NFC stickers in a café or restaurant: where to put them, what blocks them, and what about older phones?

An NFC sticker takes up little space and goes on quickly. In practice it still fails for the same few reasons: wrong spot, metal nearby, no hint for guests. Here's what to know before you stick the first one.

What does an NFC sticker do at the table?

An NFC sticker stores a web address and passes it to any phone that comes close enough. It needs no battery, because the energy comes from the phone while it reads. The NFC Forum gives a typical range of up to 2 centimetres. So the guest really has to bring the phone to it, and everything about placement follows from that.

Where should an NFC sticker go?

An NFC sticker works best where a hand holding a phone gets to it easily and nothing sits on top of it. Before you stick anything, walk the room and sit where guests actually sit.

Don't hide it under the table top, even if that looks tidier. Nobody looks there, and there's no room for a hint. If reviews are the aim, put the sticker where guests pay: the right moment is at the end of the visit.

Why doesn't NFC work on metal?

NFC runs on a magnetic field, and nearby metal weakens that field. IoT For All explains it like this: the field creates circulating currents in the metal, called eddy currents, and their own field works against the antenna's field. On top of that come reflections, and energy lost as heat. The sticker is left with too little energy for its chip, and the phone doesn't find it, or finds it only sometimes.

The metal doesn't have to be visible. On a thin wood or plastic top, a steel frame underneath can be enough. That's why only a test at the real table helps.

Stickers made for metal have a thin ferrite layer between antenna and surface. According to IoT For All, it steers the field lines away from the metal. They're a separate type of sticker, so ask for them if you have to stick on metal.

How does NFC work on an iPhone and on Android?

On current models it works without an app, with one small extra step. Apple says the iPhone XS and newer read in the background and show a notification, and only tapping that notification opens the link. Android looks for tags while the screen is open, unless NFC is switched off, according to the Android documentation. From Android 17, web links bring up an "open link" notification the guest has to tap (as of November 2026).

How the phone is held matters too. For Apple Pay, Apple says to hold the top of the iPhone near the reader. On Android, Google says the antenna sits near the top or middle, and that a thick case or pulling away too quickly can interrupt things. Both are written about payments, but the advice helps at a sticker too.

What happens with older phones?

Older phones often don't respond to the sticker at all, and the guest assumes the sticker is broken.

Even a new iPhone doesn't respond at certain moments. Apple says background reading isn't available while the camera is running, Wallet is in use or airplane mode is on. When your team knows this, "why isn't it working for me?" takes one sentence to solve.

Why does a QR code belong beside the sticker?

The QR code catches everyone NFC doesn't work for, without anyone having to ask. According to DENSO WAVE, which invented it, it needs a clear margin four modules wide on all sides, a module being one of the small squares. For tables that get wiped a lot, higher error correction makes sense: level M makes up for 15 percent, level Q for 25 percent.

The full comparison is in NFC or QR code. For the menu itself, see the guide to the QR code menu.

What ruins an NFC sticker?

• Overwriting. A chip that isn't locked can be rewritten. Android describes locking as a one-way process that can't be reverted. Ask whether your stickers come write-protected.
• Being covered or swapped. Germany's consumer advice centre, the Verbraucherzentrale, warns about fake QR codes stuck over real ones. When you set the tables, check that sticker and code are still yours.
• Wear. Tables wiped every day put stress on glue and print. After the first week, check each spot again with a phone and note what's coming loose.
• Changing tables. If a table is swapped or refinished, test again.
• A fixed target. If the chip points straight at a PDF or at a page you don't look after yourself, it goes out of date with every menu change. Better is one fixed address whose content you can change any time without new stickers.

What should the hint next to the sticker say?

One short sentence on what happens and what it's for. "NFC" alone means nothing to most guests.

How do you test stickers before guests see them?

1. On each type of table, pick three possible spots without sticking anything yet.
2. Hold a loose sticker to each spot and test with an iPhone and an Android phone, in their cases.
3. Check that the right page opens, not just any page.
4. Add plates and drinks and see whether the spot stays free.
5. Clean the surface, let it dry, and only then stick it.
6. Afterwards, scan the QR code in evening light from the seat.
7. Show your team the steps once at a real table.

How do stickers get onto your tables without you writing chips yourself?

With NFCeez it goes like this. You order round or square NFC stickers with a QR code, or the NFC card, with your logo. When they arrive, you open Products in the app and hold your phone to the sticker. From then on it belongs to your business, and you test it in the app before guests use it. A tap or a scan opens your Smart Page: the link to your Google review at the top, plus menu, stamp card and booking if you use them. What the page shows, you change in the app, and the sticker stays where it is. Afterwards the NFCeez app shows you separately how often guests tapped, scanned or came to the page directly, so you learn which spot works.

The limits: every product stays connected to its place for good. So test the spot with a loose sticker before you stick it. None of this helps against metal in the table top, and there the QR code stays the safe way in.

Where do you start today?

Your next step: take a fridge magnet around your tables today. Where it holds, there's metal in the top or frame. Test those spots carefully, or pick another one. A magnet won't find aluminium, so only a phone test helps there.