In short
NFC range is very short: 1 to 4 centimetres in practice, about ten centimetres at most in the best conditions. This is not a flaw but a choice: you have to bring the phone close on purpose, which makes the exchange simple and safe.
Just a few centimetres
NFC is designed to work at contact or almost. With a smartphone, reading usually happens between 1 and 4 centimetres: the card is placed on the phone or held less than a finger’s width away. In the best conditions, with large antennas, the theoretical range reaches about ten centimetres, but never more.
In concrete terms, the NFC range is the distance between a card lying on a table and a phone held just above it: you almost have to touch.
This distance comes from the very principle of NFC: the phone creates a small magnetic field that powers the card’s chip, with no battery. This field weakens very quickly with distance; beyond a few centimetres, it is no longer enough to power the chip.
NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi: orders of magnitude
| Technology | Usual range | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| NFC | 1 to 4 cm | Payment, business card, badge |
| Bluetooth | 10 metres or more | Earbuds, watch, speaker |
| Wi-Fi | Tens of metres | Internet access |
| Long-range RFID | Several metres | Logistics, tolls |
NFC is therefore the only one of these technologies that requires a deliberate gesture: you bring the phone close because you want the exchange. That is exactly what you expect when handing over a business card: the exchange happens when you decide, with the person in front of you.
What reduces the range
- Antenna position: at the top of the back on an iPhone, often in the middle of the back on Android. Holding the card elsewhere feels like zero range.
- The case: a thick case, a card holder or a magnetic plate moves the card away or blocks the field.
- Metal: a metal surface under the card or between the card and the phone disrupts the field. Metal NFC cards are therefore specially designed so that the chip stays readable.
- The size of the card’s antenna: a large antenna, like that of a credit-card-sized card, reads more easily than a small sticker.
A short range is a security feature
Because you have to be a few centimetres away, nobody can read an NFC chip remotely in the street or in a room. For contactless payment, an extra layer applies: the phone must be unlocked and the payment confirmed. For a business card, the question does not even arise: the chip only contains the address of your public profile, which you choose to share.
Why not increase the range?
One could imagine chips readable at a metre, like some access badges or logistics tags. But a longer range would take away what makes NFC useful: knowing exactly which card you are reading, with no mix-up with your neighbour’s, and no unintended exchange. At a trade show where dozens of people carry an NFC card, a range of a few centimetres guarantees that your phone only reads the card handed to you.
The short range of NFC also means no battery is needed: the card stays thin and light and works for years, with no charging or maintenance.
Reading an NFC business card properly
To read it first time, wake and unlock the screen, then hold the card flat against the top of the back of an iPhone, or the centre of the back of an Android phone, for a second. The phone vibrates and a notification appears. If nothing happens, move the card slowly: you will quickly find the right spot. And if the phone has no NFC, the QR code printed on the card takes over.
