Q nfc card emulation question thread android forum for. The only reason we are adding an activity is to make things simpler, our card emulator will run as a service all the time in the background. The global number of nfc sim card shipments decreased in 2016 due in part to a lower than anticipated consumer uptake of simbased mobile payments and the impact of the closure of the softcard mobile wallet in the us, the simalliance has revealed, despite reporting growth in nfc sim shipments in key countries across europe and the. Prior to the hce architecture, near field communication nfc transactions were mainly carried out using secure elements. Host card emulation hce is the software architecture that provides exact virtual representation of various electronic identity access, transit and banking cards using only software. Nfc allows you to share small payloads of data between an nfc tag and an android powered device, or between two android powered devices. Ive also updated this app to demonstrate the readermode in android 4. Microsoft has announced that hce will be supported. The patches enable card emulation mode on nexus s original credit goes to nemik, who posted the first working patches on android developers group. Sprint will automatically unlock the device when it becomes eligible. It uses nfc to interact with a contactless smartcard, either physical or emulated. They claim about the lack of interest in card emulation and they difficulties developers could face, but the fact is that they want to keep the hen of the golden egss for themselves for the. Uicc stands for universal integrated circuit card and it is a new generation sim subscriber identification module included in cell phones or notebooks used in some high speed wireless networks. Nfc door card emulator android forum for mobile phones.
Among other things, it is especially useful for testing hce host card emulation apps running on another smartphone. Google added host based card emulation hce to android starting in android 4. May 04, 2017 ive also updated this app to demonstrate the readermode in android 4. Technically, the uicc works in all mobile telecom networks. Bug reports contains modem logs, vendor ril logs, panic signature logs, and android logs. Many other nonnexus devices provide a secure element api based on the open mobile api typically the seekfor android implementation or something based on it. When nfc card emulation is provided using a secure element, the card to be emulated is provisioned into the secure element on the device through an android application. Host card emulation of felica android open source project. Card emulation allows a mobile device to mimic a payment card. This card can be used to make purchases, display tickets and present identification. It is now a valuable resource for people who want to make the most of their mobile devices, from customizing the look and feel to adding new functionality.
The software stack features all necessary functionality for readerwriter mode, p2pllcp and card emulation using. Since android now has standard credential storage which can be protected by hardware on supported devices, we could use an android phone with software card emulation in place of a pki card. This sample demonstrates the use of the new host card emulation hce apis in android 4. We are all a little bit lost about nfc card emulation in android. It is an evolution of the sim used to identify subscribers in gsm networks. Because to simulate a card, the nfc card emulator needs to write the cardid to the nfc configuration file on your phone, which requires root privileges. Smaller in size than a full card, it contains a computer, or microprocessor, its own data storage and software. Finally, during mobile world congress mwc 2014, visa and mastercard also decided to support the software secured wallets themselves. The write function needs to buy a special white card. Software card emulation is a new approch to advance the interoperability of nfc with legacy contactless smartcard systems. Hce enables mobile applications running on supported operating systems to offer payment. Executive summary this paper provides an introduction to androids host card emulation hce and explores its value to the. Card emulation requires the use of a secureelement which can be uicc, ese, usd or host based.
This smart card, which is used with both the previous cards, has secret keys stored, and is able to perform some cipher operations. After the identification is successful, enter a card name and save it. Card emulation allows a mobile device to mimic a smartcard, enabling users to make purchases, display tickets, vouchers and present identification. I modified the settings application to add a pair of options related to nfc. Host card emulation nfc payments newer devices only. Androids core and symbian3 are both implemented in c, so the software stack from nxp can be ported to both operating systems very well. White cards come in many styles, including patches, rings, etc. Jul 31, 2019 card emulation sample this sample demonstrates the use of the new host card emulation hce apis in android 4.
These configurations must be supported for both ondevice logging and pctoolbased logging. List of hce host card emulation apps 20140222 regnerischernachmittag 4 kommentare i like lists and i like nfc therefore here comes a list of android apps that emulate contactless smartcards on an android phone 4. Device software supports different modem logging configurations level, modules. Simbased secure elements will continue to be supported with improved payment integration flows enabling the two solutions to coexist.
Nexus devices do not seem to enable the uicc for card emulation at all. Near field communication overview near field communication nfc is a set of shortrange wireless technologies, typically requiring a distance of 4cm or less to initiate a connection. Many other nonnexus devices provide a secure element api based on the open mobile api typically the seekforandroid implementation or something based on it. It is basically just a security chip to allow sprint and other uicc sim card using carriers to make sure only authentic devices are allowed to use their lte networks. Lets try to write a simple pki applet and an associated hostside client application to see if this is indeed feasible. The global number of nfc sim card shipments decreased in 2016 due in part to a lower than anticipated consumer uptake of simbased mobile payments and the impact of the closure of the softcard mobile wallet in the us, the simalliance has revealed, despite reporting growth in nfc sim shipments in key countries across europe and the cis regions. List of hce host card emulation apps regnerischer nachmittag. As explained on the android developer site, when nfc card emulation is provided using the secure element, a user holds the device over an nfc terminal and the nfc controller in the device routes all data from the reader directly to the secure. Where to find the corresponding setting depends on android version. Android, cyanogenmod the android smart card emulator allows the emulation of a contactless smart card. This is the basis of the virtualization of payment or transport cards, access control badges, loyalty cards and other tokens, onto the smartphone. Sep 22, 2014 android smart phone tablet figure 1 card emulation with a secure element.
Uicc carrier privileges android open source project. Google introduced platform support for secure nfcbased transactions through host card emulation hce, for payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes, and other custom services. As the definition suggests, it is an emulation of a contactless smart card. Transport ticket secure emulation on android smartphone 3 2. The emulator uses androids hce to fetch process apdus from a nfc reader. Host card emulation allows an application to emulate a card and talk directly to an nfc reader. A slide outlines support for nfc payments in the mobile version of windows 10 microsoft is to introduce support for host card emulation hce payments in the mobile version of its windows 10 operating system. Modem requirements for esim support android open source. The android smart card emulator allows the emulation of a contactless smart card. Pdf software card emulation in nfcenabled mobile phones.
This functionality, based on the uicc carrier privileges introduced in android 5. Oct 27, 2019 host card emulation hce is the software architecture that provides exact virtual representation of various electronic identity access, transit and banking cards using only software. The emulator uses android s hce to fetch process apdus from a nfc reader. Card emulation means that you have an electronic appliance, typically a smartphone, that behaves exactly as a contactless smart card. Mar 25, 2015 microsoft is to introduce support for host card emulation hce payments in the mobile version of its windows 10 operating system. What is a uicc and how is it different from a sim card. Thus, even if you register applications for offhost card emulation, the uicc could not be used on such devices. So back then my research goal was to gure out how we could communicate with the chip to achieve this hostbased card emulation. Make sure you are selecting api 19 or higher, as the card emulation is only supported starting android 4. Traditional card emulation in android put secure element in android phone. Hostbased card emulation overview android developers. Near field communication overview android developers. Android smart card emulator vsmartcard 20170116 documentation. Engineers in charge of the api are imho playing a smokescreen game.
Host card emulation wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Smart card emulator fdroid free and open source android. Modem requirements for esim support android open source project. The emulator uses androids hce to fetch apdus from a contactless reader. A uicc can host and run more than one network application hence universal, and thus can be used to connect to different networks. May 27, 2014 with hce, transactions take place using credentials stored in the cloud or on the host processor of the nfcenabled mobile device rather than a tamper resistant secure element, such as an embedded security chip, sim, or microsd card. Advantages of software card emulation software card emulation opens card emulation applications to average developers complex secure element is not needed anybody can develop applications based on existing reader infrastructure software card emulation can be used as an alternative to peer. In hce, the nfc terminal routes data directly to the host cpu for example, an intel atom processor where the android application is running, no secure element is involved in the process figure 2. Transport ticket secure emulation on android smartphone. Everything you need to know about host card emulation.
Java card applet and hostbased card emulation of android. Figure 2 illustrates how hostbased card emulation works. Software card emulation in nfcenabled mobile phones. The android platform loads certificates stored on a uicc and grants permission to apps signed by these certificates to make calls to a handful of special apis. It has been expanding in adoption in that region and is well used among transit, retail, and loyalty services. Oem, carrier, os manufacturer app developers who owns the secure element in a phone. Developing android business apps using nfc hostbased card. After writing a white card, the white card becomes your access card, and the white card is used to swipe the door. Host card emulation of felica felicity card, or felica, an rfid smart card system, is the nfc standard in japan, hong kong and other markets in the asiapacific apac region. Because to simulate a card, the nfc card emulator needs to write the card id to the nfc configuration file on your phone, which requires root privileges. Typical applications for card emulation are creditcard replacement, transitticketing, secureaccess, etc. Here is run down of some of the things you should know about android, nfc and host card emulation. When an nfc card is emulated using hostbased card emulation, the data is routed to the host cpu on which android applications are running directly, instead of routing the nfc protocol frames to a secure element. The state seems to be stored on the sim card, so once disabled it stays so even when putting the card into another device.
It has been first introduced to nfcenabled mobile phones by research in. Sep 28, 20 the physical smart card is referred to as universal integrated circuit card uicc and different mobile network applications than run on it have been defined. If it was possible, the goal was to write a framework for android to communicate with the chip. With hce, transactions take place using credentials stored in the cloud or on the host processor of the nfcenabled mobile device rather than a tamper resistant secure element, such as an embedded security chip, sim, or microsd card. However i am a bit skeptical about his success taking into consideration that without the manufacturers cooperation, regarding baseband firmware support on sns or sgsii, sending apdus to the uicc, that seems not yet supported, card emulation through uicc is a lost war. The emulator uses android s hce to fetch apdus from a contactless reader. Again, the talk isnt posted yet, but it seems really clear that microsofts payments solution is being done through this now.