Best posts made by MikeInSeattle

@jasok2
If I understand correctly, you would want both "Incoming call behaviour" and "Disconnect phone call behaviour" to both be set as "Do not re-lock this device". Keep the "Incoming phone call behaviour" as "Disable on phone ring". This way, the phone ringing unlocks the device, but will not re-lock it during or after the call, until after the device screen turns off.

@ShiranuiKira Okay, one last shot from me.

1. Re-install (or clear the app data in the device application manager) both the NFC Ring Control and NFC Unlock apps.

2. Try each of these to see if one of them works:

• Reset your password with something super simple like "asdf123", and make sure your device keyboard doesn't do anything funky like auto-correct on the fly or something like that.

• Go to the NFC Ring Control app and register with a new dummy email just for test purposes, and use that email/password combo in the NFC Ring Unlock app.

• Try the NFC Ring Unlock app on a different device.

Describe what you experience in step by step detail as necessary, so we can narrow down the cause of the issue.

Just to add to this thread, I use the Note 3 for Verizon (US), and use a normal size ring. A few important things to mention about my particular setup.

1. Sweet spots
   For me, I looked at the battery of my phone and and referenced the outline of the NFC coil to the back cover, and placed sweet spot stickers on the corners of where the corners of the coils would be. I was able to confirm that the outline of the square is basically the sweet spots for the Note 3. Obviously, I just picked the most comfortably accessible side to use.

2. Adding a wireless charging module (from Amazon.com)
   THIS WILL INTERFERE WITH DETECTING A NORMAL SIZE RING SIGNIFICANTLY. The module covers the NFC coil on the battery almost completely and the wireless charging coils will interfere with NFC tag detection making the sweet spots very limited in area.
   Even if you buy a module with NFC built in, those coils don't match well with the normal NFC ring and you will get no results from that NFC coil.

3. With a case
   I use a low profile case, but it is expectedly more difficult to hit the sweet spots. I can make due without a case for now.

4. Alpha ring (sort of)
   I received a bonus Alpha ring inlay and normal ring inlay with my order and decided to test its ranges. The normal ring tag's range was expectedly similar to that of the actual ring. The alpha ring tag is significantly better. You can be maybe 1/3cm away of the phone and have the tag detected. Even with a case, it wasn't too much of the hassle, and can also be read by the wireless charging module's NFC (I think anyways). So I'd imagine inside a ring, performance would be better than that of the normal size sibling.

All in all, I'm very satisfied. I decided to use the voucher when available for an alpha ring, and cross my fingers that using my wireless charging module and case is possible again with the alpha.

Cheers.

@ColdEmbrace I use a combination of App Protector by Mojave Networks, Tasker, and Trigger.

App Protector allows you to password protect certain apps to run them. It also has a Tasker plugin to disable/enable that protection, so I use Trigger to run a task using the plugin.

Just note that this doesn't provide absolute protection from hackers, and theoretically rebooting the phone and uninstalling App Protector before it loads is possible.

If you're looking for protection at the firmware level, I'm not sure how.

@johnyma22 @Lokki @Richard

Great info on this! I seen a few people on occasion post similar issues, so this might shed a little light for them (probably not the same cause/app, but may give them something to look for).

By the way, a couple more things to add:

I mentioned somewhere in this thread that I found sweet spots in a shape of a square that corresponds to the location the coil's location on the battery. Below is a pic on the corners of that square using the sweet spot stickers. I've been using a transparent case and just removed the back cover. With a normal ring, you just align the ring parallel to one side of the square. The performance of your ring may vary as I found one side on my ring performs noticeably better than the other. This may give you a better idea on where you can find your sweet spots if you have a little trouble. Also note that angle of ring may also vary slightly based on distance from the coil.

This is the Note 3 on Verizon Wireless

@MauricioU Yes, it will try to read the contents of the NFC tag, and clearing it will only give you the "unknown tag" issue. That is an Android thing it does.

There are 3 ways to go about it:

1. There is also another Xposed module called "Disable NFC Tag Empty Message". It just prevents Android from showing the "unknown tag" display. This is only supported for devices up to Ice Cream Sandwich. There is no 4.2+ support yet.

2. Make the tag do nothing. Just write to the ring an empty action list. So the tag is technically not empty... just not told to do anything.

3. Make the ring do something you can use at unlock. For me, I pattern lock my private apps as well, and use the ring to disable protection. You can be creative here.

I hope this helps!

@asbath I tried the bridge from a local jeweler and I can say that it is surprising comfortable. My ring is just one size too big so the ring doesn't look too unnatural on the finger. If feels like wearing baggy legged jeans with a fitted waist: loose but secure. I did need to pad the part where it touches the finger since it didn't feel as comfortable as the comfort fit portion of the ring. Thanks!

I was thinking about using the public side to link Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video, but I don't think everyone would find my Run-By-Rick-Rolling that amusing. So I'm going to use it to link my Google Play Store apps to help advertise them. The private side will be like others for unlocking private devices.

@Ybcthanerd My picture is to just to give a visual of sweet spots (my case is transparent). Nothing more. Hopefully you'll find a solution that suits you.

If you are willing to go through the process and wait, I would go with the alpha as @Lafunamor suggested. Otherwise you can look through the forum for tips on getting the ring to work a little more consistently with your Note 3. Here's a few threads that may (or may not) help you:

https://forum.nfcring.com/topic/51/note-3-not-reading/3
https://forum.nfcring.com/topic/52/nfc-antenna-theory

I have one too and I know it can be a hugely troublesome to get it to read. One thing I've found is that the stock back cover somewhat interferes with NFC just enough that small tags like the one in the ring can be noticeably harder to read. I just kept the back cover off and use a rubber/plastic tight-fitting case (I got a deal for like $3 from Rakuten), and it seems to read a little better. Even then it takes a little practice to find a way to comfortably and reliably get the ring to be read finding the right spot and orientation to use.

I found a system that works for me, but it took awhile. When I get a voucher, I'm definitely going to go for an alpha. The spare alpha tag I got with my ring reads substantially better. So I'm confident that the same would go for the alpha ring as well.

I think we need a little more detail on what you're doing.

1. What happens when you try to read (any sounds/vibrations)?
2. Did someone write to the NFC tag beforehand, or is the issue present right out of the box?
3. Are you trying to use the NFC Ring Unlock or Control apps? If not, what did you try?
4. Double check if your battery supports NFC and that NFC is enabled in Android settings.

Just to add, most (if not all), passive NFC devices do not allow their UIDs to be changed manually by anyone except the manufacturer. Being able to do so poses large security risks depending on the use. Some of them can randomly generate a new UID upon each activation, but as far as setting a specific one, that is generally not possible.

@teach42
Well, reading through the other threads involving the S5 seems to give mixed results, but people generally agree it's a pain with this particular device. So here's a couple things to try just from what I observe (I don't have an S5, so take it with a grain of salt).

Verify the NFC is okay in the S5 with a larger NFC tag if handy.
If it reads, try reading the ring with a different app (I'd prefer NFC Tools).

If still no go, then you may indeed need to go with an Alpha if you intend to use the S5 a lot for it.

[TRY IF YOU WANT] Keep in mind, for best results, the inlay in the ring should be parallel to one of the sides in the NFC coil in the battery. So if you take off the back cover and can see the coil protruding from the battery label, try aligning the ring to one of those sides.

@vyruz

See @Lafunamor response. To add, you only need to use the REGISTER function in the Ring Control app to register with a NEW email and password, if you ever need to.

@seanspotatobusiness

Doubt that. It's kinda like eating two of the same danishes at the same time with the expectation of it tasting better.

AFAIK increasing the range of an NFC tag can only really be done one of two ways:

1. Increasing the power of the reader
2. Modifying the coils in the tag to make it more compatible with the reader

You would probably need to go with a larger NFC tag (in this case, the alpha ring, if you don't have one already). Larger NFC tags usually get better range depending on the reader.