Nexus 7 (2013) and V1ntage ring
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Hello,
I received a V1ntage ring as a Christmas gift yesterday. My goal was to use it to unlock my Nexus 7 (2013) so I don't have to bother with a password.
I've been trying to get my Nexus to read it reliably and finding it incredibly frustrating. The sweet spot is over the "S". But I've found that unless the ring is off my finger to position it perfectly horizontal and completely flush against the "S", it just won't register. That exact orientation is next to impossible to achieve when the ring is on my finger.
I'm quite disappointed with the ring's performance. I've seen others post that their ring registers when "quite far away" - that's the behavior I was hoping for. I've also seen posts where folks suggest that an Alpha ring reads better. Could that be the solution?
BTW: I don't use a case and I get the same results with both sides of the ring.
Thank you,
Clint -
Hi @Clint,
there are a few devices which are absolutely horrendous at NFC. They just don't do it well.
This can be because of a few things - oversized antenna in the device causing a worse than usual mismatch between device and ring, lower than usual power NFC circuitry (by design) or possibly damage to the NFC system in the device. Even mild wear can have a pronounced effect when you're not starting off with the best possible system!The result of this is that there is a definite 'sweet spot' when you're trying to use the ring with these devices and it can seem quite small and very close in to the device.
You can combat this somewhat using a couple of different methods, basically you want to slowly drag the ring through the sweet spot instead of just touching it there. Movement through the NFC field can trip the output higher temporarily, long enough to get a read and unlock your device. So try either dragging or rolling the ring through your sweet spot and see what happens.
An Alpha ring has a larger antenna and will therefore be a closer match to the large antenna in the Nexus 7 - this will make it slightly easier to read, but (and this is something I keep telling people) if you're having issues and the device NFC is off-kilter then the device most likely needs to be fixed. An Alpha would in this instance be a band-aid solution at best.
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Hi @Lokki ,
Thank you for your explanation and suggestions.
Here's what I've found: rolling the ring doesn't work. Dragging or touching the ring works but only when the ring is flush and horizontal. If the ring is at an angle, I cannot get a read.
Such precision makes this an impossible task for regular use.
Thanks.
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No worries @Clint
Something to consider is that if you persist with it for a while then practice will make that action a little more natural (we tend to forget or gloss over how long it can take before a new action becomes natural, like whistling as a for-instance).
The phone sounds like the sweet spot will never be any better, but if it works at all then practice will make it work easier.
