Chip Count vs Scan Count
Last updated
Last updated
There are two different counting methods within the ixkio platform : Chip Count and Scan Count. By default, only the Scan Count is displayed on the interface.
This is the count of the number of times that the ixkio software has responded to a request. So, simply, the number of times the software has redirected a tag scan or has responded via the API.
This is the count of the number of scans as recorded on the NFC chip itself.
Many NFC chips, such as the NTAG213, have the ability to store the number of times the chip/tag has been scanned. This count can be dynamically added to the URL on the chip as the tag is scanned. This is a special feature that needs to be enabled when the tags are encoded and cannot be added later.
For ixkio to be able to record this count, this feature must be enabled on the chip during encoding and then passed to the ixkio software using the query parameter 'n', for example :
The view of this count can then be enabled in the interface using within the Tag Group settings.
If you are using Authentication Tags then the Chip Count will be enabled by default.
Ixkio cannot record or display the chip count if this feature has not been enabled on the NFC chip itself during encoding.
The Counts aren't always the same - this is normal.
Every time the chip/tag is scanned, the chip counter will increase. In some cases, such as an iPhone scan, a notification will pop up on the screen after scan. If the user doesn't tap this notification and cancels - or perhaps doesn't have internet connection - then the scan won't reach our servers.
Our servers will not update at this stage as they won't know about the scan. However, on the next successful tag scan, our servers will record the Chip Count (which will now be, for example, 2) but will only have made a single response. Therefore, the Chip Count will be 2 and the Scan Count only 1.
This can often happen if a user revisits a URL scanned from a tag - without actually scanning the tag. It can also happen in cases where QR Codes are being used on the same Tag Codes as NFC tags.
In the substantial majority of standard tag (not authentication tag) use cases, the Chip Count is not enabled and not used. To keep the interface as clear as possible, the Chip Count is hidden unless it is required.