You do not need to be an NFC expert to use a ServiceTag.
If you have ever paid by tapping your phone on a card terminal, you have already used NFC, near-field communication. Most modern phones have an NFC reader built in. A ServiceTag uses the same tap-and-read idea: instead of paying for something, your phone reads a small tag attached to a piece of equipment and opens the right place for it.
No battery, and no extra hardware
The tag needs no battery, charger, Wi-Fi, internet connection or Bluetooth pairing. It is a passive chip and antenna: when you bring a phone close, the phone's NFC field powers the tag just long enough to read it. When the phone moves away, the tag has no power again, so there is no battery to run down or replace.
There is no scanner to buy either: the phone you already carry is the reader. Customers and tenants need no app at all, because ServiceTagPro tags are designed to open a web page. Technicians and property teams use the ServiceTagPro Android app on the phone they already use for work, whether it is their own or issued by their company.
What a ServiceTag looks like
NFC tags come in many shapes. For equipment, three styles are worth knowing.
Indoor adhesive tags
For equipment kept indoors and dry, a thin adhesive NFC sticker or label is usually the easiest choice: a furnace or air handler in a dry utility room, a water-heater control panel, appliances, a backup power unit, or any dry, non-metal surface. They are inexpensive and easy to place next to an existing equipment label.
Outdoor and weather-resistant tags
For equipment exposed to humidity, rain, dirt or changing temperatures, use a tag sold specifically for outdoor use, usually a small rigid disc with the electronics sealed inside: condensers and other outdoor HVAC equipment, generators, pumps, pool and spa equipment, irrigation and rooftop equipment. Check that the seller rates it for the environment; a rigid disc alone does not guarantee that it is waterproof or heat resistant.
Tags made for metal surfaces
Ordinary NFC tags do not work well directly on metal, which is common on HVAC cabinets, boilers, generators and machinery. Use a tag described as on-metal, anti-metal or metal-mount: it has a backing that lets it work on metal. A painted steel cabinet is still a metal surface.
Your brand on the outside, current details behind the scan
A ServiceTag can be printed with a company's logo and phone number, just like a familiar service label. The printed details stay as they are; the scan opens a cloud page whose published contact details can be kept current. At installation or service, show the customer how to scan it and find the way back to help.
The phone needs an internet connection to open the cloud page. The passive tag itself needs no connection or power supply.
Choosing a tag
| Where the tag will live | What to use |
|---|---|
| Indoors, dry, on a non-metal surface | A regular adhesive NFC tag |
| Outdoors, damp, dirty or exposed to weather | A weather-resistant or waterproof NFC disc |
| Directly on a metal surface | An on-metal NFC tag |
| Outdoors and on metal | A weather-rated on-metal tag |
You do not need a high-security or specialty tag. What matters is that it is NFC-compatible, suited to where it is mounted, and easy for a phone to reach. Higher-security tags are on the roadmap.
Where to put it
- Easy to reach with a phone, and not behind a panel that has to come off first.
- Unlikely to be scraped, crushed or removed during normal service.
- Close to the equipment it identifies; next to the manufacturer's model and serial label is often ideal.
- Away from moving, hot or electrically hazardous parts, and where it can be wiped clean.
How to scan it
The NFC reader is built into the phone, but its exact position varies by model; on many phones it is near the top or middle of the back. If a tag does not read straight away:
- unlock or wake the phone;
- make sure NFC is turned on;
- hold the back of the phone against or very close to the tag;
- move the phone slowly over the tag until it is detected.
Once you know where your phone's reader is, scanning becomes a quick tap.
Locked for good, replaced when needed
ServiceTagPro tags are designed to be permanently locked once they have been written and checked, so nobody can overwrite them. A locked tag still scans normally. Published contact details live in ServiceTag Cloud and can change without rewriting the chip. We are building authorized provider handovers so a change of contractor can also keep the existing tag useful. A damaged or compromised tag is replaced and retired; its equipment's record carries on.
The tag is only the physical shortcut. The equipment's identity and its service record live in ServiceTagPro, so the record can grow for years without anything more being written to the tag.