How to Enable NFC Reading on Your iPhone

Created by Katie Gorham, Modified on Mon, 13 Nov, 2023 at 7:29 PM by Katie Gorham

How to Enable NFC Reading on Your iPhone

The more recent models of iPhone use what is called Background Tag Reading. This means that as long as the iPhone screen is on, your NFC Tag Reader is active and can read NFC tags if you place your iPhone nearby. Older models of iPhone require you to turn on the NFC Tag Reader manually in order for you to use NFC.

  1. If you have an iPhone 8 or iPhone 7, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center.

  2. If you have an iPhone X, swipe down from the top right-hand corner of the screen to open the Control Center.

  3. Tap the NFC Tag Reader icon to turn on NFC. You can now use NFC to interact with other devices or tags.
    iphone nfc tag reader in control center

  4. If you don’t see the NFC Tag Reader icon in the Control Center on iPhone 7, 8, or X, you’ll need to add it to your Control Center through Settings.

  5. Open the Settings app.

  6. Tap Control Center.
    iphone control center settings

  7. Scroll down to the More Controls section and tap the Plus (+) icon next to NFC Tag Reader.
    add nfc tag reader to control center

  8. Repeat steps 1-3 above.


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