Want to Know About NFC Tag Types?

Most people are familiar with the NFC stickers and their uses, but what they don’t know is that these stickers are actually classified into NFC tag types. There are four types of tags categorised based on ISO 14443 Types A and B and the Sony FeliCa system. Each varies in terms of functionalities, speed, and memory capacity. If you want to buy NFC stickers for particular tasks, you need to consider the right NFC tag type!

Type 1 – ISO14443A

The NFC tag type 1 is the simplest among the five. It has a speed of 106 kbit/s. Though it is the slowest chip, it offers the advantage of being inexpensive. It only has 96 bytes to 2 kbytes of memory, which is enough to store a small amount of data like a website URL. It is typically used for business cards, one-time provisioning, and read-only applications.

Type 2 – ISO14443A

This type is the most popular because it provides enough functionality and can be used for different applications. Like the first type, it is also read and rewrite capable. Users can configure the NFC type 2 tag to become read-only. Its memory size is between 48 bytes to 2 kbytes. Its speed is quite faster than type 1. Type 2 is often used for URL redirects, event tickets, and day transit passes.

Type 3 – Sony FeliCa system

Type 3 starts at 2 kbytes of memory capacity and goes up from there. Its data communications speed is 212 kbit/s. Because of this, type 3 is more expensive than the first two. It is more capable and more reliable, so it’s widely used for making e-tickets, electronic IDs, membership cards, healthcare devices, and home electronics.

Type 4 – ISO14443A and B

NFC tag type 4 is the most flexible of all the tags. It also has the biggest memory capacity at which is 32 kbytes. Its speed reaches up to 424 kbit/s. Consequently, it is the most expensive type. The most important feature of the type 4 tag is security, so it is used for authentications.