The future is creeping up on us and we really should keep up. If you’ve ever heard of NFC, you’ve probably wondered what it means. NFC stands for “Near Field Communication” and is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish communication with each other by either touching them together or bringing them into close proximity.

Through NFC, you can transfer data between two devices, such as contacts, photos, videos, or files. You can even engage other people in a multi-player game. One Swedish company is even testing the use of NFC-enabled smartphones to function as hotel keys. In fact, NFC was already put into effect in 2008 in Germany, where a certain train company launched an NFC-ticketing pilot program in which 200 travelers touched their phones to NFC tags when they got on the train and touched their phones to another tag when they got off. Their fare was then calculated and added to their monthly bill.

Some phones are already carrying NFC chips inside of them, and one of these devices is the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note SGH-I717. Unfortunately, unlike its Korean counterpart, the AT&T Galaxy Note’s NFC chip has been disabled. Thanks to XDA-Developers forum member fox689, however, it’s now possible to unlock the AT&T Galaxy Note’s NFC chip. This means you can not only use NFC functions but also have access to the NFC apps on the Google Play Store.

If you’re afraid that unlocking the NFC chip may involve a lot of tinkering with codes, worry no more. If you’ve had experience flashing ROMs, then this method is quite the same. You’ll merely need to boot into Recovery Mode and install the ZIP file. Unfortunately, it only works on stock ROMs.

Warning

• These instructions are intended for the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note SGH-I717 only. You may check your model number through Settings > About Phone.  Do not use these instructions on a non-compatible device.
• Use these instructions at your own risk.  Do not hold us responsible for whatever happens to your phone.

Requirements

If you’d like to start unlocking your Galaxy Note’s NFC chip, you’ll need the following:

• AT&T Galaxy Note running on stock ROM with ClockworkMod Recovery installed.  (See our guide for help with installing ClockworkMod Recovery on the Galaxy Note.)
• Make sure to create a backup of all your important data on your Galaxy Note.
• Make sure that your Galaxy Note has a fully charged battery. This prevents the device from shutting off in the middle of the update process.
• NFC unlock file (g_note_nfc_on_fox689.zip, 352 kB)

Instructions

Once you’ve got everything, you can now proceed to enabling your Galaxy Note’s NFC chip:

1. Download the NFC unlock file to your computer.
2. Copy the NFC unlock file to your Galaxy Note’s internal SD Card.
3. Turn off your Galaxy Note.
4. Boot into Recovery Mode. You can do this by pressing and holding down the Volume Up and Home buttons as you press the Power button.
5. Make a Nandroid backup of your existing ROM in case something does not work out.  To do that, select Backup and restore > Backup from the recovery menu.
6. Select Install zip from sdcard > Choose zip from internal sdcard and select the NFC unlocking file.  Confirm that you want to install the file.
7. Once installation is complete, select Go Back.
8. Select Reboot System Now.

Once the Galaxy Note reboots, you can find NFC options under Wireless settings.  Congratulations!