Added in API level 10

Summary: Constants | Methods | Inherited Methods

Ndef

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Kotlin |Java

public final class Ndef
extends Object implements TagTechnology

java.lang.Object
↳	android.nfc.tech.Ndef

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Provides access to NDEF content and operations on a Tag.

Acquire a Ndef object using get(Tag).

NDEF is an NFC Forum data format. The data formats are implemented in NdefMessage and NdefRecord. This class provides methods to retrieve and modify the NdefMessage on a tag.

There are currently four NFC Forum standardized tag types that can be formatted to contain NDEF data.

• NFC Forum Type 1 Tag (NFC_FORUM_TYPE_1), such as the Innovision Topaz
• NFC Forum Type 2 Tag (NFC_FORUM_TYPE_2), such as the NXP MIFARE Ultralight
• NFC Forum Type 3 Tag (NFC_FORUM_TYPE_3), such as Sony Felica
• NFC Forum Type 4 Tag (NFC_FORUM_TYPE_4), such as NXP MIFARE Desfire

It is mandatory for all Android devices with NFC to correctly enumerate Ndef on NFC Forum Tag Types 1-4, and implement all NDEF operations as defined in this class.

Some vendors have their own well defined specifications for storing NDEF data on tags that do not fall into the above categories. Android devices with NFC should enumerate and implement Ndef under these vendor specifications where possible, but it is not mandatory. getType() returns a String describing this specification, for example MIFARE_CLASSIC is com.nxp.ndef.mifareclassic.

Android devices that support MIFARE Classic must also correctly implement Ndef on MIFARE Classic tags formatted to NDEF.

For guaranteed compatibility across all Android devices with NFC, it is recommended to use NFC Forum Types 1-4 in new deployments of NFC tags with NDEF payload. Vendor NDEF formats will not work on all Android devices.

Note: Methods that perform I/O operations require the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Summary

Constants
String	MIFARE_CLASSIC NDEF on MIFARE Classic
String	NFC_FORUM_TYPE_1 NFC Forum Tag Type 1
String	NFC_FORUM_TYPE_2 NFC Forum Tag Type 2
String	NFC_FORUM_TYPE_3 NFC Forum Tag Type 3
String	NFC_FORUM_TYPE_4 NFC Forum Tag Type 4

Public methods
boolean	canMakeReadOnly() Indicates whether a tag can be made read-only with makeReadOnly().
void	close() Disable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object, and release resources.
void	connect() Enable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object.
static Ndef	get(Tag tag) Get an instance of Ndef for the given tag.
NdefMessage	getCachedNdefMessage() Get the NdefMessage that was read from the tag at discovery time.
int	getMaxSize() Get the maximum NDEF message size in bytes.
NdefMessage	getNdefMessage() Read the current NdefMessage on this tag.
Tag	getTag() Get the Tag object backing this TagTechnology object.
String	getType() Get the NDEF tag type.
boolean	isConnected() Helper to indicate if I/O operations should be possible.
boolean	isWritable() Determine if the tag is writable.
boolean	makeReadOnly() Make a tag read-only.
void	writeNdefMessage(NdefMessage msg) Overwrite the NdefMessage on this tag.

Inherited methods
From class java.lang.Object Object clone() Creates and returns a copy of this object. boolean equals(Object obj) Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one. void finalize() Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. final Class<?> getClass() Returns the runtime class of this Object. int hashCode() Returns a hash code value for the object. final void notify() Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor. final void notifyAll() Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor. String toString() Returns a string representation of the object. final void wait(long timeoutMillis, int nanos) Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed. final void wait(long timeoutMillis) Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed. final void wait() Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted.
From interface android.nfc.tech.TagTechnology abstract void close() Disable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object, and release resources. abstract void connect() Enable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object. abstract Tag getTag() Get the Tag object backing this TagTechnology object. abstract boolean isConnected() Helper to indicate if I/O operations should be possible.
From interface java.io.Closeable abstract void close() Closes this stream and releases any system resources associated with it.
From interface java.lang.AutoCloseable abstract void close() Closes this resource, relinquishing any underlying resources.

Constants

MIFARE_CLASSIC

Added in API level 10

public static final String MIFARE_CLASSIC

NDEF on MIFARE Classic

Constant Value: "com.nxp.ndef.mifareclassic"

NFC_FORUM_TYPE_1

Added in API level 10

public static final String NFC_FORUM_TYPE_1

NFC Forum Tag Type 1

Constant Value: "org.nfcforum.ndef.type1"

NFC_FORUM_TYPE_2

Added in API level 10

public static final String NFC_FORUM_TYPE_2

NFC Forum Tag Type 2

Constant Value: "org.nfcforum.ndef.type2"

NFC_FORUM_TYPE_3

Added in API level 10

public static final String NFC_FORUM_TYPE_3

NFC Forum Tag Type 3

Constant Value: "org.nfcforum.ndef.type3"

NFC_FORUM_TYPE_4

Added in API level 10

public static final String NFC_FORUM_TYPE_4

NFC Forum Tag Type 4

Constant Value: "org.nfcforum.ndef.type4"

Public methods

canMakeReadOnly

Added in API level 10

public boolean canMakeReadOnly ()

Indicates whether a tag can be made read-only with makeReadOnly().

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Returns
boolean	true if it is possible to make this tag read-only

Throws
SecurityException	if the tag object is reused after the tag has left the field

close

Added in API level 10

public void close ()

Disable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object, and release resources.

Also causes all blocked I/O operations on other thread to be canceled and return with IOException.

Requires the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Throws
IOException

connect

Added in API level 10

public void connect ()

Enable I/O operations to the tag from this TagTechnology object.

May cause RF activity and may block. Must not be called from the main application thread. A blocked call will be canceled with IOException by calling close() from another thread.

Only one TagTechnology object can be connected to a Tag at a time.

Applications must call close() when I/O operations are complete.

Requires the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Throws
IOException

get

Added in API level 10

public static Ndef get (Tag tag)

Get an instance of Ndef for the given tag.

Returns null if Ndef was not enumerated in Tag#getTechList. This indicates the tag is not NDEF formatted, or that this tag is NDEF formatted but under a vendor specification that this Android device does not implement.

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Parameters
tag	Tag: an NDEF compatible tag

Returns
Ndef	Ndef object

getCachedNdefMessage

Added in API level 10

public NdefMessage getCachedNdefMessage ()

Get the NdefMessage that was read from the tag at discovery time.

If the NDEF Message is modified by an I/O operation then it will not be updated here, this function only returns what was discovered when the tag entered the field.

Note that this method may return null if the tag was in the INITIALIZED state as defined by NFC Forum, as in this state the tag is formatted to support NDEF but does not contain a message yet.

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Returns
NdefMessage	NDEF Message read from the tag at discovery time, can be null

getMaxSize

Added in API level 10

public int getMaxSize ()

Get the maximum NDEF message size in bytes.

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Returns
int	size in bytes

getNdefMessage

Added in API level 10

public NdefMessage getNdefMessage ()

Read the current NdefMessage on this tag.

This always reads the current NDEF Message stored on the tag.

Note that this method may return null if the tag was in the INITIALIZED state as defined by NFC Forum, as in that state the tag is formatted to support NDEF but does not contain a message yet.

This is an I/O operation and will block until complete. It must not be called from the main application thread. A blocked call will be canceled with IOException if close() is called from another thread.

Requires the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Returns
NdefMessage	the NDEF Message, can be null

Throws
TagLostException	if the tag leaves the field
IOException	if there is an I/O failure, or the operation is canceled
FormatException	if the NDEF Message on the tag is malformed
SecurityException	if the tag object is reused after the tag has left the field

getTag

Added in API level 10

public Tag getTag ()

Get the Tag object backing this TagTechnology object.

Returns
Tag	the Tag backing this TagTechnology object.

getType

Added in API level 10

public String getType ()

Get the NDEF tag type.

Returns one of NFC_FORUM_TYPE_1, NFC_FORUM_TYPE_2, NFC_FORUM_TYPE_3, NFC_FORUM_TYPE_4, MIFARE_CLASSIC or another NDEF tag type that has not yet been formalized in this Android API.

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Returns
String	a string representing the NDEF tag type

isConnected

Added in API level 10

public boolean isConnected ()

Helper to indicate if I/O operations should be possible.

Returns true if connect() has completed, and close() has not been called, and the Tag is not known to be out of range.

Does not cause RF activity, and does not block.

Returns
boolean	true if I/O operations should be possible

isWritable

Added in API level 10

public boolean isWritable ()

Determine if the tag is writable.

NFC Forum tags can be in read-only or read-write states.

Does not cause any RF activity and does not block.

Requires Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Returns
boolean	true if the tag is writable

makeReadOnly

Added in API level 10

public boolean makeReadOnly ()

Make a tag read-only.

This sets the CC field to indicate the tag is read-only, and where possible permanently sets the lock bits to prevent any further modification of the memory.

This is a one-way process and cannot be reverted!

This is an I/O operation and will block until complete. It must not be called from the main application thread. A blocked call will be canceled with IOException if close() is called from another thread.

Requires the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Returns
boolean	true on success, false if it is not possible to make this tag read-only

Throws
TagLostException	if the tag leaves the field
IOException	if there is an I/O failure, or the operation is canceled
SecurityException	if the tag object is reused after the tag has left the field

writeNdefMessage

Added in API level 10

public void writeNdefMessage (NdefMessage msg)

Overwrite the NdefMessage on this tag.

This is an I/O operation and will block until complete. It must not be called from the main application thread. A blocked call will be canceled with IOException if close() is called from another thread.

Requires the Manifest.permission.NFC permission.

Parameters
msg	NdefMessage: the NDEF Message to write, must not be null

Throws
TagLostException	if the tag leaves the field
IOException	if there is an I/O failure, or the operation is canceled
FormatException	if the NDEF Message to write is malformed
SecurityException	if the tag object is reused after the tag has left the field