How to Make NFC Tags Work on iPhones

If you’ve ever programmed an NFC tag and handed it to someone with an iPhone… only for them to tap it 17 times and say “nothing’s happening”—you’re not alone. It’s not the tag. It’s not your design. It’s not Mercury retrograde. It’s just Apple being Apple.

✅ What iPhones can read from NFC tags:

A direct website URL (starts with https://)
A phone number link (tel:+15551234567)
An SMS link (sms:+15551234567)
A properly formatted vCard (sometimes… more on that below)

❌ What iPhones will ignore:

Plain text like: "Call my parent: Jane Smith - 555.555.5555"
Raw contact info without formatting
Anything that “just works” on Android

TL;DR: Apple is picky about NFC tags. Android reads almost anything. iPhones want neat, tidy links and formats or they’ll pretend your tag doesn’t exist.

The Simple Fix: Use a Link

Instead of embedding text or raw contact info into the tag, just point it to a link. iPhones love links. If your NFC tag opens a webpage, that tap will work like butter.

Option A: Free DIY

You can create a simple, mobile-friendly landing page using platforms like:

Paste the link into your NFC writer app, and your tag will now work across iPhones and Androids alike.

Option B: Do It the Smart Way

If you want to skip the setup and get a short, editable, secure link that’s built for real-world NFC tags, check out smart-tag.me.

Smart-Tag links are:

Edit-anytime (even after your tag is out in the wild)
Passkey protected so only you can update it
Perfect for emergency tags, business cards, event passes, and more

Bonus Tips for iPhone Users

The scan point is at the top front of the phone, near the speaker—not the back
The screen must be on (not necessarily unlocked)
Don’t waste time trying to embed plain text—just use a URL

Final Thoughts

If your tag doesn’t work on iPhones, it’s almost never the tag—it’s just the format. Use a proper URL, or even better, a smart redirect from smart-tag.me, and you’ll have a tag that works for everyone, every time.