Single-Use NFC Temperature Loggers for Cold-Chain Shipments

How an NFC temperature logger works

Three steps and no infrastructure: the tag logs on its own during the trip, then hands its full history to a phone at the destination.

• Activate: press the button three times within two seconds. A three-second red flash confirms it, and the first reading comes 10 minutes later.
• Pack and ship: drop the tag into the parcel, cooler or pallet. It records every 10 minutes on its own, with no gateway, WiFi or SIM.
• Tap and upload: at the destination, anyone with the free LoggerFlex NFC app on iPhone or Android holds the phone over the tag, and the full history uploads to LF Cloud in about five seconds.

Microthermo specifications

What one tag does, from activation to report. For the measuring range and accuracy, ask your distributor for the current Microthermo datasheet.

• Single-use NFC temperature data logger with a reading every 10 minutes
• Measuring range: -20 °C to +70 °C (-4 °F to +158 °F)
• 4,000 records, about 27 days; after that the oldest readings are overwritten
• Battery life two to three months from activation; one-year shelf life unused
• Readout by NFC tap with the free app for iOS and Android, which has no login or password
• Waterproof and fully submersible; about 9 g, 72 × 49 × 5 mm
• No on-device alarm and no live link in transit; out-of-range readings are analysed in LF Cloud after the scan
• PDF and Excel reports from LF Cloud

Who uses single-use NFC temperature loggers

Any organization that has to show the condition of a shipment that never comes back. Regulations are named for context only: Microthermo supports your own procedures, and qualifying the device and deciding whether to accept a shipment remain with your quality team.

• Pharmaceutical distributors and 3PLs: if your procedures follow Health Canada's GUI-0069 guidance, the tag helps you keep the per-shipment temperature record they require.
• Vaccine redistribution to clinics and pharmacies: send a tag with each cooler; the clinic scans it on arrival without an account of its own.
• Clinical specimen couriers: one tag per transport box, read with a phone at reception.
• Food and seafood shippers: for SFCR licence holders, the tag helps you keep the per-shipment temperature record your own procedures require.

Chain of custody and your data

The LoggerFlex NFC app has no login or password, so a driver, receiver or warehouse clerk can pull the trip off a tag without LoggerFlex credentials. Role-based access in LF Cloud can prevent the person who taps the tag from viewing the data. LF Cloud is hosted in Canada with Canadian data residency, and the account owner exports PDF or Excel reports for transportation, daily averages, peak points, and food, drug and vaccine safety.

Single-use NFC vs reusable cellular loggers

A single-use tag proves what happened once the shipment arrives: it suits parcels, coolers and pallets you do not get back and needs no gateway, WiFi or SIM. A reusable cellular logger such as EDGE Thermo Cellular uploads over a built-in eSIM and alarms while the load is still moving. You can run both: tags on outbound parcels, cellular loggers on your own vehicles.

How to buy Microthermo

LoggerFlex is a B2B manufacturer. Microthermo is supplied through authorized distributors, who quote quantities, lead time and local stock for your region; we do not publish list prices. Unused tags keep for one year, so order against about a year of expected shipments. Lab, packaging and cold-chain suppliers can become distributors.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Microthermo NFC logger, and when should I use one?

Microthermo (part nfcmic) is a single-use NFC temperature logger you drop into a parcel, cooler or pallet before it ships. It runs on its own with no gateway, no Wi-Fi and no SIM. At the destination someone with the free LoggerFlex NFC app taps a phone to the tag and the full trip history uploads to LF Cloud, where the shipment report is built. Use it when you need per-shipment proof of cold-chain condition on parcels you do not get back, rather than continuous live monitoring of a fixed room.

How do I start a tag before it ships?

Press the tag's power button three times within two seconds. A red flash lasting three seconds confirms it is running. The tag then waits 10 minutes before its first reading, which gives you time to pack it and get it into the refrigerated space before logging starts. After that it records on its own with no further handling. There is no pairing, no hotspot, no serial number to register and no Wi-Fi step anywhere in this flow — activation is the button press and nothing else.

How long does one tag log, and what happens when it fills up?

The tag captures a reading every 10 minutes and holds 4000 records, about four weeks of continuous logging. When memory is full it overwrites the oldest records, so the tag keeps running but the start of the trip is lost. Battery life is 2 to 3 months from activation. For journeys longer than four weeks, or where the earliest hours are the part you have to prove, use a reusable EDGE cellular logger that syncs as it travels rather than a single tag.

What app reads the tags, and does the person scanning need an account?

The free official LoggerFlex NFC app, on the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android. On first launch you choose a language and theme, then enter an email address that is already registered on a free LoggerFlex cloud account. There is no login or password in the app itself. The email only routes scanned data to that account, so the person scanning — a driver, a receiver, a warehouse clerk — does not have to be the account owner or hold any LoggerFlex credentials of their own.

How do I scan a tag? My phone keeps losing the read.

Lay the tag landscape on a flat surface first. On iPhone, overlap the phone's top edge over the tag by a few centimetres and press Start Scanning. On Android the app enters scan mode by itself; hold the top half of the phone over the tag, with the tag about 2 cm (1 inch) below the top of the phone. Do not move the phone or the tag while the progress bar runs. If the read is interrupted you have to start it again from the beginning.

Where does the data go, and how do I get a report out of it?

Once the read reaches 100% you can name the sensor and press Upload; make sure the phone is connected to the internet at that point. The data lands in LF Cloud, hosted in Canada, with Canadian data residency. The account owner then signs in at app.loggerflex.com, opens that sensor card and goes to Advanced Reports to extract PDF or Excel reports for transportation, vaccine safety or daily averages over any interval. A free LoggerFlex cloud account is all that is needed to receive the scan.

Can the person who scans the tag also read the temperature data?

Only if you let them. Role-based access in LF Cloud lets the person who taps to extract the data be blocked from reading it, so a courier or receiving clerk can pull a trip off a tag without opening the record. Device sharing uses five roles — Owner, Editor, Viewer, Silent Viewer and Service and Maintenance — granted per device by email invitation; adding new people requires Premium Access, which every device includes for its first year. Only the cloud users you authorize see the temperature history and the reports built from it.

Will a tag survive wet ice, gel packs and humid containers?

Yes. The tag is fully submersible, so it can travel in wet ice, sit against gel packs or ride inside a humid container where a USB stick cannot go. It is flat and light, about 9 g at 72 x 49 x 5 mm, so it lies against the product instead of taking up payload space. The measuring range is -20 °C to +70 °C (-4 °F to +158 °F). For accuracy and the remaining environmental limits, use the Microthermo datasheet on the datasheets page or ask your distributor for the current sheet.

Should I use single-use NFC tags or a reusable cellular logger for shipments?

Use Microthermo when the proof only has to exist at the end of the trip — it is built to stay with a parcel you never get back. Use a reusable cellular logger when you need alarms while the load is still moving: EDGE Thermo Cellular covers -55 C to +125 C on a built-in eSIM that works in over 170 countries. EDGE GEO adds battery-efficient, non-real-time geo-location to that temperature record and uploads trip reports for the route. Many customers run both — tags on outbound parcels, cellular loggers on their own vehicles.

How do I order more tags, and how long do they keep in the stockroom?

Microthermo is supplied through your authorized LoggerFlex distributor, who quotes quantities, lead time and local stock for your region. LoggerFlex is a B2B manufacturer and does not sell hardware direct or publish list prices, so start on the distributors page to find your partner, or use the contact form to be routed to one and to talk to an engineer about volumes. Unused tags carry a published one-year shelf life, so order against the shipping volume you expect in a year rather than stockpiling further ahead.