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NFC tags for your home inventory: tap a bin, see what's inside

· Anatolii Kovalchuk

TL;DR. An NFC sticker on a storage bin turns the bin into a link. Tap your iPhone on it and Zberi opens the list of what’s inside, with no searching and no unpacking. Writing a tag takes about ten seconds. Reading a tag is free; writing one is a Zberi Pro feature.

What a tag actually does

A tag holds a short web link. When someone taps it with an iPhone, iOS hands that link to Zberi, and the app opens the item or location it points to. The tag stores only that link, so there is nothing sensitive on the sticker and nothing to sync.

Good places to use one:

  • Storage bins and boxes. Tap the bin in the garage to see its contents.
  • Shelves and drawers. Tap the drawer to see what belongs there.
  • Valuables. Tap a camera or a power tool to open its record, serial number and receipt photos.
Your places and bins
Your places and bins
Tap the tag, the bin opens
Tap the tag, the bin opens
Everything inside the bin
Everything inside the bin
Or find it by search
Or find it by search

What to buy

Any NDEF-compatible tag works. For home use, NTAG215 stickers are a safe choice: they have enough memory, they cost little, and they can be rewritten. Tags sold as read-only will not accept Zberi’s link.

An iPhone 7 or newer can read tags. The NFC reader sits at the top of the phone, near the cameras, so that is the part to hold against the sticker.

How to write a tag

  1. Open the item or location in Zberi.
  2. In the NFC Tag section, tap Write NFC Tag.
  3. Hold the top of your iPhone against the tag.
  4. Wait for the “Successfully written!” message, then move the phone away.

If the phone moves too early, the write fails and you can try again. A tag can be rewritten at any time, so a mistake is never permanent.

Who can do what

Reading is free: anyone with Zberi installed on an NFC-capable iPhone can tap a Zberi tag and open the record. Writing a tag to an item or location requires Zberi Pro.

A routine that works

  • Tag containers, not every item. One sticker on the box is enough.
  • Use the same spot on every bin. You will find the sticker without searching.
  • Write tags while you pack, when the list is still fresh in your head.
  • Rewrite a tag when a bin changes purpose instead of leaving stale links behind.