Struggling with Consistent NFC Range on Implant for Car Starting and Data Transfer

Support
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Hello everyone,

I recently had a x NT NFC Tag implanted; mainly to start my car using an NFC reader and for seamless data transfer to my phone. I am facing a couple of challenges and was hoping to get some advice from this community. :upside_down_face: The primary issue is with the inconsistent NFC range. Sometimes; I need to place the implant extremely close to the car’s NFC reader for it to trigger; while other times; it works from a more reasonable distance.

I tried adjusting the reader’s placement multiple times; but the inconsistency persists. Is there a specific technique or position that tends to work better to improve the NFC reading distance? Should I consider upgrading the reader / is this a limitation of the implant itself?

I am trying to use the same implant for multiple purposes—car starting and data transfer to my Android phone via NFC. I am concerned there might be conflicts with using the same implant for different functions. Should I partition different NFC profiles within the implant; and if so; what’s the best way to approach setting that up? :thinking:

I plan to clone my building’s keyfob onto the implant as well. Would adding this third function complicate things further; especially regarding how the implant differentiates between the various NFC tasks? I have checked Support - Dangerous Things Forum aws developer documentation guide for reference but still need help .

Any guidance on optimizing the implant’s performance for these multiple NFC uses and resolving these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise!

Best regards :slightly_smiling_face:

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Have you seen the mfgc or rsp? They may help you get a more consistent experience with your reader

xSeries implants are unfortunately prone to difficulty coupling due to their antenna size/shape. You may wish to consider a flex implant, which would likely improve range as well. An xSeries is usually workable, but flexies may be a little more convenient

I highly recommend spending some time with the xFD that came with your implant to try to find the best sweet spot on your reader, that’s where you want to put the implant, it does take some practice. Usually you’ll want to put your implant perpendicular to the antenna of your reader, if possible

It may also help to share what NFC reader you’re using, as some forum members may have experience and specific tips for it

Probably the car’s reader would use the UID of the tag, and the data sharing would use NDEF records, so there wouldn’t be any conflict there.

You can put multiple sets of data in the form of multiple ndef records, for instance, if you wanted to store multiple links on your implant. If you go this route, be aware that usually only the first NDEF record will automatically launch when you scan a tag with a phone, you’ll need an NFC app to see the rest

If you can share more about what data you want to share, and any other uses you may have, we may be able to give more specific advise

Almost certainly impossible to clone your key fob to your xNT, though depending on the chip type you may be able to clone it to a different implant. If you can scan it with your phone or another tool to find out what chip it is, or share photos/brand identification/other info about the fob, we may be able to start you down the right path there too

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@Aoxhwjfoavdlhsvfpzha already had some good feedback here, but I will offer two more considerations;

  • Implant orientation is a big requirement for x-series implants, so be sure you are consistently presenting your implant in the most effective orientation to the reader antenna coil. This is why we include the XFD keychains in the kits, so you can use them to test and visualize the best location and orientation to present your implant to the reader with. Check out the vidoes on the XFD product page for more info.

  • Temperature conditions can drastically change tuning of both transponders and readers. In buildings, the temperature remains basically constant, but in cars the temperature that the inductor coil of the antenna loop and the tuning capacitors in the resonant circuit of the reader and swing wildly, throwing the tuning of the antenna off just enough that getting good performance with very small x-series transponders can be a challenge. You won’t notice much performance difference with full size cards or even typical keyfobs, but you would notice a significant difference with x-series implants. Have you noticed performance is particularly bad at certain times of day, like in the morning when it’s cold or late afternoon when it’s hot?

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