I found for checking if a Card is HF on iPhone it is best to use the shortcuts app. NFC tools or other NFC apps does not always read the card. To check if it is HF I open the shortcuts app and go to automation, personal automation, NFC, then try to scan the card. If it pops up and asks me to name card it is a HF NFC card or tag. Just seams the most reliable way for me.
Welcome and thank you for that useful information.
I don’t yet know if @Pilgrimsmaster has a handy location for this sort of thing, but it might be useful to add wherever that is.
2 Likes
Hi @Fizzy,
I like the fact that you can name the card/fob/implant
What sort of other information does it give you?
NFC Tools is a good app, but personally I think Taginfo is slightly better as it’s chip identification is more reliable
1 Like
I think the shortcuts app only reads for a UID and then saves it to the phone. So it does not write any data to the card. I have a bunch of key cards and tap to pay credit cards that will not show up on any app but will instantly pop up when shortcuts reads the UID and saves it to the phone so it will trigger an automation. Might be different for others but this seams like it works for me.
1 Like
It is a built in iPhone app from apple. here is how to make a NFC shortcut: https://youtu.be/Z-7jqhcJsTs?t=101
You don’t even need to make a full shortcut to test it, Just start to make one until the scan for NFC tags pops up. if it reads it is probably a HF tag.
As @Zwack suggested, let’s give this its own thread so it doesnt dissappear in another thread.
It would be great if you could buffer it out with some screenshots…
How to Create an NFC Shortcut . To create your own NFC -triggered shortcuts , open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone , tap the Automations tab on the bottom, and select Create Personal Automation. Scroll down to NFC . Tap Scan and hold the top of your phone near your NFC tag of choice.
2 Likes
Okay, to test and make sure that nothing was written to the card, I loaded my NeXT up with some data, enrolled it on an automation, and then ran the automation a few times. Identical readings pre- and post-automation running.
1 Like
Interestingly, it ran the shortcut first and wanted to open the youtube link second.
1 Like
Did you turn off “Ask Before running”. Apple does not let you turn it off on all shortcuts, but some you can and it will run the link directly instead of asking first.
Did you turn off “Ask Before running”.
Yes, I did turn it off.
1 Like
Oh sorry. I was confused what you meant. I thought you were saying it was poping up with the ask to run prompt before the automation could run the YouTube link. Now I see there is a YouTube link as the data in the nfc card or tag which would pop up after the shortcut.
Precisely. My goal is to only note the order of operations the iPhone does.
1 Like
I think the shortcuts app only reads for a UID and then saves it to the phone. So it does not write any data to the card.
Yep, can confirm this bit too. I’ve successfully tried running the same automation on the same chip with different payloads. Works fine every time I change the data on it. I think that means it can only be holding onto the UID?
Yeah that’s what I think as well, the iPhone is just referring to the uid as the trigger for the shortcut that is stored on the iPhone.
My main reasons for using this, is to check if a card is HF. If the card is a hotel key or other not writable 13.56mhz card it will not scan with any of the apps I have seen on iOS. But will still pop up on shortcuts. This makes it my go to way of finding out if a card is HF or LF.
1 Like
Sounds like a great tool to add to the arsenal. I wonder if there’s any way to extract the data the shortcuts app gets from the card.
Yeah that would be really neat to extract the data, but knowing apple I doubt they will let us.
Out of sheer curiosity and blind optimism, I called up Apple support, and after speaking to a senior technician person, I was told that the whole system is a closed-loop, and it looks like there isn’t a way to get data out of it. Oh well.
2 Likes
Wow. Some commitment getting all the way up to a senior tech. But that was what I was guessing knowing how Apple likes to keep things locked down.
3 Likes
Maybe this is already known but I figured it out tonight.
Playing around with my xSiiD and shortcuts on my iPhone I learned I can make the uid preform several tasks at once. So my current automation list is it sets three alarms, reads text that i wrote it ( “The sky above the port was the color of television tuned to a dead channel”), enables battery saving mode and written to the chip itself is a youtube video. I need to learn python to do more since shortcut will run python scripts.
2 Likes
Awesome! Nice to know!
1 Like