"New tag collected" on Nexus 5
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Hi John,
I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to NFC, just started learning a few days ago.
- What is NDEF records?
- Can I set that up for pre-existing records? (those used by Asus for NFC Express, login and launch)
- In that case, how can I set that up?
Edit: Tried the NFC Ring Unlock app and while it doesn't show a pop-up, it still interrupts the keyboard, so if I have the keyboard up and then hold the tag against the back of my phone then the keyboard will go away. =/
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@SanyaIV said:
I'm talking about the 2016 model NFC Ring which are supposed to have a longer range
So am I!
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Okay.
So I just got a response from NFC ReTag and it seems like the issue with keyboard being closed is probably an issue on the firmware level, so even if the tag or an app on the phone treats the tag as "Do nothing" then it'll still close the keyboard as if it was to do something. =/
Guessing this is a dead end, I'm still going to back the ring and hope it gets funded, but I still fear it'll cause issues with everyday usage of the phone.
This is where I give up trying to find a solution to the problem and instead think of ways to work around it, like wearing the ring on my other hand or perhaps getting the inlays and making a necklace or bracelet with them.. Hmm.. possibilities..
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You might be surprised how quickly you become used to the ring and then stop doing accidental reads - even when you're not thinking about it.
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I hope so, well foremost I hope it gets funded to begin with..
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Random idea that might work in this instance (for the tag reading over and over) - but I might have misunderstood the problem...
Perhaps you could use the app 'tasker' to set up a task that goes something like this:
- Detects your ring being read
- after reading ring turn off nfc
- turn on nfc when screen goes off (or some other specific occurance)
Ive not played with it too much, but you might be able to make something similar work for your use case.
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@Chris I searched for "Tasker" and got many results, is there one in particular you're referring to? I'd like to test this to see if it works.
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This is the app Chris is referring to:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm
Though I can't locate the setting to turn off NFC. Probably will need a third party plugin. Give me some time to explore.
Going back to the issue where the keyboard is interrupted - I can't seem to recreate the issue on the Samsung S4. I tried the "NFC ReTag Free" (which I do not like the notification which appears after every read), and the "NFC for Tasker" (which I found while exploring the Tasker plugins, totally silent. Tasker not required if you just wish to test it. Nothing to configure as well). Looks like different phone react differently to the NFC tag?
Edit: Turning on and off NFC requires a rooted device. If your Android is not rooted, Tasker will not be able to help much in this case.
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@SwordFire My device isn't rooted so I guess that's a dead end too. =(
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I'm getting this message if my ring comes within reading range after I unlock the screen. It is clearly reading the "private" NFC tag because it shows the contents of the private tag. This will be a problem given the new ring's extended range. Moto X running Marshmallow.
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So I have a nexus device too, I can use any tag to open the phone, once the tag is registered as a trusted unlock device. If my finger with the ring on gets too close to the reader again whilst using my phone i get the exact same prompt as you do.
I have had to learn how to hold my phone so this doesn't happen. but as far as I know this is normal android behaviour.
I wont know if this will become more of a problem or not with the new ring until it arrives. Cross that bridge when we get to it i guess.
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This will definitely not be a solution for everyone, but if you:
- only use the tag for unlocking the phone,
- do not require to store any data on the tag,
you can try erasing all data on the tag to avoid this issue. I had tried using NXP Tag writer to erase the tag after I did the test earlier in this post. The trusted unlock will still be intact.
But if you need to keep the data in the tag, you can give NFC for Tasker a try. Install (but do not run the app), read the tag, and if Android asks you for default app, set "NFC for Tasker" as the default. It should just read the tag and sort of "ignore" the content. It does not apply to all tag contents though (for example - Contacts).
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Just a heads up, the Tags app is still there in Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but to see it you have to go to Settings -> Apps, tap on the menu icon (three dots on the upper right) and select "Show system". From then on, Tags will appear on the apps list and you'll be able to disable it from there.
Also, with NXP TagWriter, you can completely format a tag to factory defaults, which is a step beyond just erasing the content. That might help to ensure it reports nothing but its ID to unlock.
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Thanks for the tip on that Tags app, I didn't know about that, now my phone still makes a noise when I hold it wrong and it reads the tag but nothing pops up, that's awesome :)
I can probably also just disable that noise easily enough too :)
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Unfortunately, disabling the NFC chimes is waaaay trickier.
You can put the device in silent or vibrate mode, but that's hardly a solution. Other than that, AFAIK, there are two ways to accomplish this, and both require root.
The first way is to find and replace the sound files in the firmware of the device with silent ones. Most of the default sounds, such as the camera trigger sound, are somewhere around the /system/media/audio/ui/ folder. However, the NFC sounds are much harder to replace because they are stored within the NFC system app, so the app itself has to be modified. It can be done, but tampering with system apps is risky: it may prevent the device from booting, and will probably break Android updates.
The second way is to use Xposed Framework and a module called NFCLockScreenOff Enabler. This module has an option to disable each of the NFC sounds. But Xposed on Marshmallow is still experimental (risky), and the module was designed to provide NFC unlocking in KitKat and earlier, so it doesn't play nice on newer Android versions with features such as Smart Lock or Doze.
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@Nephiel said:
Just a heads up, the Tags app is still there in Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but to see it you have to go to Settings -> Apps, tap on the menu icon (three dots on the upper right) and select "Show system". From then on, Tags will appear on the apps list and you'll be able to disable it from there.
Also, with NXP TagWriter, you can completely format a tag to factory defaults, which is a step beyond just erasing the content. That might help to ensure it reports nothing but its ID to unlock.
Thanks! Disabled Tags which removed the notification and I always have my phone on vibrate so the sound isn't an issue for me.
Edit: Also, having disabled "Tags", now when I accidentally read the tags the on-screen keyboard (if present) isn't "discarded" which is even better!
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At least we can get rid of the "New tag" popup easily without rooting.
I have root, so I went as far as to remove the Tags app completely (even cleaned cache and Dalvik partitions afterwards, so I'm positive it's gone) but my keyboards still hide whenever a tag is read.
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@Nephiel Do you have any other apps that read NFC tags? If I install NFC ReTag Free then the issue with the keyboard comes back, only goes away if I uninstall/disable all apps that read NFC tags.
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That was it! The culprit seemed to be a rather poorly written app from our city's public transit company, that is supposed to use NFC to read transit card info, but actually never works. The keyboard issue appears to be gone with this app removed.
Thanks for the tip! I'd never have guessed it, the app wasn't active or even open as a background process.
