Does your phone display an N at the top, near the time? This logo is important in several situations. Here’s what you need to know about it to get the most out of it.
You’ve probably already noticed: the upper area of your smartphone’s screen has several icons and mentions, all intended to inform you about the status of the device and in particular the activation of certain functions. Thus, in addition to the time and the type of mobile network (4G or 5G) with the signal strength (the famous bars that indicate the quality of the mobile network), you can also see if the Wi-Fi is activated with the waves icon, as well as the status of Bluetooth, with the B icon, to use your headphones or a wireless speaker, for example.
But this area called “status area”, also sometimes displays elements that can intrigue you because you have no idea about their function. This is the case of the N logo that sometimes appears, next to the clock and the mobile network. This N corresponds to NFC: when it is displayed, it means that the NFC function of your smartphone is activated.
NFC is a short-range wireless communication technology (it is designed for proximity communication, hence its full name, Near Field Communication). Its main use is related to mobile payments and transport tickets: each time you approach your phone to a payment terminal or ticket control device, you are using NFC. And if the N does not appear in the status area, you may have the option disabled. But be careful, some recent mobiles do not display this icon, even when NFC is enabled.
Having NFC permanently activated does not have a significant impact on the battery life of your smartphone because the function consumes very little energy. And it does not present any risks either: no one will debit your bank account by bringing a device close to your phone. You can therefore leave NFC permanently active. It will be more comfortable and faster to make contactless payments or to validate a transport ticket.
However, if you don’t want to leave it on permanently, you can very easily enable and disable it as needed. Here’s how to do it.
Go to your phone’s settings. Open the Connections and sharing or Connected devices section (the name may vary depending on the brand and model). If you don’t like digging through settings, just type NFC in the search box at the top of the settings, you’ll find the option faster. Once you’ve found it, simply toggle the switch next to NFC to turn the feature on or off. You can also turn it on or off from the quick settings, the buttons that appear by pulling down the notification area. If you don’t have NFC there, add it from the options, by tapping the pencil or gear icon.
Finally, note that the N icon only applies to Android smartphones. Apple iPhones have all been equipped with NFC since the iPhone 7, but they do not display any logo to indicate the status of this function. NFC is enabled by default in iOS, but you can disable it if you wish by going to the settings.