Does my phone have NFC? How to check on Android and iPhone

It matters whenever something asks you to tap your phone — paying at a counter, say, or unlocking an NFC accessory such as the NFC Spark we sell. A phone was either built with an NFC reader or it was not, and no app or setting changes that. What differs is how you find out.

Every way to check, at a glance

Why some phones have NFC and others do not

On Android, NFC is optional. Google's compatibility rules for Android phones say a phone should include NFC hardware — a recommendation, not a requirement — so each manufacturer decides model by model, and many budget Android phones go without. There is no brand-wide answer: you check the exact phone in your hand.

iPhone is the opposite case. Apple opened the iPhone's NFC reader to apps in 2017, starting with the iPhone 7, and every iPhone that can run iOS 17 came later: Apple's list starts at the iPhone XR and XS, both from 2018, and includes the iPhone SE from its second generation, from 2020. On an iPhone, “does it have NFC” really means “which iPhone is it”.

How to check on Android

Search Settings. It works on every Android phone, because you do not need to know where your manufacturer put the switch.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap the search bar at the top and type NFC.
3. If a result called NFC appears — or something longer, such as “NFC and contactless payments” — tap it. Your phone has a reader. Turn the switch on if it is off.
4. If nothing called NFC appears, your phone almost certainly has no reader.

That is Google's own test: its Google Pay help for India says that if you cannot find NFC in Settings, the phone cannot make contactless payments, and its Pixel help says a phone without the setting does not have NFC. On other makes we would say “almost certainly”, because manufacturers rename settings freely; if the answer decides a purchase, check the spec page for your exact model.

By menu instead: on a Pixel it is Settings → Connected devices → Connection preferences → NFC; on a Samsung Galaxy, Settings → Connections → NFC and contactless payments. Other makers use their own names and places, which can also move between Android versions — Google's help itself says the steps may differ by device — so if a path does not match yours, go back to the search.

Some phones also have an NFC button in Quick Settings, the panel you pull down from the top of the screen. On a Galaxy, Samsung's steps are: swipe down with two fingers, tap the three dots → Edit buttons, and drag NFC into the panel; on other phones, swipe down twice and tap Edit (Google notes that some of its steps need Android 13 or later). A button missing from the panel may never have been added, so the search is the test.

How to check on iPhone

There is nothing to search for. Every iPhone that runs iOS 17 or later — which is also every iPhone Spark supports — has an NFC reader. All you need is your model: go to Settings → General → About, where Apple lists the model name and the iOS version.

There is no switch either. An iPhone has no NFC setting: an app starts the reader when it asks you to scan something, and from the iPhone XS on, Apple's developer documentation says the phone also looks for tags by itself whenever the screen is on — pausing in a few situations, such as Airplane Mode or while the camera is in use.

One thing no check will rescue: the iPhone 8 and iPhone X are not on Apple's iOS 17 list, so Spark cannot run on them, with either key.

Ask the phone itself, with one tap

Settings tells you what the manufacturer shipped; our check asks the reader. Open it in Chrome on the Android phone you will use, tap Check this phone and allow NFC when Chrome asks. The page starts an NFC scan and stops it at once. Chrome only starts one on a phone that has NFC switched on, and the way it refuses shows which is missing, so you get one of three answers: the reader is there and on; it is there but off, so turn it on and check again; or there is none. Nothing is read from any tag.

Its limits, plainly. It needs Chrome on Android, where Web NFC — the feature it relies on — arrived in Chrome 89, so open it in Chrome itself rather than inside another app, with Chrome up to date. Decline the permission and it cannot tell, and points you to Settings. On an iPhone it does not try to ask the reader and shows the model check; on a laptop, the Settings checks. (Shopping on a laptop? The buy page has a QR code that opens the same check on your phone.) And if it says there is no reader while Settings shows an NFC switch, believe Settings.

Where the reader is, for when you tap

Apple's instructions for paying in shops say to hold the top of the iPhone near the reader. Google's Pay help in India says to hold the back of an Android phone close, and that the antenna could be near the top or the bottom. On a Galaxy, Settings → Connections → NFC and contactless payments shows where the antenna is, and Samsung warns that some cases — magnetic ones that hold cards, for example — can interfere with it.

What it means for choosing a Spark key

A TAP

NFC Spark

A tap to unlock. Needs a phone with an NFC reader, which some budget Android phones do not have. No battery, and slightly cheaper.

HOLD ABOUT 15 S

Bluetooth Spark

Hold the phone against it for about 15 seconds. Works with any phone that runs Spark — iPhone on iOS 17 or later, Android 12 or later. Runs on a CR2032 coin cell.

Spark is a free app that locks the apps you choose — no subscription, and not in the App Store or on Google Play yet — plus a key you buy once. Locking is one tap in the app and never needs the key, once one is paired; unlocking means walking to the key. The key comes in two kinds, and whether your phone has NFC decides between them.

The NFC Spark needs a phone with a reader, and NFC switched on when you unlock. Unlocking is a tap. It has no battery at all and is a little cheaper. If your phone has a reader and you expect your next one to, it is a good choice.

The Bluetooth Spark needs no reader and works with any phone Spark supports: an iPhone on iOS 17 or later, or an Android phone on Android 12 or later. It runs on a CR2032 coin cell, with nothing to charge, and unlocking means holding your phone against it for about fifteen seconds. If you are unsure about your phone, or your next one might be a budget Android, it is the safe choice — an account uses one kind of key, and this one suits any phone you move to.

Neither key does anything from across a room, which is the point — leave it somewhere you have to walk to. And check before you order rather than after: you can cancel any order until it is dispatched, but once it has been, there are no refunds.