How to Trigger SONOFF Scenes with NFC Tags

NFC offers another way to control smart home devices alongside app commands and Alexa or Google Home voice control. Bringing a compatible phone close to a tag can exchange data and trigger a scene without opening individual device controls.

Understanding NFC

Near Field Communication, or NFC, is short-range wireless communication derived from radio frequency identification (RFID). It typically operates at 13.56MHz over about 4cm or less and requires a transmitting device and a receiver. Familiar uses include hotel or office access cards and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay.

An NFC tag contains a chip embedded in a physical object. It transfers stored data wirelessly when a reader, commonly a smartphone, comes close; no wires or physical contact are needed. Passive tags such as stickers and cards do not require their own power supply.

NFC devices use three main operating modes:

Reader/Writer: Reads or writes data on tags and stickers in items such as access cards and key fobs.
Card emulation: Acts as a smart card for building access or payments.
Peer-to-peer: Exchanges data with another NFC device.

Prepare an NFC-triggered SONOFF scene

The example below uses an NFC-enabled smartphone to switch on a light connected to BASICR3 while switching off a light connected to S26R2 ZigBee Plug.

Prepare the following:

1 NFC card
1 NFC Tool
2 smartphones
1 BASICR3 DIY smart switch
S26R2 ZigBee plug
2 ordinary LED bulbs

Before starting, check these requirements:

The eWeLink App must be V4.19.0 or above on Android and iOS.
Home Sharing (Scene Sharing) requires 2 smartphones with the same system.
An NFC card with over 200 Bytes is recommended.

Write the tag and configure the scene

Download an NFC tool, open it and add a tag.
Name the tag BASICR3 for the scene you will create.
In WRITE, select “Write / 14 Bytes”.
Hold your smartphone near the NFC card. A successful write displays “Write complete!”.

Open eWeLink App. Under “Profile”, go to “Pilot Features” and enable “NFC”.
Open “Scene”, tap “Add” and choose “NFC” as the trigger.
Bring your smartphone close to the NFC tag. Once “Written successfully” appears, tap “Done”.

Tap “Add” in Smart Device and set the actions so that “BASICR3 is turned on” and “S26R2 ZigBee Plug is turned off”. Tap “Save”.
Use the NFC tag to switch on the BASICR3-connected light and switch off the S26R2 ZigBee Plug-connected light simultaneously.