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. Tap the phone on the ring and the app starts a session. The apps you chose stay quiet until you tap again. Assembled by hand in Switzerland.
Does ANKOR 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 ANKOR?
On ANKOR Original 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 ANKOR off so the plates stay, then click ANKOR back on. Flat, clean and dry surfaces bond best; skip woodchip wallpaper and fresh paint. ANKOR comes with its own wall mount, which you screw on or stick on.
Does ANKOR 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. No plug.
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. The Android app is on Google Play and needs Android 7.0 or later.
What does the app cost?
With your ANKOR the app is free for good: anchoring, three profiles, Friends, a three-minute pause, one emergency exit and the analysis of your phone time, with the exact numbers from Apple’s Screen Time for this iPhone. Scan your ANKOR once in the app and the free features are unlocked. ANKOR Member is optional and adds schedules, more profiles and more. You buy Member here in the shop, and on iPhone also in the app.
What does the app collect?
Very little. Your sessions, your profiles and your phone time stay on your phone and are never uploaded. Only Friends and ANKOR Family store anything with us, and only if you sign in: your name, your ANKORED state and your monthly hours, kept in Zurich so your people can see them. If you allow notifications, we also keep the address your phone receives them at. No advertising and no tracking. The details are in the app privacy policy on this site.
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 the phone still for one to five seconds. A short buzz confirms the tap. Aim precisely: the read can be instant or take a moment.
Can I scan without the automation, or in Airplane Mode?
Yes, without the automation: in the app, tap the ring, then hold the top edge of the phone to the centre of the ring. Quicker still: put the ANKOR ring on your Lock Screen. One tap on it opens the scan, and the app shows how to add it under Settings. With Airplane Mode on, the iPhone does not read the chip, so switch it off first.
Which apps are blocked?
The default profile blocks all apps. Apple’s system apps such as Phone and Messages, and ANKOR itself, stay open. You can set up your own profiles and choose which apps are blocked.
Sessions
How does a session end?
Tap again. The same tap that started the session ends the session. Lifting the phone off changes nothing: everything stays quiet until the next scan.
Can I take the phone with me?
Yes. On the wall or in your pocket, the session runs until you tap ANKOR again.
Can I still be reached?
Calls always come through. Beyond that you choose what a session covers, so anything you leave off the list keeps working.
What if I really need out?
For something quick, every session has one three-minute pause, at most one an hour. For a real emergency, tap Emergency exit in the app, wait ten seconds, and the session ends. One emergency exit is free. After that, each further exit costs CHF 4.95 and you can keep up to five in reserve. With Member, emergency exits are included on iPhone and Android. Your ANKOR on the wall always ends a session at no cost.
What is Friends?
Presence, nothing more. Connect with a friend and you see each other ANKORED, live, and your hours land side by side each month. You can cheer a friend on, or nudge one who has been away for a while. No feed, no posts, no ranking.
Your order
What does ANKOR cost?
ANKOR, the aluminium frame with a walnut inlay, is CHF 99. ANKOR Go is CHF 79. ANKOR Original, the limited first series in natural oak or matte black, is CHF 69. The MagSafe Ring is CHF 6.90, a spare Wall Plate for ANKOR Original CHF 4.90.
Where do you ship, and how fast?
Within Switzerland. 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.
Can I return ANKOR?
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 ANKOR first without mounting. You pay the return shipping, we refund the product price within fourteen days of receiving it. Write to support@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 support@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.