Overview

• You can write the URL of the trigger to the NFC tag with a smartphone app such as NFC Tools. Whenever someone scans the NFC tag, the URL will be discovered by the device (e.g., the smartphone) and the URL Routine Trigger will be launched automatically. The advantage of this option is that any device will be able to read the URL and to launch the trigger. The major disadvantage is that literally any person will be able to scan the tag and launch the trigger if you place the NFC that in a publicly accessible place.
• With iPhones, you do not have to write the URL of the URL Routine Trigger to the NFC tag. Instead, you only scan the unique ID of the NFC that with your iPhone and tell you iPhone to open the URL of the trigger whenever this NFC that is scanned.

Step-by-step guide

What you will need to perfom these steps:

• the URL Routine Trigger Alexa skill and at least one trigger,
• an iPhone, and
• the “NFC Tools” iPhone app or any other app for writing NFC tags.

1. Delete the URL from the NFC tag using the NFC Tools app on your iPhone.
2. Open Apple’s “Shortcuts” app.
3. Create a new automation (not a shortcut).
4. From the list of automation types, choose “NFC” and scan the NFC tag with your iPhone. It will only read the unique identifier of your NFC tag and will not require any URLs to be stored on the NFC tag.
5. As action, use “Get contents from URL” and paste the complete link of you URL Routine Trigger. This action will call your URL Routine Trigger in the background and will not open the URL in Safari.

How it works