I have an NFC-capable phone (Nokia G60, Android 12) and a bunch of NFC tags/cards. I would like to launch an app or run an action automatically when I tap my phone to a tag. For example, if I get in my car and tap a tag on my dashboard, I would like Waze to open. I don't want the phone to pop up a prompt asking me what to do - I just want the app to launch.
I tried NFC Tools / NFC Tasks, but the app(s) just ask me to write data to a tag - my tag stickers are writable, but other cards are not. I can link the tag to Waze, and the NFC app remembers that, but nothing actually happens when I tap the tag, even when the app is running. So I gave up on those apps and deleted them.
Then I tried NFC ReTag, which seems to offer exactly what I want, and is easy to use. But if the app isn't running, then Android asks me to 'Choose an action', with options 'NFC ReTag FREE' or 'Tags' (which says 'New tag collected'). I don't have an app called 'Tags' - it seems to be a built-in tag reader that doesn't do anything, and AndroidForums.com doesn't know much about it: https://androidforums.com/threads/what-is-an-app-named-tags.821971/
I gave NFC ReTag all the permissions it wants, but there seems to be nothing to make it the default/automatic app for NFC tags (unless it's currently running). Then I let NFC ReTag write its details to the tag (a cheap NFC sticker), and now it works automatically, with no prompt from Android, but I would also like to trigger actions from read-only NFC tags. Is there another app that runs permanently in the background?
I looked under Settings -> Connected devices -> Connection preferences -> NFC, and I see 'Contactless Payments' settings. It's possible to change the default payment method, but not possible to disable it, although I'm not sure if that would help.
Does this mean that it isn't possible to add a default app for NFC tags, and that Android will always ask me what I want to do when a tag is detected? If it is possible, how, and with which NFC app?
