Magic Band NFC Unlock Android 5 Lollipop

[hughjulia]

I'm posting this at the only place I can think of where someone might appreciate it. Although there is still a big emphasis on might. This is pretty geeky and only somewhat useful.

I just got Lollipop (Android 5) installed on my Nexus 5 today.

It has a new unlock option added to the Smart Unlock feature. Smart Unlock now allows you to set a NFC tag as a trusted device. This allows you to unlock your phone by tapping the back to a NFC tag. If you have a pin, pattern or password lock screen setup on your android phone, this allows you to bypass it by tapping the phone to the NFC tag.

The first thought that came to my mind was, I wonder if I can use this to unlock my phone with Disney's Magic Band. Yes, yes I can. On my phone I tap the band to the lower middle half of the phone to unlock it.

From a practical standpoint, it isn't all that useful since I can unlock my phone by entering the pin quickly at this point. It is second nature. However, it is an excuse to wear the band outside of the parks.

Note, just like in the park, the band works best at unlocking the phone if you roll it slightly when touching it to the back of the phone. I never had to do that at a ride, but when purchasing something, it seemed like I always had to roll it a little when tapping the Mickey.

 

[doconeill]

Nice...might be interesting to play with in the parks...

I knew my S3 could read the magicbands for at least one of the codes...hadn't thought of a use for it yet though.

 

[ninecrayons]

Nice...might be interesting to play with in the parks...

I knew my S3 could read the magicbands for at least one of the codes...hadn't thought of a use for it yet though.

And now I'm wondering how long until someone can figure out how to hack the system and use the code to their advantage.

 

[doconeill]

And now I'm wondering how long until someone can figure out how to hack the system and use the code to their advantage.

Hack what? This isn't a hack. This is just reading the RFID of the band. Any number of devices can do that. Even the Disney Infinity game can read them. It does not give access to any personal information since there isn't any personal information on the band. Getting personal information would require access to Disney's databases, and if you have that you don't even need a band/RFID.

Search past threads from around when they first started MagicBands for discussions about what _might_ be possible. In general it's no different that someone finding your ticket/KTTW card in the past.