Sooner or later a customer will hold their phone to a review tag and nothing will happen. Before anyone panics or replaces the card, it helps to have a short, calm set of checks to run through. Almost every failed tap turns out to be one of a small number of causes, and most of them are on the phone side rather than the tag.
Before you blame the tag
The first thing to remember is that a tag that does not read is usually fine. Tags are simple and hard to break, and the phone is almost always the more complicated half of the pair. Work through the checks below in order, and you will find the cause quickly without guessing or wasting cards.
It also helps to know which side is at fault before you change anything. If one tag fails on one phone but reads on another, the tag is fine. If one phone fails on every tag you try, the phone is the place to look. That single test, swapping either the tag or the phone, usually tells you where the problem lives within a minute.
Nine things to check, in order
- Make sure NFC is switched on. This is the most common cause of all. It lives in the phone's settings, usually under "Connections" or "Wireless and networks". If it is off, the phone cannot read anything.
- Wake and unlock the phone. Most phones need the screen on to act on a tag. A phone asleep in a pocket will not open a link.
- Hold the phone in the right place. The NFC antenna is not in the centre of every phone. On most handsets it sits near the top, so the top edge of the phone should face the tag.
- Hold still for a full second. Reading is not instant on every device. A quick, fleeting pass often misses. Rest the phone against the tag and wait.
- Remove a thick case. Thin cases are fine, but a very thick, wallet-style, or metal-backed case can block the signal. Take it off and try again.
- Lift the tag off metal. A tag resting directly on a metal table or a metal tray can struggle, because the metal interferes with the field. Raise it or move it to a non-metal surface.
- Try a second phone. If another phone reads the same tag straight away, the tag is working and the original phone is the issue, either its settings or its hardware.
- Check the link that was written. A tag can be working perfectly while opening the wrong page. A stray space or a typo in the address is a common mistake. Rewrite the record carefully if needed.
- Inspect the tag for damage. Look for a sharp bend, a crack, or a puncture. If the antenna inside has been broken, the tag may look normal but no longer respond, and it needs replacing.
When it is the tag, not the phone
If a second phone also fails to read a tag, and a third tag on the same phone reads without trouble, you have likely found a damaged card. Tags that have been folded, soaked, or run over do sometimes fail, even though they are built to take ordinary wear. Swapping in a fresh card is the quick fix, and your link stays exactly the same.
It also helps to give staff one line to say in the moment, so a failed tap does not turn into an awkward pause. A simple "some phones need NFC switched on, or you can scan the code" keeps the customer relaxed and keeps your invitation alive. You can read more about that pairing on our dynamic QR page.
Making the next tap more reliable
If the same problem shows up on the same phone more than once, that phone may simply have NFC switched off by habit, or the tag may be sitting on metal. Fix the setting or the surface rather than blaming the card. For busy venues, a card that also carries a QR code means there is always a second route for anyone the tap will not work for.
If you have run through all nine checks and a tag still will not read, we are glad to help you diagnose it. Message us on WhatsApp at +86 151 0247 7198 or email nina@cwtape.com and describe what the phone does, and we will tell you what to try next.