Database Users

NFC Thread...

There are many questions being asked in various threads about NFC so lets stick all NFC enquiries into one thread.
What do we know so far?
From the UK model's there are no signs of NFC, however the Korean version does. Why is this?
The Korean service is provided KT, based on NFC phones and SIM cards.
"In Korea, there were 2~3 smartphones that embedded NFC including Nexus S. But in the problem of blocking SWP between USIM and NFC chipset, Nexus S is not that well promoted as the NFC phone. So Galaxy S2 may be accepted as the first NFC phone by consumers. And if iPhone 5 doesn’t embed NFC, Galaxy S2 is very important for carriers and card companies to want to drive the NFC payment.
Among active movements around the NFC business such as Korea Communication Commission’s ‘Grand NFC Korea Alliance, infrastructure is rising as the key issue to activate the market. And it’s a good opportunity for carriers to distribute Galaxy S2 which is designed for SIM-based SE.
After the launch of Galaxy S2, Samsung will adopt NFC in most of its smartphone line-up."
Which brings us to the UK version, from many sources on the web, Samsung is keen to blow NFC up big in the UK, they are planning to work with Visa for the Olympics:
http://www.nearfieldcommunicationsw...ing-nfc-payments-to-the-london-2012-olympics/
So that states from 2012 onwards, starting in the UK then Europe.
Mastercard and orange are working together to bring out a NFC phone, which will be the Samsung Wave 578:
http://www.whatmobile.net/2011/02/samsung-wave-578-gets-nfc-addition/
Not sure if Mastercard or Barclaycard, however these will be all based on SIM BASED NFC. A high capacity sim card replacing the standard sim cards.
Going back to 2010, Samsung trialling out Sim based NFC:
http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/sim-based-nfc-payments-pilot-runs-mwc
Now Samsung is jumping on board the NFC bandwagon, as Mobile Business Briefing reports, with news that the company will be working with Visa to produce a branded Olympics handset featuring contactless mobile payments.
The phone will use a Visa enabled sim card to facilitate purchases from retailers with the necessary contactless technology. Some 60,000 retail outlets in London will apparently be set to accept NFC payments by the time the games rolls around in 2012.
The only question which remains is what network operator Samsung is going to get on board with…
So after all that, we may have to wait until next year maybe in the UK for a specific NFC based phone which will allow the new sims. The UK S2 in that sense will most likely not have NFC as we are not ready for it just yet.
Maybe we will see a NFC version in the near future or the Samsung Galaxy S3 rumoured for end year will house this once UK carriers have piloted their NFC tests!

Oddly phones4u who are the only uk store to actually have some in the warehouse go out their way to state it houses nfc to use you phone as a credit card. I'm starting to think it might vary from shop to shop. This could be confusing!
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App

I think they all procure physical devices from same source.
But different shops grab specs from different Samsung web site
Or may be everyone is lucky, that metal frame around the camera lens IS the NFC antenna, and all this phone needs is a software upgrade to enable NFC functionality

I think it's pretty poor of Samsung not to be totally transparent about who is getting what varient and when.. i.e. Exynos/Tegra, Super AMOLED+/LCD, NFC/Non NFC, 16GB/32GB...

Clove have just released a blog stating the UK SGSII will NOT be shipping with NFC.

God its bad, Samsung should have cleared what region is getting what, Clove and expansys said repeatedly to me that NFC will there...
Its bad marketing by Samsung..Misrepresentation under English Law sue-able offense.
Beards said:
Clove have just released a blog stating the UK SGSII will NOT be shipping with NFC.
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Beards said:
Clove have just released a blog stating the UK SGSII will NOT be shipping with NFC.
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I think all early versions of the phone will not have NFC then... I hoped the german version would be an exeption, but I belive it is the same physical batch because it comes similar early to the market.

Beards said:
Clove have just released a blog stating the UK SGSII will NOT be shipping with NFC.
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I actually asked them to verify that with Samsung since all the review said NFC were missing. They got back to me last night before posting the blog to confirm that there won't be NFC. I don't know why Samsung never told them that before or why they never verified this with the rest of the specs to begin with...

jimbiye said:
I actually asked them to verify that with Samsung since all the review said NFC were missing. They got back to me last night before posting the blog to confirm that there won't be NFC. I don't know why Samsung never told them that before or why they never verified this with the rest of the specs to begin with...
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I know.... You can also read a small bit about NFC here not impressed.

well according the the official samsung galaxy s2 specification webpage it says that the thickness is 8.49mm. Also under the NFC specs there was a line saying that with phones with the NFC chip, the thickness would vary. Now the korean version is launched and its with NFC chip, and indeed in the official samsungtomorrow korean site ( here http://samsungtomorrow.com/1145) the thickness is given as 8.89mm. So I guess we can safely assume that galaxy s2's with 8.89 mm thickness are the ones with nfc chip. So Before its launched in your region if you find 8.49mm thickness under the specs sheet that consider its without nfc.

ankydu said:
well according the the official samsung galaxy s2 specification webpage it says that the thickness is 8.49mm. Also under the NFC specs there was a line saying that with phones with the NFC chip, the thickness would vary. Now the korean version is launched and its with NFC chip, and indeed in the official samsungtomorrow korean site ( here http://samsungtomorrow.com/1145) the thickness is given as 8.89mm. So I guess we can safely assume that galaxy s2's with 8.89 mm thickness are the ones with nfc chip. So Before its launched in your region if you find 8.49mm thickness under the specs sheet that consider its without nfc.
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Yes, I lived in korea. And we think 0.5mm differrence is our Korea galaxy S2 model(SHW-M250S/M250K) embedded TDMB module.
(if you learn about TDMB, please refer follow link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Multimedia_Broadcasting)
usually most of korea cellphone embedded TDMB module and,
as a result, phone thicker then non-dmb embedded phone.
So our korean think Korea galaxy S2 is thicker then EU galaxy S2.

Expansys told me yesterday that their stock has the NFC chip... I even asked the guy to double check etc. and mentioned what everyone had been saying on forums. If it arrives without the NFC chip (which it probably will) I am going to kick up a fuss.

I have repeatedly asked Expansys to recheck and confirm that what ever specs are mentioned on your webpage will be present in my phone when they ship.. They said yes, It will be same phone (specs) as mentioned on the web.. Lets see
hshah said:
Expansys told me yesterday that their stock has the NFC chip... I even asked the guy to double check etc. and mentioned what everyone had been saying on forums. If it arrives without the NFC chip (which it probably will) I am going to kick up a fuss.
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NFC
I got mine from P4U yesterday and I can not find any sign of an NFC chip. Nothing comes up in the hardware profile and there is no app to define credit card information etc.

creashor said:
I got mine from P4U yesterday and I can not find any sign of an NFC chip. Nothing comes up in the hardware profile and there is no app to define credit card information etc.
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Thanks... It is now 100% confirmed Samsung did not release the SGS II on the UK market with the chip.
Bloody annoying what!
Samsung make great hardware but their marketing, advertising & P.R need to be taken down a peg or two.
Samsung UK must have known all along the current UK SGS II would not have the chip, so why was it not mentioned as such.
You simply can not advertise something when clearly it is not.

It is a clear case of false advertising. Absolutely everything I read prior to purchase said it had nfc. I didn't see even the slightest speculation that it was not going to be included.
I'm not too bothered though. In reality, I have no use for nfc just yet - and I can't see me keeping this phone for more than a year (not the phone's fault, I just like to stay fairly current).
Sent from my Galaxy S II using XDA App

I just now made a request (tweet) to samsung india twitter account:
Please take ur time in getting the sgs2 to India, but please include the NFC Chip, we really want a future ready device.
I request all indian xda members to do the same.
heres the link: http://twitter.com/#!/samsung_mobiles

Can anyone tell me how to verify before buying if a particular Galaxy S2 has built in NFC chip? Will it say on the box? usually sellers have sealed package. Do I have to remove the battery cover for physical evidence or literally measure the thickness? Also, how to verify the variants of LCD/AMOLED and CPUs?
I'll greatly appreciate if anyone has any info on this, it's my major concern. I hate it when I pay top dollars and find that my boss or colleague has the same phone with better cpu and extra feature.
Cheers in advance.

I can't see how or why they would make to models, where is the money in that, i only see unhappy costumer.

uncanny said:
Can anyone tell me how to verify before buying if a particular Galaxy S2 has built in NFC chip? Will it say on the box? usually sellers have sealed package. Do I have to remove the battery cover for physical evidence or literally measure the thickness? Also, how to verify the variants of LCD/AMOLED and CPUs?
I'll greatly appreciate if anyone has any info on this, it's my major concern. I hate it when I pay top dollars and find that my boss or colleague has the same phone with better cpu and extra feature.
Cheers in advance.
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Exactly the question I had in my mind.
Would really appreciate if someone can really come up with a concrete answer.
Maybe if some SGS II users from korean market join us here then they would be able to tell us how to identify a NFC/non NFC enabled SGS II or where does it really shows up or mentioned.
Thanks.

Samsung Galaxy S2 India Edition [DOES NOT HAVE] NFC!

Just thought of updating you guys!
Here is the spec sheet for Galaxy S II india version : http://twitpic.com/52888s
As per that, we've got NFC!!
[AFTER RELEASE UPDATE]
Now that everyone got the SGS2 in their hands, NFC - as promised by Samsung during the official launch event - IS MISSING.
For now, NFC is only available on their Korean models.

Lol so back to the original topic...
That's great but it sucks that India get it and the UK still don't.
Don't mean to be offensive but how will NFC be any use in India, wouldn't it just be a gimmick in your case.

Price starting from Rs. 35,000 for Locked 16GB iPhone 4 and 41,000 for 16GB Factory Unlocked in India and samsung galaxys II will be hitting the markets next month and is priced at Rs 32,890 for the 16 GB version. It's cheaper than Iphone although sgs II beats Iphone in every way , it will also have NFC

hacksome said:
What's wrong with you?!.
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he is actuall correct, the metioned thread is so actively monitored and updated. they even have the discount coupon for pre orders from lets buy.
IMo there is nothing wrong in saying that!!!

dhruvmalik said:
Thanks Buddy... The lurkers can think what they want but for those who continuously follow a topic, its a bit difficult to maintain a proper trail with new threads with the same question. Just like Android.... Things get fragmented.
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I made this thread to discuss about the NFC part. It is interesting because India and Korea are the only countries to get it. My idea of creating this thread is to get a global opinion about this move by samsung.
The thread you mentioned, has been hijacked for the purpose of discussing India release by a few people (including me!. I made that first post there telling the presence of NFC).
Let me repeat, this thread is to discuss exclusively about the NFC inclusion; not the coupon code, group buying with your friends or India launch.
Relax!.

huh!.. as per this http://www.samsung.com/in/galaxys2/ , there is NO NFC!. hmm.

This should have been easily fixed if the Invitees to that event - did a proper inspection of the Phone. There will be a Tag app to test NFC - if is there. They could also check by removing the backplate to see if the NFC antenna and controllers are visible.
So bad, no one checked this to confirm.

Does it explicitly mention that there's no NFC in that page? Or has it just been omitted?
Samsung confirmed its presence during the event today and the official spec sheet given to the media includes it.
Even the Samsung Mobiles India twitter account(which has gained a bit more credibility after today's events) has been saying it'll be present all along.
One of the blogs covering it initially posted that NFC won't be included only to correct it a bit later as well.

NFC? Is it reallllly necessary?
Hmmm, anyway I don't see the use of NFC hardware for Indian customers! It's like getting a LTE capable phone to work with India's 2G network which is now only getting used to 3G speeds!

FYI ....
http://www.nearfieldcommunicationsw...i-searches-for-a-business-model-in-bangalore/
It has already begun ..... What world do u live in buddy ??

Although it may available in certain parts in India. I guess it'll take some time before it becomes widsespread. So Samsung might be following the same pattern as in UK. Release non-NFC first then the NFC version. That way they can still get the same price for the non-NFC version as there are people who arent bothered about the NFC.
But with that said, India might also be getting the 2nd production batch, the ones that belong to the same batch of NFC enabled devices headed to the UK.

So does it released in India ?

sorry but the Indian SGS2 DOES not have the NFC chip.confirmed.

hoezay said:
sorry but the Indian SGS2 DOES not have the NFC chip.confirmed.
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Can you mention the source?

those who got their SGS2 in Mumbai r the ones which r meant for indian customers... letsbuy is selling it for them & even vodafone is selling it to their mumbai customers....
as the stocks have arrived in mumbai as early as june 2nd, for the first time in India, people who owns it have confirmed that no NFC for indian version SGS2 as of now...
rest assured... i hope it suffices...

Bawezy said:
Lol so back to the original topic...
That's great but it sucks that India get it and the UK still don't.
Don't mean to be offensive but how will NFC be any use in India, wouldn't it just be a gimmick in your case.
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Probably because India is rapidly advancing in all areas. They are rapidly growing, in GDP and becoming more modernised. And it's probably easier to put NFC into retail/infrastructure and train people to use it from the beginning. Whereas in the UK, it's more of a pain because the UK has to re-train people to use it and then implement it and hence it'll probably take longer to actually be used in the UK.

CaesiumX said:
Can you mention the source?
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The source is the SGS 2 i'm holding in my hands right now Indian Version. No NFC.
( all this talk of it , i had a dream last night that the nfc was an attachment that i overlooked in the box LOL not kidding )

What if the phone does have NFC hardware but needs a software update to make it work?
Sent from my Galaxy S II

RobinRichard said:
What if the phone does have NFC hardware but needs a software update to make it work?
Sent from my Galaxy S II
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Has anyone confirmed with samsung that the hard ware is installed in the indian version ...??? No comments so far on the samsung official site.

If i now buy a phone withont NFC, can I add it later? Like by buying a battery with NFC?? Will it work?

NFC App

Bit of a grey area here but ..
Brought my note from Handtec, Came in the "Blue" box however not sure what country. UK plug and english manual.
Was told by Handtec that it comes with NFC but no support in UK. Well I am in Australia. Had a look through the apps but cannot see any related to NFC.
Support here is not that great either but would be nice to see some sort of functionality.
Tips?

dusty_nz said:
Bit of a grey area here but ..
Brought my note from Handtec, Came in the "Blue" box however not sure what country. UK plug and english manual.
Was told by Handtec that it comes with NFC but no support in UK. Well I am in Australia. Had a look through the apps but cannot see any related to NFC.
Support here is not that great either but would be nice to see some sort of functionality.
Tips?
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What's NFC?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

That's got to be a ****ing joke.
If it's sarcasm, despite controversies, gsmarena does state the Note has NFC support.

jason370 said:
What's NFC?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
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Ignoring potential sarcasim.
Near Field Communications.
Refer to Handtec clarifying spec.
Ref Q/A on the following link
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/5504/samsung-galaxy-note--16gb--sim-free-unlocked-
Q:
Details: Any clarification on NFC? More worried about the hardware at this stage. Will it support NFC?
by Paul Rosser @ 03/11/2011
1 Answers
A: The phone does support NFC, however, Samsung have informed us that NFC will not work in the UK yet as it has not been implemented here yet.
by Nick @ 03/11/2011
6 of 7 people (86%) found this answer helpful

Any applications that can start to interface with NFC?

If NFC is in the phone it would work in any country depending on which apps and tags you have for it.

there's no NFC, download z-device test from the market and see for yourself, there's no NFC sensor and no temperature sensor

dusty_nz said:
Any applications that can start to interface with NFC?
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Android Beam. Google it or better youtube it.

In all the specs I have read, NFC is listed as "Optional"
I do not believe that any European Galaxy Note devices have NFC. I would have liked it as although there is not much use of it here in the UK I suspect that things will change in the next year or so.
Apart from ICS, this is the only thing that might have persuaded me to choose the Galaxy Nexus over the Note. The Note card slot will be more useful to me than NFC so that's why I went for the Note.

htc6500uk said:
In all the specs I have read, NFC is listed as "Optional"
I do not believe that any European Galaxy Note devices have NFC. I would have liked it as although there is not much use of it here in the UK I suspect that things will change in the next year or so.
Apart from ICS, this is the only thing that might have persuaded me to choose the Galaxy Nexus over the Note. The Note card slot will be more useful to me than NFC so that's why I went for the Note.
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Yup. The UK Note does not have an NFC chip in it, and AFAIK neither do any of the European ones - simply because NFC isn't big enough in the EU yet to warrant inclusion (and the higher price that would bring).
However it may be included in models for other markets (perhaps Korea or Japan, idk) where this would make sense.

htc6500uk said:
In all the specs I have read, NFC is listed as "Optional"
I do not believe that any European Galaxy Note devices have NFC. I would have liked it as although there is not much use of it here in the UK I suspect that things will change in the next year or so.
Apart from ICS, this is the only thing that might have persuaded me to choose the Galaxy Nexus over the Note. The Note card slot will be more useful to me than NFC so that's why I went for the Note.
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Optional might mean NFC chips in battery or SD card may become available, some day...
Other discussion here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1323636

G2 reads one card, but not the other one

Hi guys,
I'm from israel (important detail for the problem) and i have the G2 (Sprint variant).
We're having here a local transportation company, that manufactured cards that you can load money on them and go on buses and trains.
The card is using the NFC technology and when i try to use it with my phone with the dedicated app it doesn't read it, but on my old nexus 5 it worked. I was in amsterdam before 3 months and i saved the local transportation card and apparently, it uses the nfc technology and my G2 is able to read it.
Does it makes sense? do i need to switch my card to a new one? How do i fix this? because it works on buses but not with my nfc chip on the phone...
Thanks.

Assuming the "dedicated" app is Isis Wallet, try Google Wallet instead.

[Q] Galaxy S5 is mifare compatible.

I have been wanting to invest a bit in a couple nfc tags. i found some on ebay for cheap cheap and they run the mifare 1k S50 chip, and i have read on the internet that these are not compatible with the s5, and that i need to get tags with the NTAG203 for expensive. is this true? which one should i get?

alexanderTRSO said:
I have been wanting to invest a bit in a couple nfc tags. i found some on ebay for cheap cheap and they run the mifare 1k S50 chip, and i have read on the internet that these are not compatible with the s5, and that i need to get tags with the NTAG203 for expensive. is this true? which one should i get?
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Yes, unfortunately, Galaxy S5 is not compatible with Mifare Classic 1k. You need to choose NTAG20x or NTAG21x (or Mifare Ultralight, but they have a very small memory).