[Q] What size NFC sticker is necessary?

---

I realize there's a ton of different sites that sell NFC stickers and they all have various storage sizes ranging from 512 bytes to 2 Kb. So what's the general rule of thumb when it comes to actions vs storage space?
Obviously the higher the storage space, the more that can be automated with 1 tag. But say you just want to toggle a few system settings (volume, Bluetooth, brightness) and open one or two apps. Would a 512 byte tag suffice?

Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject should create a guide generalizing this sort of stuff (broadly of course). I know it would certainly help me and any others wondering the same thing.

Originally Posted by squiddy20

I realize there's a ton of different sites that sell NFC stickers and they all have various storage sizes ranging from 512 bytes to 2 Kb. So what's the general rule of thumb when it comes to actions vs storage space?
Obviously the higher the storage space, the more that can be automated with 1 tag. But say you just want to toggle a few system settings (volume, Bluetooth, brightness) and open one or two apps. Would a 512 K tag suffice?

Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject should create a guide generalizing this sort of stuff (broadly of course). I know it would certainly help me and any others wondering the same thing.

512k is a lot of space (where are 512k tags?).

Generally speaking 144 bytes (Ultralight C, NTAG203) is quite a bit and suitable for most applications.

If you need more space Classic 1K tags work (but these technically aren't NFC forum tags). 2K and 4K tags are generally overkill but are available.

If you are planning on using NFCTL most actions take 4-5 bytes (with the header being about 25 bytes). Actions that must store text (launching an App or URL for example) will store more space as they must store the string on the tag (generally 1 byte per string character plus 2 bytes instruction set).

Oh, oops. Meant to put 512 bytes. Correcting OP. Thanks for catching that.

Ok. So what about making a tag a toggle? Since (I imagine) you have to have a command for on and a command for off, does using it that way essentially double the space used?

Originally Posted by squiddy20

Oh, oops. Meant to put 512 bytes. Correcting OP. Thanks for catching that.

Ok. So what about making a tag a toggle? Since (I imagine) you have to have a command for on and a command for off, does using it that way essentially double the space used?

Unsure exactly what you're referencing. For a single Toggle command in a Task tag it takes no more space than enable,disable - the command merely indicates toggle instead of enable or disable. If you're referencing a switch tag then it writes essentially two Task tags to the physical tag (so that requires more space).

Originally Posted by krohnjw

Unsure exactly what you're referencing. For a single Toggle command in a Task tag it takes no more space than enable,disable - the command merely indicates toggle instead of enable or disable. If you're referencing a switch tag then it writes essentially two Task tags to the physical tag (so that requires more space).

Haha my bad. I'm a total noob with this stuff (obviously) as I only got my Galaxy Nexus 2 weeks ago and only just started looking into this stuff. What I mean is 1 tag that when tapped once, turns volume up, screen brightness up, and opens an application, and a second tap will essentially revert the settings and maybe close the aforementioned app. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from the sound of my own description, it sounds like a combination of a toggle command (tap1: volume up, tap2: volume down) and a switch tag (opening and closing an app).

Originally Posted by alicechong89

512 bytes should be plenty.

On NFC Task Launcher, if I set these actions: enable wifi, set alarm, launch calculator, and set ringer volume, the total required is about 65 bytes.

Thanks for that bit of info, that clarifies things quite simply as I imagine that's pretty much all I'll be using the tech for.

curious why you wouldn't just make a profile using tasker to do the command combinations, then program the smallest tag to execute that one profile/script/macro ?

/first post!

Originally Posted by danfinger

curious why you wouldn't just make a profile using tasker to do the command combinations, then program the tag to execute that one profile/script/macro ?

/first post!

Don't have Tasker and I'm not sure if I want to delve into its complexities, even though it would probably be easier (in some ways) to go that route.

Congrats on your first post, btw!