NFC trip tracking on Android: start with your vehicle tag

What you need before writing a tag

Use an NFC-capable Android phone with NFC switched on and a blank, writable NTAG215 tag. DriveFive writes the vehicle link in the app, so you do not need a separate tag-writing application. Check that the tag is writable before choosing a permanent location for it.

Think about where you will tap while safely parked. A phone case or a metal mounting surface can affect readability. If the tag will sit on metal, use a suitable on-metal design and test it in that position. A convenient location is one you can reach before driving, not one that encourages you to handle your phone on the road.

Program the tag for the correct vehicle

1. Open More → NFC vehicle tags and enable the optional NFC feature.
2. Choose the vehicle from your garage and give the tag a name you will recognise.
3. Select Use a fixed category or Ask each time. Add a default purpose where appropriate; Business trips require a purpose.
4. Choose Write tag and hold it against the phone’s NFC antenna until DriveFive confirms the write and verification.
5. Test the tag while parked. Check the assigned vehicle and the recording status before relying on it.

The assignment belongs to this garage. Moving to another phone requires matching restored assignments and explicitly enabling NFC there. A locked, damaged or unsupported tag may not be rewritable. Keep a tag writable if you expect to reassign it later.

Fixed category or Ask each time?

A fixed category is useful when the tag has a consistent job. For example, a vehicle you use for the same kind of journey can start with its saved category and default purpose. You should still check that the saved purpose describes the trip you are actually making.

Ask each time suits a vehicle used for different reasons. Scanning that tag opens a category prompt for its assigned vehicle. Choose the category, add a purpose when needed, and select Start trip. Merely opening the prompt does not begin recording. Cancelling, leaving the app or letting the request expire leaves the trip unstarted.

Your choice applies to that trip. It does not rewrite the automatic-logging defaults. You can change a tag assignment between fixed and prompted categories through Edit / reassign without rewriting the physical tag. Existing fixed-category tags keep their setting until you change it.

Know what a second tap does

With the phone unlocked, scanning the programmed tag starts one GPS trip for its vehicle after the required checks and any category confirmation. Scanning the same vehicle’s tag again finishes the trip. DriveFive ignores closely repeated reads so that one lingering tap does not immediately undo itself.

If another vehicle is already being tracked, the app asks before switching. It uses one recorder, so it does not record two vehicle trips simultaneously. Read the confirmation and review the previous trip if you forgot to finish it at the right time.

NFC readiness is not the same as recording. The Home card may say the tags are ready while no journey is active. After tapping, look for confirmation that the trip actually started. If the app is still starting or needs a category, resolve that state before driving.

Understand the stop timer and the final review

When Auto Trip is off, an NFC-started trip can use its own auto-finish delay: Off, 1, 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes. Off waits for another tap or Finish trip. A chosen delay uses confirmed stationary time; moving again resets the wait, and missing GPS does not count as a confirmed stop.

With Auto Trip enabled, its stop delay takes priority over the separate NFC timer. A long traffic stop can still reach a stop delay. Choose the setting with your usual journeys in mind, and finish the current NFC trip before changing its timer.

After a journey, check the saved vehicle, category, purpose, endpoints and distance. If a tag seems unresponsive, work through NFC support, the phone’s NFC switch, DriveFive’s setting, screen unlock, assignment and placement. Repeated tapping is less useful than checking which requirement is missing.