Turn ON and Send Picture or Contacts using NFC on Samsung Galaxy S4 Marshmallow vs Lollipop vs Jelly Bean/Kitkat
Edited by Timbuktu, Charmed, Eng, Leomar Umpad and 8 others
To use NFC on your Samsung mobile, first, you have to enable it. Once it has been enabled, you have to make sure the mobile you want to send your contacts or pictures to via NFC, also has their NFC enabled.
Method 1: Marshmallow
- 1From the home screen, tap the "Apps" icon.
- 2On the Apps screen, tap "Settings".
- 3From Settings, scroll down and tap, "NFC".
- 4On the NFC screen, toggle the green switch in the upper right corner to the on position.Make sure both "Android Beam" and "S Beam" are turned on.
- 5Navigate to the file or contact you wish to beam, hold the phone back-to-back with another device and tap "touch to beam".Make sure the device you're sharing with also has NFC and S Beam enabled.
- 6Once prepared, it will tell you to separate the devices so the transfer can begin.Once the file has been successfully sent it will appear on the other device.
Method 2: Lollipop
- 1On the home screen, tap the "Apps" icon.
- 2From inside Apps, tap "Settings".
- 3On the Settings screen, tap the "Connections" tab, followed by "NFC".Toggle the little green switch in the upper right corner to the "On" position.
- 4Head back out to Settings and tap, "S Beam".Toggle the green switch in the upper right corner to the On position.
- 5To send a file or contact, simply navigate to it and hold the phone back-to-back with another device.Once initiated, you'll be prompted to separate the devices so the transfer can begin.
Method 3: Jelly Bean/Kitkat
Turn ON NFC
- 1Tap the 'Apps' located in the lower right corner of your mobile.
Send Contact
- 1Tap the 'Apps' located in the lower right corner of your mobile.
- 2Then tap 'Contacts'
- 3Touch your screen to share your selected contact. Your contact will then be sent to the other device. The other device should acknowledge and accept the file.From Contacts, tap the contact that you want to send to, making sure the other mobile with NFC is very close.
Send Picture
- 1Tap the 'Apps' located in the lower right corner of your mobile.
- 2Then tap 'Gallery'
- 3Tap the picture you want to send, then tap your device together with the other device with NFC. Make sure they are close together. Tap the picture you want to share. This should be sent to the other device. The other device will accept and acknowledge it has received the picture.Then tap the Album where the picture you want to select is.
Send Other Files Using NFC
You can send other files, aside from contacts and pictures, using NFC. To send other files, follow the procedures below:
To Send Video Files Through NFC
- 1For Galaxy S4, to turn on the NFC, go to Home Screen > Menu Key > Settings > Connections > NFC > Switch NFC button to ON. For the other phones, it may be similar, but still different.Turn on NFC on both devices.
- 2Open the Gallery application.
- 3From the Gallery, search for the video you want to send via NFC.
- 4Bring both devices back to back (touching devices is advised) and wait for NFC to connect.
- 5Tap on that option to send the selected video file.Once NFC has connected, the originating phone will have the "Touch to Beam" option.
- 6You have successfully sent a video file using NFC.
To Send Audio Files Through NFC
- 1To turn on NFC on S4, go to Home Screen > Menu Key > Settings > Connections > NFC > Switch NFC button to ON. Turning on NFC for the other phone may be similar, but also a bit different.Turn on NFC on your Galaxy S4 and make sure the other device has their NFC turned on as well.
- 2Open the Music Player application.
- 3From the Music Player application, choose the audio file you want to send via NFC.
- 4Bring both devices back to back (touching devices is advised) and wait for NFC to connect.
- 5Tap on that option to send the selected video file.Once NFC will connect, the originating phone will have the "Touch to Beam" option.
- 6You have successfully sent an audio file using NFC.
To Send Applications Through NFC
- 1To turn on NFC on Galaxy S4, go to Home Screen > Pull down the notification bar > Tap on 'Settings' (the gear icon on the upper right part of the screen) > Connections > NFC > Switch NFC button to ON. Other phones may be different but it should be in the Settings as well.Turn on the NFC on both of your phones.
- 2Go to Play Store and open the page for the application that you want to send.
- 3Bring both devices back to back (touching devices is advised) and wait for NFC to connect.
- 4Tap on that option to send the selected video file.Once NFC is connected, the originating phone will have the "Touch to Beam" option.
- 5You have successfully sent an application using NFC.
To Send Other Files Through NFC
- 1For Galaxy S4, you can enable NFC by going to Home Screen > Pull down the notification bar > Tap on Settings (the gear icon on the upper right part of the screen) > Connections > NFC > Switch NFC button to ON. The other device may be a bit different, but NFC should be in the Settings as well.Turn on NFC for both devices.
- 2Go to My Folders and open it.
- 3Search for the file you want to send, and open it.
- 4Bring both devices back to back (touching devices is advised) and wait for NFC to connect.
- 5Tap on that option to send the selected video file.Once NFC is connected, the originating phone will have the "Touch to Beam" option.
- 6You have successfully sent a file using NFC.
Troubleshooting Guidelines
What to do when NFC does not detect the other device.
When NFC does not detect the other device, make sure that both devices have enabled NFC sharing. If NFC sharing is enabled on both devices, make sure NFC is active, and neither of the devices is locked or sleeping.
What to do when you cannot send music files.
Due to copyright laws, some music files cannot be sent through NFC. You can still Transfer Files from Samsung Galaxy S4 to PC and Vice Versa or Transfer Files from Galaxy S4 to PC Using Wi-Fi and from your PC, transfer the files to a phone.
What to do when sending large files.
Sending large files may take a long time, depending on the size of the files. To make sure there are no interruptions to the process, and to keep you from having to hold both phones, put the phones back to back on the table and wait for the transfer finish.
Questions and Answers
Transferring contact list from phone to phone using NFC.
I did this just now with my photos and it worked but I was not able to share my phone book/contacts to my new phone by NFC. Both are Samsung Galaxy 4
This is easy to do, as long as you make sure both devices have the NFC function turned on. You'll find NFC under settings, particularly under "Wireless & Networks". You need to make the NFC box is ticked, and do the same for the other device.
Keep in mind when transferring contacts, there are often glitches where the entries will be doubled. This is just minor, but you may still experience it.
How can I send files through NFC or S Beam?
Hi I cannot send anything through NFC, although I turned both NFC and S Beam on and put both mobiles back to back. I still cannot send anything
When I first purchased my device, I had problems sending files through my NFC beam. It also took me a while to figure out why I was having issues. I will list some things you can try in order to help fix your current dilemma. Follow the steps below in order to help fix your problem:
1. Ensure NFC beam is activated on your device, settings>>connections>>slide NFC beam and S beam on
2. Ensure the other device also has the feature activated on their device, for a transfer cannot be done without the other device having their feature on.
3. If you have a case on your phone, take the case off, as it can stop the beam from traveling to the next device (the issue I had)
4. Ensure the other device is able to complete the process, for not all phones have this feature
Also check out this helpful video on the NFC beam process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwU4TvQEq0g
How to send file htc1 to Galaxy S4 through NFC.
How to send file htc1 to Galaxy S4 through NFC
NFC is a transfer system in which you are able to establish a communication and transfer between two devices by simply putting them near each other. As long as both devices are run by Android, you should be able to do this easily. HTC is fully supported, so all you have to do is put the device near your Galaxy S4 and then follow the usual process of file transfers. This is almost the equivalent of doing infrared transfer in the past.
If I have damaged the ink pad inside phone and cannot read screen can I still transfer files, photos, videos, contacts, etc?
The screen is damaged.cannot see how to transfer photos.Can I download onto PC and then to other phone
Your best bet would be to connect the phone to a PC and download all the files from the device. Once you have everything downloaded to your PC, you can easily transfer it to a new device when you're ready.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
