"Someone can read my tag from across the room"
No. Real-world range is one to two centimetres. A tag cannot be read from a passing bag, a queue or a doorway — the physics does not allow it.
Frequently asked questions
Every NFC question we get asked
Sixteen straight answers covering phones, security, materials, timelines and cost. If yours is not here, call us and we will add it.
No. Every Capstone Tek product opens a normal web page in the phone's own browser. iPhone XS and newer on iOS 14 or later read tags in the background with no setup; Android phones with NFC do the same. Nothing is installed by you or by the person tapping.
iPhone XS, XR, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and newer read tags in the background. iPhone 7, 8 and X can read tags through the Shortcuts app or a free reader app. On Android, NFC is standard on essentially all mid-range and flagship phones from the last several years and is enabled by default.
Every product we ship carries a fallback: a QR code, a short URL or both. The visitor lands on exactly the same page, so no customer, contact or guest is ever locked out.
One to two centimetres in practice. The short range is deliberate — a tag cannot be read across a room, so every tap is an intentional action by the person holding the phone.
No. Tags are passive: they draw the tiny amount of power they need from the reading phone's magnetic field. There is nothing to charge and nothing to replace.
Chip manufacturers rate the memory for a data-retention period measured in years and for a very large number of read cycles. In practice the printed card or label wears out long before the chip does, and reading a tag does not wear it at all.
A tag's stored link can be copied, which is why authentication relies on the chip's unique identifier rather than the link alone — that identifier is written at the factory and cannot be changed. We also lock tag memory so the stored link cannot be overwritten, and every destination runs over HTTPS.
Never. The tag holds a link and an identifier. All content lives on a secure server, which is also why you can change it at any time without touching the hardware.
Through most plastic, silicone and leather cases, yes. Thick wallet cases, cases with card slots and cases with metal plates or magnets can block or weaken the signal.
Glass, plastic, card and paper are fine with standard tags. Metal detunes a standard antenna, so metal tins, cans, foil pouches and metal cards need on-metal tags with a ferrite layer. We specify the right tag for your surface as part of the quote.
Yes. The tag stores a link; the content behind that link is yours to edit. You can change the page, redirect to a new campaign or switch review platforms without replacing a single card.
Typically two to four weeks: scoping, artwork and page design, a digital proof, production and encoding, then shipping. Digital-only products can go live in days.
We work primarily across the United States and Canada. For projects elsewhere, contact us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right partner.
It depends on format, finish, volume and how much custom work the landing experience needs. The pricing page sets out indicative starting points for each product line, and we give a fixed written quote once we know the specification.
Yes. Hardware and the web experience are both produced to your brand: logo, colours, type, imagery and tone. We work from your brand guidelines or your designer's artwork.
Email and phone support, content changes, replacement hardware for failures and reporting on how the tags are being used. Support terms are set out in your quote.
Still stuck on something?
Call +1 (984) 355-9541 or email support@capstonetek.com. A person who has actually built these answers the phone, and we are happy to say "that is not a good fit" when it is not.
Compatibility at a glance
Will it work on your phone?
The single most common question, answered as a table rather than a paragraph.
| Device | Reads tags? | What the person does |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone XS, XR and newer (iOS 14+) | Yes, in the background | Unlock, hold the top of the phone to the tag, tap the banner. |
| iPhone 7, 8, X | Yes, with help | Open the NFC Tag Reader in Control Centre, or use a free reader app. |
| iPhone 6s and older | No | Use the printed QR code or type the short URL. |
| Android with NFC (most since ~2015) | Yes, in the background | Hold the tag to the rear of the phone, tap the notification. |
| Entry-level Android, no NFC chip | No | Use the printed QR code or type the short URL. |
| Tablets and laptops | Rarely | QR code or typed URL. |
Questions by product
Each product line has its own FAQ too
The page for each product answers the questions specific to it — serialisation, team admin, review-platform policy, wedding stationery and so on.
Product authentication
Cloning, tamper evidence, metal surfaces, batch records and what counts as product education.
Digital business cards
Materials, team templates, offboarding, lead capture and what happens with no NFC.
Review cards
Google policy, review gating, multi-platform routing, staff attribution and placement.
Invitation cards
Hiding the chip in cotton stock, guests who cannot tap, late changes and guest-list privacy.
Myths
Five things people believe that are not true
"Tapping could install something"
No. A tag can only ever suggest a web address. The phone shows you a notification and you choose whether to open it. Nothing installs, nothing runs, nothing charges you.
"NFC tags are impossible to clone"
Overstated, and we will not say it. The stored link can be copied. What cannot be copied is the chip's factory-locked identifier, which is what authentication actually checks.
"They stop working after a while"
No. Passive tags have no battery and reading does not wear them. In practice the printed card or label wears out long before the chip does.
"QR codes have made NFC pointless"
They do different jobs. QR wins on reach and cost; NFC wins on speed, durability, design and security. Our standard answer is to ship both on the same object.
"It is only worth it at huge volumes"
Not true at either end. One wedding, one person's card or one café counter are all perfectly sensible projects. Volume changes the unit price, not whether it works.
Glossary
Jargon, translated
What the words mean when a supplier uses them at you.
NFCNear Field Communication. Short-range wireless at 13.56 MHz, built into almost every modern smartphone.
Tag / inlayThe chip plus its antenna. The inlay is the bare layer that gets laminated inside a card or label.
UIDThe chip's unique identifier, written at the factory and permanently read-only. The anchor for authentication.
NDEFThe standard data format phones understand. An NDEF record holding a URL is what makes a tag open a web page.
EncodingWriting that record onto each tag — and, for us, recording which tag went on which product or card.
LockingPermanently setting a tag read-only after encoding, so the stored link cannot be overwritten by anyone.
On-metal tagA tag with a ferrite layer that isolates the antenna from a metal surface so it still reads.
Tamper-evident tagA tag whose antenna is destroyed if the label is peeled, so a removed tag stops working.
Review gatingScreening customers by sentiment and only showing the public review link to happy ones. Against platform policy — we do not build it.
First-party dataCustomer details you collected yourself, with consent, and own outright — as opposed to data rented from a platform.
Go deeper
Start here
Tell us what you want a tap to do
One short call is usually enough to scope it. We will come back with a plan, a sample and a fixed price — normally within one business day.