SOLVED: What is the N Icon block at the Top of My Samsung Android Phone

If you have an ‘N’ block at the top of your Samsung Android cell phone, then you have NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION (alternately known as NFC) turned on.

NFC does exactly what it says; it communicates to other devices nearby.  Specifically, NFC is most commonly associated with ‘Tap’ payment systems.  For instance, the much over-hyped Apple Pay uses NFC.   If you have an Android device, like my S6 shown to the right you can use Google Wallet or Android Pay or MasterCard Tap & Go or many other contactless payment systems.

NFC can also be used to transfer files between devices.  Google has branded this simple transfer method “Android Beam”.  Below is a short video on how to use Android Beam.  With more modern Samsung Android devices like the S5, S6, S7 and S8, all you have to do to transfer a picture between devices is to bring up your picture “Gallery”, select one of the images, push the two phone together, then touch the screen on the sending device.

Near Field Communication does use some power and present a small security risk so if you want to disable NFC:

1. Using TWO fingers, swipe down from the top of the screen (to bring up ALL quick settings)
2. Click the NFC icon to turn Near Field Communication On or Off as you see fit.

Personally, I like using a free app from the Google Play Store called CREDIT CARD READER which lets you scan your own credit and debit cards with NFC chips in them to determine what information they hold… you will be shocked.