So I ordered a bunch of NFC tags from Amazon hoping to automate some parts of my life and turn my home into a smart home. However, creating pragmatic use cases for NFC tags turned out to be much harder than I thought. After some trial and taking inspiration from user forums, I found 7 practical use cases for NFC tags that I’m excited to share.
Table of Contents
1. Set Kitchen Timers
One of the easiest yet effective ways to use NFC tags is to place them in your kitchen. I often boil eggs or cook noodles so I’ve programmed my NFC tag to start a timer of 5 minutes and place it near the kitchen counter. Now, I just tap my iPhone on the tag and the timer starts immediately. There are other ways to set timers on your iPhone too.
2. Send ETA to Your Family
My work involves frequent travel. Somedays, I’m returning home from the office and sometimes from a client meeting. There are days when I get late and my family wants to know when I will be back home.
To automate this piece of communication, I scan an NFC tag placed on my car dashboard. This triggers a Siri shortcut which automatically calculates my ETA (estimated time of arrival) from the current location to the saved home location and sends it over SMS/WhatsApp to a pre-specified contact.
3. Log Your Water Intake
I recently got sick due to dehydration, an easily preventable situation with adequate water consumption. So, I finally started to monitor my water intake. To ensure I reach my daily goal of 2-3 liters, I programmed an NFC tag and stuck it to my water bottle.
Now, every time I drink water from the bottle, I tap the tag with my phone logging the intake to my preferred app. NFC doesn’t work on metal surfaces, so I used a plastic water bottle and put a tap on it to avoid water damage.
Different apps let you achieve this. On my iPhone, I use the WaterMinder app. It supports Siri shortcuts and can be easily integrated into the native shortcut apps. Also, works on Android smartphones.
4. Turn Off Alarm With NFC Tag
If you struggle to get up from bed in the morning, you can place some NFC tags far away from your bed like in the kitchen or bathroom. When the alarm goes on, you will be forced to get out of bed and tap your phone on the NFC tags in order to turn off the alarm. It makes it harder to fall back asleep, eh?
Many apps let you program NFC tags to turn off alarms. I use a free app called “NFC Alarm” that keeps things simple and ad-free.
5. Allow Guests to Connect to Wi-Fi
Sharing complex Wi-Fi passwords isn’t easy. To fix that, you can program your NFC tags to store your Wi-Fi network information (SSID and password). Stick that NFC tag in the living room and the next time you have guests over, they can tap the back of their smartphone to connect to Wi-Fi network.
Android users can use the app called NFC Tools to achieve this. Unfortunately, iPhone doesn’t allow connecting to Wi-Fi with NFC tags for security purposes. So a combination of QR code and NFC will provide 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’ve programmed an NFC tag next to my bed that dims my bedside lamp. When scanned, it adjusts the color temperature to warm white, setting the ideal mood for getting cozy with a good book.
In fact, you don’t need expensive NFC compatible smart bulbs such as Philips Hue or LIFX. Look for smart bulbs with compatible apps that support Siri shortcuts (iPhone) or Tasker (Android). I bought TP-Link Kasa for less than $5 and paired it with my iPhone using their official guide.
7. Turn on Room AC From Your Main Door
Air conditioners take time to turn on compressor and cool the room. So, when I’m coming home after a long summer day, I just tap my phone on the NFC tag placed on shoe rack and it starts my room’s AC. By the time I remove my shoes and keep my bags, my room is already cool. I like to call it Siberia mode.
To make this work with regular ACs, you will have to buy a 16 Amp smart plug that supports Siri shortcuts or Tasker integration. A good way to check whether it supports NFC tags or not is to check the online reviews of the product. Most popular smart home brands like Havels and TP-Link support these features. I use a Havel’s smartplug and it worked fine.
I hope this article inspires you to create your own use cases of NFC tags. If you do, tweet me a photo/video of your cool setup at @techwiser on Twitter.
