How to Set Up NFC Cards: Compatibility and Device Recommendations

TimeClock supports NFC card check-in. When employees arrive or leave, they simply tap their card against the phone or tablet and attendance is recorded instantly.

For businesses, NFC check-in is a great fit for fixed locations — office entrances, front desks, offices, factories, retail stores, clinics, and tutoring centers. Employees don't need to open their own phone or enter any credentials. A quick tap is all it takes.

That said, before you start setting up NFC cards, there's something important to know: not every NFC card is guaranteed to work with every device.

iOS devices in particular have more restrictions on NFC reading at the system level. For that reason, when deploying a fixed TimeClock device, we recommend using an Android phone or tablet.

What Is an NFC Card?

NFC stands for Near Field Communication — short-range wireless communication technology. When an employee taps a card against the TimeClock device, the device reads the card's data and links it to that employee's profile.

Once the card is bound, the employee can clock in or out with that same card every day.

Common cards you can test include:

Employee ID cards
Access control cards
NFC tag cards
Certain transit cards or contactless cards

Whether a specific card actually works will depend on the card's specifications, the device model, and the OS version.

Why Might iOS Fail to Read Certain NFC Cards?

Apple's Core NFC framework supports reading certain NFC tag types and protocols — including ISO 7816, ISO 15693, FeliCa, and some MIFARE variants — but this doesn't mean every card on the market will read reliably. Apple's own documentation positions Core NFC as a framework for interacting with specific NFC tag types, and real-world support is still subject to system, device, and card-type constraints.

It's also worth noting that Apple's MIFARE support primarily covers Ultralight, Plus, and DESFire product families — not all MIFARE cards behave the same way.

As a result, the following types of cards may fail to read or read inconsistently on an iPhone or iPad:

Certain transit cards
Certain access control cards
Certain MIFARE Classic cards
Certain encrypted cards
Certain debit cards, credit cards, or payment-enabled cards
Proprietary cards issued by existing access control systems

These cards may not be completely unusable, but we strongly recommend testing before a full rollout.

Why We Recommend Android Devices

If your primary goal is NFC card check-in, we recommend using an Android phone or Android tablet as your TimeClock device.

Android devices generally offer more flexibility in NFC reading, and they're better suited to being mounted permanently at a door, front desk, or office as a dedicated punch-in station.

For small businesses, the ideal setup is: one Android phone or tablet, mounted at the check-in location, available for employees to tap their NFC card or use face recognition.

This eliminates the need to buy dedicated hardware and reduces the likelihood of card compatibility issues.

How to Set Up NFC Cards

Before you begin, make sure you have:

An NFC-capable Android phone or tablet
The TimeClock app installed
Employee profiles created
The NFC card(s) you want to bind

Here's the setup process:

Open the TimeClock app and sign in with an admin account.
Navigate to the employee profile or card settings section.
Select the employee you want to bind a card to.
Tap the NFC card against the back of the device or the designated sensing area.
Once the system reads the card, confirm the binding and save.

When you're done, have the employee do a test tap to confirm everything works.

Note: If an iOS device fails to read the card, it may be an unsupported card type. Consider trying a different NFC card, or switching to face recognition check-in as an alternative.

Closing Thoughts

NFC check-in is perfect for fixed locations — employees just tap and go, making it fast, simple, and familiar to anyone who's used a traditional card reader.

Because compatibility can vary between card types and platforms, if NFC is your primary check-in method, we recommend an Android phone or tablet as your TimeClock device.

If a card can't be read, face recognition is always available as a fallback — no card required.