[Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Questions and Answers] kw1mx5:
although I always used to think the NFC icon which showed on previous devices on the status bar was big and ugly, I had almost no use whatsoever for the NFC function here in the UK so I didn't switch it on and hardly ever got to see it.

Now that finally Google has managed to bring some banks on board with NFC based Android Pay and you can actually use your device to buy real stuff in the real world, NFC is just starting to look like a highly desirable function.

I work in banking. Banks are really stressed out about risk. Getting banks to agree to use your payment service is a battle. They have to make changes to their banking systems, policies, customer agreements, website text - yeah even that can be a battle. My own bank took about a year to get the main customer telephone number corrected when they changed it. Then they have to train staff and add additional security procedures, problem resolution procedures and systems and ultimately monitoring. It takes time and costs money. Banks like money, as long as they don't have to spend it themselves. Banks will use any excuse they can to avoid spending money and implementing something they don't have to and don't want to.

Having a facility running on your device which could be remotely triggered, potentially debiting up to £30 (or, admittedly with extra verification, £100) a shot is handy - but banks might look askance at you if you tell them that you don't know if it's switched on or not.

Finally!! That horrible NFC icon that's been bugging android device users by sitting there looking ugly on their status bars has a use!! ....except.... many android device owners are now reporting that it has gone... vanished!

You switch on NFC in settings and nope! no NFC icon on the status bar.

I've been having a discussion with Samsung support about this via twitter who insist that it should be there (I agree with them :D ) but on my Sim-Free Galaxy S7 edge, it isn't.

They're urging me to go through all the fun of a factory reset (take two aspirin and go away!). I'm not all that keen on the idea, you understand.

I'd appreciate if any Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, or heck, any Galaxy S7 users too would be kind enough to advise if they get to see the NFC icon or perhaps kind enough to confirm that they do not see it on their status bar when they switch on NFC.

If any of you guys do see the icon, which mobile network supplied your handset or is it sim free? The android version / compilation information from Settings, About Phone would be extra heplful.

Sure, I know how to check NFC status the longhand way, but Android Pay is intended to be a payment system that even muppets that can't remember PIN numbers can cope with (hey, even I forget PIN numbers too sometimes so I'm not being mean here just because I work for a bank).

Google is getting a lot of resistance from UK banks who would much rather merely support an elite subset of Apple users who can afford the latest devices using Apple Pay. Doubts about ability even to determine whether such a facility is actually active or not are not going to make adoption requests any more persuasive…. and then Samsung themselves are hoping to persuade UK banks to adopt Samsung Pay which sometimes uses NFC, especially in the UK, and I know for a fact the banks are havering towards rejecting Samsung Pay.

SO guys, do you see the NFC icon on your status bar when the function is switched on ?

Sorry for the long post - I did try to make this entertaining :)

p.s. I've heard that some Droid Turbo and Xperia Z owners have been complaining about this too, so it's not necessarily Samsung specific -there will probably be quite a few devices experiencing this issue.