What do you risk if you run out of battery?

For several years now, it has been possible to use your Samsung smartphone as a transport ticket to travel in the Île-de-France region. The system was then expanded to the rest of the Android fleet, then to iPhones, and will ultimately allow paper tickets to be completely replaced, in addition to physical Navigo passes.

Very practical on a daily basis, the arrival of the Navigo pass on smartphone allows you to avoid long queues to recharge your card on the first day of the month, but also ensures passengers never forget their physical transport ticket. It is still necessary to ensure that the service is perfectly functional.

Can I validate my Navigo pass without a battery?

The Navigo pass on a smartphone uses the NFC chip of your phone to work. Once it is loaded with your transport tickets, it will work independently of your device, even if it is turned off, or therefore runs out of battery. On its official website, the RATP specifies: “it is preferable to have battery power and the phone to be turned on to validate a title, but the application does not need to be open“. However, the vast majority of phones allow you to validate your Navigo pass when they are turned off. The only real prerogative is to have battery power and a good Internet connection when purchasing and loading the titles on the smartphone.

We tested the validation without battery on Androidand we are able to confirm that the device works perfectly. If the Parisian transport organization advises checking on a case-by-case basis, depending on the model used, our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra fulfilled its role perfectly, by validating our transport ticket even though it was turned off. For iPhones, the official IDFM website indicates that it is necessary to first activate the mode transport expresswhich allows you to benefit from an additional battery reserve, even when the device is flat.

Beware of the fine

There is theory and practice. If you are not actually required to have turned on your smartphone to validate your transport ticket, things get complicated in the event of a check. In this specific case, indicates Île-de-France Mobilités, it will be necessary to be able to present your photo to the inspectors from the application, in the “My Account“. An operation which inevitably requires battery power to be carried out.

If it is impossible to prove your identity, you risk amfixed charge from 50 to 180 € for failure to present your transport ticket. It is therefore better to provide a backup battery to avoid the risk of a breakdown in the middle of a train.

In summary

You do not need your smartphone to be turned on to validate your transport tickets, because the NFC chip works even without a battery
In the event of a check, however, you must be able to present your profile photo in the application