Vivo smartphone damaged ID card chip, users complain

A Vivo-focused social media group with 33,000 members has been getting dozens of posts about users’ ID card being damaged digitally after making NFC contact with their phones.

The complaints mostly involve high-end Vivo phones such as the X100 Pro, X100 Ultra and X100S Pro, which are not sold in Vietnam and are bought overseas.

Vu Duy Tan’s two ID cards show issues after connecting with a Vivo smartphone. Photo courtesy of Vu Duy Tan

However, there are also some complaints about the X80 Pro, a model Vivo sells in the country.

Vu Duy Tan of HCMC said after using a Vivo phone to connect with his ID card, the latter no longer connected with other smartphones.

He got it replaced but found the same thing happening again.

Dang Tien Dung of Can Tho City also discovered a similar problem with his Vivo X100 Pro.

His ID card used to connect normally with an Oppo phone but stopped doing so after he once used the Vivo phone.

After finding the card could not connect with any other phone, he suspected its chip was damaged.

A Vivo Vietnam spokesperson said some users have reported the issue to the company. Vivo is now investigating the issue.

NFC is a technology found in phones, cards and payment machines. Tech analyst Le Cong Minh Khoi said a card chip could be damaged if a smartphone’s NFC signals are too strong.

A similar thing happens when people put their smartphones next to NFC cards such as hotel door keys for a long time, he added.