I ordered a bunch of NFC tags from Amazon to automate parts of my life and turn my house into a smart home. However, creating practical use cases for NFC tags turned out to be more difficult than I thought. After some testing and inspiration from user forums, I found seven practical use cases for NFC tags that made my life easier.
1. Set a kitchen timer
The easiest and most effective way to use NFC tags is to place them in the kitchen. Since I often boil eggs or cook noodles, I programmed an NFC tag to start a 5-minute timer and placed it near the kitchen counter. After that, I simply tap my iPhone on the tag and the timer starts immediately. Of course, there are other ways to set a timer on your iPhone.
2. Send ETA to your family
My work often involves commuting to and from work or client meetings. There are days when I get home late and my family wants to know when I will be back home. Of course, they don’t want me to talk or text while driving.
To automate this part of the communication, I scan an NFC tag placed on my car’s dashboard. Sir, I Shortcut that automatically calculates my ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) from my current location to my saved home location and sends it as SMS/Whatsapp to the chosen contact.
3. Keep a record of your water intake
I recently got sick due to dehydration, which is easily preventable by drinking enough water. Following the doctor’s advice, I started tracking my water intake. It’s easy to forget that one should drink at least 2-3 liters of water during busy days, I wanted to record and monitor it. So I programmed an NFC tag and stuck it on my water bottle.
After that, whenever I drink water from the bottle, I tap the tag with my phone so that the water intake gets logged on my favorite app. That’s when I discovered that NFC doesn’t work on metal surfaces — hence, metal bottles. So I used a plastic water bottle and hid the tag with tape to avoid any accidental water damage.
On my iPhone, I use this WaterMinder AppIt supports Siri Shortcuts and can be easily integrated into the native Shortcuts app. This app also works on Android.
4. Turn off the alarm with an NFC tag
Like many people, I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. But, you can place an alarm tied to an NFC tag away from your bed, such as in the kitchen or bathroom. When the alarm sounds, you will be forced to get out of bed. You have to tap your phone on the NFC tag to turn off the alarm. This will make it harder for you to return to your bed, right?
Many apps let you program NFC tags to turn off alarms. NFC Alarm Kept things simple and ad-free.
5. Allow guests to connect to Wi-Fi
Sharing complex Wi-Fi passwords is not easy and you would not want to share it all the time. To fix this, you can program your NFC tag to store your Wi-Fi network information (SSID and password). Stick that NFC tag in the living room and the next time your guests come over, they can tap the back of their smartphone to connect to the Wi-Fi network.
NFC Devices Works to help quickly connect to Wi-Fi networks programmed on Android phones. Unfortunately, iPhones do not allow connecting to Wi-Fi with NFC tags for security purposes. So the combination of QR codes and NFC will provide a more holistic approach for all guests.
6. Control your lights for reading time
As an avid reader who sometimes lacks the motivation to pick up a book after a long day at work, I use NFC tags to create a dedicated reading time experience. I stuck a programmed NFC tag next to my bed so that the brightness changes whenever I interact with my phone. When scanned, it adjusts the color temperature to warm white, setting the ideal mood for relaxing with a good book.
You don’t need expensive NFC compatible smart bulbs like Philips Hue or LIFX. Look for smart bulbs that have compatible apps that support Siri Shortcuts (iPhone) or Tasker (Android). I bought the TP-Link Kasa for less than $5 and paired it to my iPhone using them. Official Guide,
7. Switch on the room AC from your main door
It takes time for the air conditioner to turn on the compressor and cool the room. So, when I am coming home after a long summer day, I just tap my phone on the NFC tag placed on the shoe rack and it turns on the air conditioner in my room. By the time I take off my shoes and put my bag, my room is already cool. I like to call it Siberia mode.
To make it work with a regular AC, you need to buy a 16 amp smart plug that supports Siri Shortcuts or Tasker integration. A good way to check if it supports NFC tags is to look at online reviews of the product. Plugs from smart home brands like TP-Link support these features. I used a smart plug from Havell and it works fine.
While the promise of NFC was very much about payments, tags can be quite useful to make your life a little easier. If you have found out any other helpful method, share a photo/video of your cool setup here @wendtrends on Twitter,