QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What people ask.
The dock, the app, sessions, and your order. Short answers, and a person to write to at the bottom when yours is not here.
The dock
What is ANKOR?
A place on the wall for your phone. In the centre of the ring sits an NFC chip. Dock the phone and the app starts a session that keeps the apps you chose quiet until you dock again. Assembled by hand in Basel.
Does it need power or Wi‑Fi?
No. The chip is passive and the dock connects to nothing. A session starts over NFC, a direct exchange between the dock and your phone. Your phone keeps its own signal for whatever you use during the day.
How do I mount it?
Two steel plates sit on the back, each on a magnet with an adhesive film on the outside. On a magnetic surface, lift the plates off and place ANKOR directly. On a wall or door, peel the films, press ANKOR on for ten seconds, lift it off so the plates stay, then click it back on. Flat, clean and dry surfaces bond best; skip woodchip wallpaper and fresh paint.
Does it work with a phone case?
Yes, with any MagSafe compatible case, and without a case. For other cases there is the ANKOR MagSafe Ring, a thin ring that sticks inside the case. Metal cases and wallet cases with cards inside block NFC.
Does ANKOR charge my phone?
No. ANKOR is a place, not a charger. The phone rests, it does not plug in.
The app
Do I need the app?
Yes. The dock starts a session and the app is what runs it. They are two halves of one product.
Which phones work?
iPhone 12 and later hold by their built-in magnets. Older iPhones and cases without MagSafe work with the ANKOR MagSafe Ring. The app needs iOS 17 or later and is iOS only for now. An Android app is in closed testing.
What does the app cost?
Nothing. It is free, 2.8 MB, with no subscription and no in-app purchases.
What does the app collect?
Nothing. The App Store privacy card lists Data Not Collected for the whole app, which you can check on Apple’s page rather than taking our word for it. Zusammen, the optional friends feature, needs a sign‑in with Apple and shares only your first name, your ANKORED state and your monthly hours with the people you added.
What is Seamless Scan, and why the Shortcuts automation?
Seamless Scan means you never open the app. One NFC automation in Shortcuts (Siri Shortcuts, on every iPhone) tells iOS to start or end a session the moment the phone reads the chip. Set it up once. The app walks you through it during setup and again under Settings.
Where exactly do I hold the phone?
The NFC reader sits at the very top of an iPhone. Hold the top edge to the centre of the ring and keep it still for one to five seconds. A short buzz confirms it. Aim precisely; sometimes it is instant, sometimes it takes a moment.
Can I scan without the automation, or in Airplane Mode?
Yes. In the app, tap the ring, then hold the top edge of the phone to the centre of the ring. In Airplane Mode this is the way, because the iPhone does not read NFC on its own then.
Which apps go quiet?
Everything is the default: all apps and websites, while emergency calls keep working. A profile of your own lets chosen apps through, and a profile with a schedule takes effect at your next dock, so the decision stays yours.
Sessions
How does a session end?
Dock again. The same move that started it ends it. Lifting the phone off changes nothing: everything stays quiet until the next scan.
Can I take the phone with me?
Yes. Leave it hanging or take it along, the session runs either way until you dock again.
Can I still be reached?
Calls always work. Beyond that you choose what a session covers, so anything you leave off the list keeps working.
What if I really need out?
Tap Emergency exit in the app. It asks once, then a thirty second countdown runs with Cancel available the whole time. At zero the session ends. The thirty seconds are there so it stays a choice.
What is Zusammen?
Presence, nothing more. Share a code with a friend and you see each other ANKORED, live, and your hours land side by side each month. No feed, no posts, no ranking.
Your order
What does it cost?
ANKOR in natural oak or matte black is CHF 69. ANKOR Go is CHF 49. ANKOR Two, the aluminium frame with a walnut inlay, is CHF 99 and ships once the first series is out of production. The MagSafe Ring is CHF 6.90, a spare Wall Plate CHF 4.90.
Where do you ship, and how fast?
Within Switzerland, from Basel. Standard delivery is CHF 2.90 and takes three to five business days; express is CHF 4.90 in one to two. From CHF 69 shipping is free. Go and Two get a dispatch date by email once you order, and you can cancel any time before it ships.
Can I return it?
Yes, within fourteen days of delivery, unused and in the original box. A dock that has been mounted with the adhesive plate counts as used, so try it first without mounting. You pay the return shipping, we refund the product price within fourteen days of receiving it. Write to hello@ankor.one with your order number.
What if something is broken?
A defect is a warranty case, not a return. Two years, as Swiss law provides. We repair, replace or refund, and the return shipping is on us.
CONTACT
Still a question?
Write to hello@ankor.one. A person answers, usually within a day. For orders, the same address.
If something does not work, write to us.
Not every question is answered on this site. A person reads every message.