Connect to a WiFi or Bluetooth network
The most useful is to connect to WiFi when we get home. PWe can configure the label that we want so that it turns on as soon as you enter by the door or disconnect when you leave. We normally deactivate the WiFi settings when we leave the house to prevent it from automatically connecting to open networks that may have malware, for example, or to save battery life on our mobile. And sometimes you do not remember to put it on when you arrive, causing you to be at home for hours spending data without realizing it.
Whether you want to not forget to turn it on or not to forget to turn it off, we can easily do it with a label that we combine with other elements such as turning on Bluetooth in addition to WiFi, for example, or turning it off when leaving. In the case of Bluetooth, we can choose which devices we link it to from all those associated with the mobile.
Turn on the lights, pull up the blinds
One of the options that NFC allows us is to turn on the lights in a room when we enter. For example, if you want turn on the hallway lights when you are going to leave the room or when you get up from the sofa to go to sleep. There are many possible combinations and we can change them as we need, place them wherever we want…
Another option is to configure home automation in case you have a smart home in which we can raise or lower the blinds from the mobile phone, for example. This will allow us to lower all the blinds at the same time if we go to sleep or raise them when we wake up, for example.
Set the alarm
You don’t necessarily have to manually activate the alarm clock, but we can have an NFC tag or sticker next to the bed or next to the bedside table that allows us to activate the alarm clock at a specific time just by putting the mobile phone nearby. In addition, the advantage is not only that we “save” the process of putting it on, but that we will not forget it since it is a process automated that allows it to be activated only when placing the mobile phone.
In addition, we can configure it the way we want or make a more complete routine such as turning on the alarm clock but also the blinds go upIf you have a home with home automation or the light in the bedroom comes on so you don’t fall asleep.
Send a message
If you are one of those who sends a message when you get home and you always forget, you can automate it with NFC tags. We just have to preconfigure it so that let’s never forget to send that message to our friend that tells us “let us know when you arrive”, to our mother, our father, our partner. We can configure an automatic SMS response that automatically contacts when our phone passes through the tag.
In addition, we can also activate the location of the mobile to confirm that we are at home or deactivate the location in real time when you arrive if you have shared it to feel safer on the way back or if you want to notify that you are finally home. .
In the car
Currently there are some cars that already allow the use of NFC to open the door, but it is not the only function that allows us, but there are others that will make getting into the vehicle much more practical by simply passing the mobile in front of the sticker that let’s place
Use the mobile as a key
There are already vehicles that have sensors that allow the owner’s phone to be recognized when approaching it, such as the ignition keys that many models on the market have. There are already many brands that are working on making the vehicle open as if you were carrying a normal key and some such as Audio, BMC, Volkswagen or Hyundai are already using NFC as an option to enter the car, improving the technology so that it is safest possible. What’s more, it works on a digital key 2.0 in which brands of the stature of the previous ones participate but also others such as Apple, Panasonic or Samsung. It is expected that it can be something global and that in a few years it will be a common way of accessing it.
Not only at a particular level, but many cars of carsharing in Spain They already have NFC technology that allows us to open a vehicle that we have previously reserved.
Activate Bluetooth
Another function is to activate Bluetooth when we get into the car. We can activate it automatically when we get in the vehicle to make sure that the car and the phone are correctly linked and we can start playing music or receiving calls.
We can also configure the label that we have put so that not only the wireless connection that links both devices is activated, but we can combine it with opening an app and starting to play Spotify in Auto Mode while driving.
Payments and procedures
Identify us, pay or withdraw money are some of the most useful functions.
mobile payments
It is the great use of NFC par excellence and not only from the mobile phone but there are smart watches that allow us to pay contactless or even rings that are equipped with this technology that allows us to dispense with a wallet or purse if you are going to buy something or if you are going to travel by public transport and do not want to carry loose change. The great advantage is that it is fast, safe and comfortable. And we can carry several different cards in the same mobile.
It is compatible in practically any store in Spain but also in gas stations, shopping centers, restaurants and many other establishments. You just have to bring the phone closer and we usually have to confirm the identity with our fingerprint.
Identification at the cashier
to pay but also to withdraw money is an optionalthough less widespread. When accessing the ATM to withdraw money, we can do it directly with the mobile phone if we bring it closer and it recognizes our card. It is similar to paying but what it will allow us to do is get the money in cash following the conventional procedure, but avoiding us taking out the wallet, looking for the card and inserting it into the device.
Logically, not all ATMs have the possibility to do so, but many of them already have technology. contactless. They explain it from the BBVA page and it has a series of advantages such as saving time, improving security, etc. “Besides of cash deposit and withdrawal, ATMs allow checking the balance and movements of an account, making national and international bank transfers, recharging the balance of the mobile and carrying out different payments and refunds “explain from the bank.
Electronic ID reader
Card readers for the computer can be cheap in which we insert it, but also others in which we can use it without contact and incorporate an NFC chip in order to transmit the data to the computer. This will allow us carry out procedures online cHow to apply for unemployment benefit, see the working life, carry out procedures with the DGT, validate the proposed income statement…
For this, a normal NFC tag will not work, but we will need a reader which usually has a price of around 40 euros and we can use it with the computer.
Events and entertainment venues
Not only at work or at home can it be useful, but NFC is being used in many areas to identify us when accessing a site or adding content.
Identification in events
There are events like the Mobile World Congress that already use NFC technology to know if we are the ones who should enter or not. It allows us to identify ourselves to access the event without the need to carry a specific card or accreditation.
But at a leisure level, this would also allow us to enter mass events such as tickets to concerts, tickets to soccer fields, etc. or many airlines They already use NFC to verify that we carry the tickets on the mobile without the need to have them printed or to carry them in PDF on the phone. In addition to public transport, for example.
Tourist content and guides
Beyond access, there are companies and organizations that use NFC to improve the visit to an exhibition, museum or monument. Thanks to these labels we can know details of the content of a painting, a sculpture and much more.
In addition, some interactive exhibits have a audio guide that is automatically synchronized as we move thanks to the fact that it detects what it should say at each moment depending on whether we are close to one or the other.
Other uses
In addition, there are other essential uses that we can give it.
ID
As an identification it has been one of the great uses of NFC in recent times: we can show it at work events if we want someone to save us on the agenda at that time without having to dictate our phone or email. A virtual business card that we can use at any time.
Or even in our business we can place it if we want customers automatically save the contact or find the data on social networks.
Geolocation and location
We can make our customers check a specific establishment and share their location on social networks, for example. We can also link NFC tags to the specific geolocation of a store, bar, etc. A frequent fad in times of Foursquare and Yelp that is now out of use but we never know when it may come back if we want to make ourselves noticed.
Wi-Fi sharing
Just as you connect to WiFi you can do it with your guests. You can create a guest network and link it to a tag that you place somewhere in your home. Thanks to it, visitors will be able to connect without the need for you to dictate the very long password that your network has or that you send them to see it on the router.
We can do it with the normal network or create a specific one, but it will always be more advisable to configure it especially to limit downloads, etc.