How to test NFC?

[s80t699]

I have two Verizon HTC 8x phones and can't get tap and send to work between them. I have both set to enable tap and send and bluetooth is enabled. I think there is something wrong with my wife's 8x because I was able to get tap and send to function with a coworker who has an 8x as well using my 8x. I know her bluetooth is working as it works with her Jabra bluetooth speaker. Is there anything to look at diagnostically to verify that NFC is working, or do I just assume it's not and get the phone swapped?

Thanks in advance...

 

[WinFan1]

personally i would just get the phone replaced. sounds like its just her phone.

 

[s80t699]

Swapped the unit this weekend, it did have a bad NFC circuit,it was dead. New unit swapped and its all good now.

 

[Riddlin123]

Hmmmm I tried the NFC with my girlfriends Galaxy S3 and she couldnt get what I was trying to send her and vice versa. Wonder if this is my issue. Some error pops up that says "can not receive that type of file" it was a phone pic from the S3 to my phone. When I tried to send to her phone I her phone said something about receiving a WP file but it would never open.

 

[s80t699]

The guy at the Verizon store said you can use NFC for certain things from a WP8 to Android. His test was to try to share a web page link from the browser I believe. Maybe not all types of transfers are workable across platforms. I think I saw that mentioned somewhere else as well.

 

[Kavu2]

NFC - WP8 to Android file transfer limits

There were a few articles on the subject of NFC transfer between WP8 and Android, one of which was by wpcentral.com
NFC sharing between Windows Phone 8 and Android | Windows Phone Central

Text of interest:
-----------------------------------
"Windows Phone 8 introduces NFC (near-field communication) support to the platform, allowing small packets of data to be shared by holding two supporting WP8 devices back to back. The new NFC-based "tap + send" feature enables Windows Phone 8 devices to share web URLs, contact data and more with another phone in close proximity.

But because it's a multi-platform standard, many of these features work just fine between Windows Phone 8 and NFC-enabled Android phones, as you'll see in our demo video below.

We tried bouncing web pages and contacts back and forth between a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and an HTC 8X, and were able to do so without a hint of trouble. Unfortunately, NFC file transfers remain off-limits for the time being, so if you want to share photos over NFC, it's strictly Windows-to-Windows or Android-to-Android.
-----------------------------------

So it seems that small data packets can transfer between WP8 and Android but not larger data packets typical of files such as photos, music or video. Bottom line...you can share Contact info, web URLs between WP8 and Android but not photos/videos/music. At least at this time. It might be a software limitation/difference between the 2 OS platforms.
Not sure on music playlists or ringtones...that might be a doable. Anyone try either of those yet?

Additionally, from an article at winsupersite.com, Paul Thurrott suggests that NFC is the connection mechanism but Bluetooth/WiFi are the means of actual file transfer of larger data packets.
http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/windows-phone-8-tip-share-nfc

Text of interest:
-----------------------------------
"Windows Phone 8?s NFC sharing functionality, called Tap + Send, allows you to initiate a share transaction with another NFC device (such as another Windows Phone 8 handset). As per Windows Phone 8 Tip: Connect Bluetooth Devices via NFC, where NFC was used as a broker of sorts for establishing a Bluetooth device pairing, you don?t actually use NFC to share things directly. Instead, NFC is used to establish the connection between two devices and then the sharing occurs via another means."
--------------------------------------

This suggests that while the 2 NFC systems on different OSs can communicate...they can't complete the transfer thru the Bluetooth/WiFi (?)...perhaps that is the sticking point between the 2 OS implementation of NFC sharing of larger data packets. Sounds like a s/w issue to me and one that needs to be standardized. Wouldn't that be refreshing for a change?

 

[Josh Mackey]

Re: NFC - WP8 to Android file transfer limits

There were a few articles on the subject of NFC transfer between WP8 and Android, one of which was by wpcentral.com
NFC sharing between Windows Phone 8 and Android | Windows Phone Central

Text of interest:
-----------------------------------
"Windows Phone 8 introduces NFC (near-field communication) support to the platform, allowing small packets of data to be shared by holding two supporting WP8 devices back to back. The new NFC-based "tap + send" feature enables Windows Phone 8 devices to share web URLs, contact data and more with another phone in close proximity.

But because it's a multi-platform standard, many of these features work just fine between Windows Phone 8 and NFC-enabled Android phones, as you'll see in our demo video below.

We tried bouncing web pages and contacts back and forth between a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and an HTC 8X, and were able to do so without a hint of trouble. Unfortunately, NFC file transfers remain off-limits for the time being, so if you want to share photos over NFC, it's strictly Windows-to-Windows or Android-to-Android.
-----------------------------------

So it seems that small data packets can transfer between WP8 and Android but not larger data packets typical of files such as photos, music or video. Bottom line...you can share Contact info, web URLs between WP8 and Android but not photos/videos/music. At least at this time. It might be a software limitation/difference between the 2 OS platforms.
Not sure on music playlists or ringtones...that might be a doable. Anyone try either of those yet?

Additionally, from an article at winsupersite.com, Paul Thurrott suggests that NFC is the connection mechanism but Bluetooth/WiFi are the means of actual file transfer of larger data packets.
http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/windows-phone-8-tip-share-nfc

Text of interest:
-----------------------------------
"Windows Phone 8’s NFC sharing functionality, called Tap + Send, allows you to initiate a share transaction with another NFC device (such as another Windows Phone 8 handset). As per Windows Phone 8 Tip: Connect Bluetooth Devices via NFC, where NFC was used as a broker of sorts for establishing a Bluetooth device pairing, you don’t actually use NFC to share things directly. Instead, NFC is used to establish the connection between two devices and then the sharing occurs via another means."
--------------------------------------

This suggests that while the 2 NFC systems on different OSs can communicate...they can't complete the transfer thru the Bluetooth/WiFi (?)...perhaps that is the sticking point between the 2 OS implementation of NFC sharing of larger data packets. Sounds like a s/w issue to me and one that needs to be standardized. Wouldn't that be refreshing for a change?

That is exactly right. Android and WP8 use different bootstrapping protocols to hand off to wifi and bluetooth.