How to Disable NFC

We occasionally see requests from customers looking to disable NFC on their Ultimaker printers. If you disable the NFC, your printer will not be able to detect filament types. However, if you want to disable it, we have instructions here.

The NFC is read/registered using the antenna inside the spool holder, and the cable which plugs into the spool holder and the printer transmits the date to the printer. Unplugging the cable will keep the printer from reading any NFC.

S3, S5, Ultimaker 3, and Ultimaker 3 Extended

If you want to remove the NFC components altogether:

Remove the plastic cover piece from the NFC reel holder by pressing on the clips below with a screwdriver.

Then remove both the round NFC antenna and the NFC cable, and then put the cover back on.

Here is a video of how to open the cover and access the NFC antenna and cable:

New rolls of Ultimaker filament come with NFC readable antennas on them. If you haven't plugged in the NFC cable, the printer won't read anything off of these antennas. But if it's a security issue and your facility can't have any NFC around at all, you can pull the tags off of the new rolls when they receive them and throw them away.

Material Station

There are 6 NFC readers inside the fins between the spools of filament in the material station. The NFC Antennas can be unplugged from the mainboard of the Material Station to disable NFC reading in the Material Station. Please reach out to support@UltimakerNAsupport.com for more information if you need to disable the NFC on your Material Station.