How to use the Android mobile electronic DNI reader

It is an essential requirement for almost any management nowadays, to have a digital version of our identification document to prove such efforts. Typically, a reader is needed to connect it to the computer and identify the document. However, thanks to Android and the technological advances of the identity card, it will no longer be such an essential device.

How to have a DNI reader on Android

In the NFC chip of the electronic DNI, various personal information is stored that is accessible when bringing the phone closer to the identity card. Full name, place of birth, address, photograph and even the digitized signature. Now, reading the data is not as simple as bringing the mobile closer to the DNI since the process is a bit more cumbersome: in this way it is avoided that anyone can read the data of a DNI during an oversight by the owner of the card.

• Download the application ‘Example DNIe Reading Data’. It is a safe app and it is developed by the State.
• Open the application and click on ‘Read data’, at the bottom right.
• Click on the ‘+’, where it says ‘Add new DNIe’.

• Enter the ICAN number. It is the number that appears in the lower right corner of the identity card.
• Activate the NFC of your mobile phone and bring it closer to the DNI. Locate the exact area to establish contact and also for data transmission: it usually takes several attempts to read the information.
• The application will read the data and display it on the screen. Additionally, you can choose what data to show from the configuration options (if you want to read the photo field, the signature field …).

The data read will appear on the mobile screen for consultation and will be saved so that you can access them directly from the app, without having to read the card again. Now this is just for information, reading by NFC does not yield data that cannot be seen with the naked eye on the physical identity card (This data cannot be shared either). So what can be done with the electronic ID and an Android mobile? Something very useful: we can identify ourselves in the services of the administration.

Use our Android to identify ourselves with the DNI

With the arrival of the first electronic DNI model, we were able to access the income statement, pay taxes and consult personal information without having to install certificates and directly from the computer: it was enough to have an electronic card reader connected and insert the DNI in said reader. This changes with the DNIe 3.0 since it is not necessary to use a card reader: just use NFC and an Android mobile.

The administration has created an app so that we can identify ourselves on the web with an identity card and an Android mobile with NFC. For this you need an official application: ‘Panel access to the Administration, unique login DNIe’. Thanks to it, it is possible to safely access the Tax Agency, DGT, Social Security and a multitude of other official bodies. Using the application is not too mysterious, but it is somewhat confusing given its outdated interface. It is used like this:

• Open the app and choose the administration service you want to connect to.
• Select from the menu what you will use the ID for.
• Identification shift: click on ‘Add new DNIe’ and perform the steps we took to read the card data (entering the ICAN number, activating the NFC and reading the card).

• The activation panel will upload the digital certificate through the connection and will ask for the access PIN. It is the personal number that they gave you at the police station when you renewed your ID.
• Once you identify yourself, you will access the administration service to carry out the consultations that you consider necessary.

These are the steps to identify yourself and access the administration services from your smartphone, but you may prefer to use a computer for these tasks. Well, you don’t need an electronic card reader since you can connect the mobile to the PC and use the phone’s NFC to authenticate through the DNIe. To do this, you need a third app that we are going to leave below for download.

Therefore, this application can be used with the mobile connected to the PC via USB or via Wi-Fi, download the specific software for the computer and thus you can now download the digital certificate. This will allow you to carry out all the online procedures that we want, with the approval of the institutional web pages.