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Question: NFC tag will not scan.

Hey all

I have a question regarding my newly implanted NTAG216 chip.

My apologies if this is normal behaviour; but after a lot of searching I couldn't find anywhere that mentions the possible cause or solution for my issue.

The issue:
The NTAG216 will not be recognized. I have tried with three different NFC apps with my phone and an RC522 NFC reader for Arduino. Even after long contact, it doesn't even give a hint of detection.

The tag was ordered from Digiwell. The syringe worked perfectly & was operated, according to the instructions, by a professional piercer. At the time of writing, this was 13 hours ago.

I can feel the tag under the skin. There is little to no swelling. Pictures below. The blue spots are the marks used to determine the best spot for the tag.





As you can see, there is pretty much no swelling. I was super excited about having it, now I'm rather disappointed.

Any opinions or advice regarding this issue will be greatly appreciated, since at the moment I cannot see any possible causes but the chip being defect.

Thanks
~Nox

Comments

Displaying all 6 comments
  1. You did check it before implanting didn't you?
  2. @birdhandz, as per the manufacturers instructions, I did not.

    Tag Testing

    Because the xNT tag comes pre-loaded inside the injection syringe, you cannot test the tag before it is ejected from the syringe. Because of this, we performed a read test on every single xNT tag before it was inserted into the injector assembly and sterilized.



    Source: https://dangerousthings.com/shop/xnt-ntag216-2x12mm-glass-tag/
  3. Was this one of the apps you tried?

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dangerousthings.nfc

    I have the same RC522 reader for an Arduino but haven't gotten it to write yet.  Somehow I was under the impression that it was RFID and not NFC compatible but I could be wrong.  The only things I have read with it were the included key fob and card.

    It did have to be very close (like almost touching) to read.

    Sorry I can't help anymore.  I'm sure there are others here with actual implanted tags that might be able to help.  Hopefully it isn't a bad chip.
  4. @birdhandz 
    Yes, along with three other NFC apps.

    UPDATE: Although I have a fairly new, high end smartphone, it won't read. A Samsung S7 was able to pick up on the signal though.
    The Arduino reader definitely is able to recognize NTAG216s.

    I'll try to get some more hardware to read/write. Hopefully the scanners I intend to use it on will pick up on it.

    Thanks for the input.
  5. You could Have the Same problem as me, i Have a Xperia X phone which has a Tiny nfc antenna so i can't Read or write my tags anymore. The other thing could be that the tag needs to settle More, if Im correctly the xnt will get closer to the Skin as it heals and All the swelling will be gone which will help with the reading and writing. Just wait a little longer to fully check if the chip is okay
  6. I also had an Xperia, Also had issues getting that tag to read. I remember getting it to work on a super rare occasion here and there, but otherwise it was pretty much useless with the z3 (which is a shame, because I was otherwise quite fond of that phone!)

    Also agreeing with the swelling situation. There's a good chance you'll need to really rub the phone up close if the antenna is weak, and extra puffyness from swollen, partially healed flesh won't help.
Displaying all 6 comments