Help/Cards

Phones and tapping

Which phones can tap, where on the phone to hold the card, and what to do when a phone can't.

iPhone

• iPhone XS and newer read NFC cards with no setup at all. The screen must be on and unlocked; hold the top edge of the phone — where the cameras are — against the card. A banner appears; tap it to open the page.
• iPhone 7 through iPhone X need the NFC reader from Control Centre. Swipe into Control Centre, tap the NFC icon, then hold the card to the top of the phone. If the icon isn’t there, add it in Settings → Control Centre.
• Older than iPhone 7 can’t read NFC cards. Use the QR code.

Android

• Most Android phones from about 2015 onwards can read NFC. It must be switched on: Settings → Connected devices → Connection preferences → NFC, though the exact path varies by make.
• The antenna is usually in the middle of the back, sometimes nearer the top. If the top edge doesn’t work, try the centre.
• Some budget models have no NFC at all. The QR code covers them.

When a tap doesn’t work

1. Wake the phone. A locked or dark screen won’t read a card.
2. Slow down. Hold still against the card for a second or two rather than waving it past.
3. Move the card around the back of the phone. You’re hunting for the antenna.
4. Take the phone out of a thick case, especially one with a metal plate or a magnetic mount — those block NFC.
5. Don’t tap through a stack of cards. Other contactless cards in a wallet confuse the reader.
6. Use the QR code. Every profile and every stand has one, and it opens exactly the same page.

Why we always print a QR code

Tapping is the nicer moment, but it fails in enough small ways — a case, an old phone, NFC switched off — that a card with no QR code is a card that sometimes doesn’t work. Both are on every TapX product for that reason.

Still stuck? Email hello@tapx.sg and a person will answer.