said:


> The ideal use case for RFID for me would be keeping track of items around your house (in case you misplace them). However, that involves a much larger signal range than NFC and what the phone itself can do.


We call that WiFi.


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## 1cewolf (May 3, 2012)

I hate having to drag out the USB cable every time I want to connect my GNex to my computer, so I keep an NFC tag right beside the keyboard that:

1) Turns on WiFi,
2) Runs Swiftp
3) Uses Remote Launcher to run a simple batch script on my computer that opens my GNex in Windows Explorer.

A second pass on the tag turns off Swiftp, goes back to the home screen, and turns the screen off.

I'm having some sort of permissions problem with Swiftp, but once I get that sorted out, it should be great for quickly transferring files.


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## JagoX (Jul 6, 2011)

1cewolf said:


> I hate having to drag out the USB cable every time I want to connect my GNex to my computer, so I keep an NFC tag right beside the keyboard that:
> 
> 1) Turns on WiFi,
> 2) Runs Swiftp
> ...


Because having a cable permanently connected is so hard?


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

You know you can use adb remotely over tcp. That or you can ssh into your device.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

DrMacinyasha said:


> We call that WiFi.


RFID tags with a wider range on them would work, just not the close range, higher frequency ones that NFC uses. Having like a couple of RFID readers at your place and then tags on everything you might lose would be nice and then controlling it via an app on your phone or your pc.


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## 1cewolf (May 3, 2012)

JagoX said:


> Because having a cable permanently connected is so hard?


So I'm selectively lazy. Sue me









The less wear on my phone's USB port, the better. It's also a fun parlor trick to amaze iFans


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## BigShotProducer (Jun 6, 2011)

Awesome! Just placed an order and bought the app.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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