Hi all,
I have been wondering for a while what and how to use tags in HA. Who of you uses tags and for what? I would be very grateful for any inspiration. In this context, I am also interested in whether you use iOS or Android devices.
controlc
Do you mean NFC tags?
I have a couple outside the house which, if scanned by a whitelisted device, will disarm the alarm and unlock the closest exterior door. (These are android devices which means the device has to be unlocked to scan - I donāt know if thatās also the case for iphones)
1 Like
yes - I mean NFC tags.
I donĀ“t know if the behavior of an iPhones is the same.
Thanks for sharing your use case of NFC tags!
I have a handful scattered around the house and outside. Just use them as ābuttonsā for common things I find myself needing to do (Open/close the garage, lock/unlock the door, toggle a light, open/close blinds, etc.).
Iāve also used some for interactive toys/devices for my kids.
My biggest issue is I REALLY wish it didnāt require the device to be unlocked (Iām on Android but I assume itās universal). I get why, but it would be soooo much more useful otherwise.
1 Like
I have one in the car which I swipe with my android phone when Iām near home. It opens the garage door before I get there. Care is needed as the phone has to be unlocked, but because I use fingerprint access it is do-able without taking eyes off the road.
Another tag is by my sofa. It causes my TV, amp, streaming box & lights to turn on in the right order.
1 Like
Very easy to setup with the HA App on a mobile. I really donāt know what I am doing with HA, but even I managed to get a few of these setup. Just bought a cheap bulk bag load from EBay to experiment with.
To use - name them with your HA App. ( Settings \ Tags \ Add Tag \ Scan and name tag) Then setup a Trigger in Automationsā¦ āWhen Tag is scannedā => āActions - do somethingā.
As my mobile is easy to unlock with a thumbprint, I use them to cause an action by just swiping the phone over then. Example - going to bed I can shut off all lights, kill stereo, shut down power of devices just by dropping my phone on the correct corner of my desk.
1 Like
Do you mind if I ask why youāre using NFC tags, rather than buttons?
A number of reasons: for the doors, a button obviously would be insecure. Plus those are outdoors. And in general: theyāre effectively free.
1 Like
Buttons donāt reach from my car to my zigbee mesh. 
I bought 10 NFC tags some time ago excited by the idea of playing with those. I tried using those as buttons, I added one hidden behind a paiting to start music in the room but after the initial exciting, I found out I really donāt use those almost at all. Having to have the phone with you and unlock it is boring me.
Probably one of the most practical uses I can think of are the ones menioned by other users to open the garage from the car and to unlock doors.
We have to say that they are very cheap, they cost about 0.30ā¬ each which makes playing with those easy. I have seen people attaching nfc tags to physical music albums/CDs and when you scan it, your media player start playing that album.
Essentially in my personal experience I found little real uses for NFC tags, hopefully this thread will inspire me as well.
