This is a slightly different format for updates, we decided to split videos down into sections so you can cherry pick the bits you want to hear about.

TLDR version;

• Shipping: The first phase of rings begin shipping out to backers tomorrow and we continue shipping over the next 6 weeks
• Numbers: We have had delivery of the first batch of rings but it didn’t contain as many rings as we wanted due to lots of QA fails.
• Devices: Samsung S4 and Nexus 5/7 owners will get a normal ring, not an alpha ring.
• Carbon Fiber: We have a new Carbon Fiber material that improves performance but the weave is a little less tight.
• Packaging: We settled on both boxes & bags and we have also included a pamphlet that includes a getting started guide and some general information about the Ring.
• Stickers: Our Sweet spot Stickers failed QA and have been replaced.
• Apps: Our App Beta testing Fellowship recruitment process has begun and your attendance has been cordially requested. The App has seen lots of improvements since initial launch.

Production progress and revised delivery schedule

Good news! The first set of rings ship(all of world excluding US/Canada) tomorrow(Monday). We actually discovered that shipping in batches of 3000 or so rings each week beginning on the 5th of March is going to be more realistic to manage and it also brings our Phase 2 date forward by 10 days. Special thanks to Aaron, Matt, Phil, Carol and Tom who came up to help out this weekend.. Many hands made light work! US / Canada should begin shipping at the end of next week (~7th of Feb).

Nexus 5/7 and Samsung S4

Good news for Nexus 5/7 and Samsung S4 owners, our normal ring now has better antenna matching than the alpha ring. If you emailed our support team asking to change your normal order into an alpha due to a Nexus 5 we will automatically change your order back to a normal. Apologies for the confusion, as you are witnessing we’re learning lots about new phones and how the normal and alpha rings interact with them. Due to the nature of how we are placing our orders (in phases) we can change the quantity of alpha/normals without too much headache. We have spent hundreds of hours improving the normal rings inlay performance mostly because after wearing both the alpha and normal rings 24×7 we found the majority of our ring bearers had a much better experience with the normal ring due to it’s size and shape. If you initially picked the Alpha ring because we had better performance and you haven’t been in touch to NFC Ring support about the Nexus / S4 then please get in touch via support and we will change your order. We will also be changing everyone that initially listed their phone as S4 or Nexus 5 to a normal ring so if you initially listed a Nexus 5 or S4 on the survey you don’t need to get in touch.. Phew, that was complicated..

Carbon Fiber Inlay cover tuning and change of material

We discovered that the carbon fiber material used in our production run is actually slightly different from the material we received in the prototypes and test production run. The prototype carbon fiber worked but the production material just doesn’t work properly. The rings we received with this specific carbon fiber have failed QA as they wont read on a Nexus 5 or S4. We believed initially that Carbon Fiber may have caused issues with the radio signal, but all of our prototypes tested perfectly and without fault. The perils of production runs…. Our new material comes with a data sheet and is from a reputable company that we know won’t let us down.

The new material still has the same eye candy factor but the weave isn’t as tight / fine, so we’re in talks with our provider to see if we can source a tighter looking weave.

Let us know what you think about the new material. We’re sorry we couldn’t keep the original but the composite / compound change just made it impossible.

The new material looks like this:

Sweet Spot Stickers and working with suppliers

It’s amazing that even our sweet spot stickers failed QA, pesky production runs! Thankfully our provider has sent us new stickers with a better finish and these stickers have passed QA and will ship out to US distribution tomorrow (Monday).

What’s in the box?

When you receive your package you will get (excludes Collection and Custom Inlay backers):

• Getting started guide pamphlet
• An NFC Ring pillow box that has the NFC Ring SKU on the sticker
• 4 Sweet Spot Stickers
• One loose NFC Inlay
• A velvet bag
• Your NFC Ring in the velvet bag, the ring is pre-programmed with a ‘getting started’ URL – read it on your device before writing over it.

Sweet Spot Tutorial

We published a sweet spot tutorial and sent this out on a previous update, it’s worth watching!

Join our App Beta testing fellowship

We’re inviting Kickstarter backers to get early access to our alpha and beta App packages. It’s really easy and free to sign up.

It’s on you

As Kickstarter draws to a close, we would love it for you guys to continue helping to steer the NFC Ring ship!
Hit us up on the following channels and let us know your thoughts!
Twitter / Facebook / Youtube / Github / Forum

Questions answers

Q. Is there going to be a delay to tha Alpha Stealth bombers.
A. Yes. Sadly all rings that have carbon fiber have been delayed.

Q. Have Canada/USA been excluded from phase 1 deliveries.
A. Nope, the rings are in SF being packed as we ship, the sweet spot stickers came here first and I had to forward them on so the USA is a few days behind.

The NFC Ring Team