Does my phone even have NFC?
Three checks in increasing order of certainty. Search the settings application for NFC. Look up the exact model number, not the marketing name, on the manufacturer specification. Then present a tag you know works, which settles the question outright and takes a second.
Search the settings
Most phones expose a search box in the settings application. Typing NFC there is faster than hunting through menus, and the menu location differs between manufacturers.
A result means the hardware is present. No result is suggestive rather than conclusive, since the wording varies and some devices label it differently.
On an iPhone there is no NFC toggle to find. The capability is present on supported models and managed by the system, so the absence of a setting means nothing either way.
Check the exact model
The exact model number, not the marketing name. Manufacturers sell variants of the same phone with different hardware, and NFC is one of the things that varies.
The model number is usually in the settings, under a heading about the device or the phone.
Then check that number against the manufacturer's own specification page rather than a retailer listing, which is frequently written for a family rather than a variant.
Try a known good tag
This is the check that actually decides. A tag you have read on another phone, held against the back of this one, either produces a reaction or does not.
Remove the case first, sweep slowly across the back, and hold still for a second. All three matter, because a phone with NFC can look like a phone without it if you tap the wrong spot briefly through a thick case.
If nothing happens after a proper sweep with a working tag, and the settings show nothing, the phone almost certainly has no NFC.
Owning one tag you keep aside and never deploy is the cheapest diagnostic instrument there is.
Regional variants and older phones
The same model sold in different markets can differ in hardware, so a specification found for one region may not describe the phone in your hand.
Budget ranges are where NFC is most often left out, and where it has been added and removed across generations of the same line.
Very old phones may have NFC hardware with software support that has not aged well, which is a different situation from having none.
For a public deployment, none of this is worth predicting. Assume some visitors have no NFC, and give them a printed code alongside the tag.
Frequently asked questions
Is NFC standard on all phones now?
It is common and not universal, particularly in budget ranges. Regional variants of the same model can also differ.
Where is the NFC setting on iPhone?
There is not one. The capability is present on supported models and managed by the system rather than exposed as a toggle.
Can NFC be added to a phone?
No. It is hardware, so a phone without a coil and a controller cannot gain them. Accessories that claim otherwise are doing something different.
My settings show nothing. Is that conclusive?
Not by itself, since labelling varies. Try a known good tag, which is the check that decides.