Which devices can read tally bands: Android phones in Chrome, USB and Bluetooth readers on a laptop, and why iPhones cannot.
Android phones and tablets read bands by tapping, in Chrome, with NFC turned on. This is what almost every club uses, and any reasonably recent Android handset works. The first time, Chrome may show an Enable NFC tap button: press it once to allow it.
iPhones cannot. Apple does not let a web page read NFC, so an iPhone cannot tally by tap however new it is. Everything else works on an iPhone - the registration desk, the beach master and the safety lead's screen. Borrow one Android phone for tagging and tallying, or use a reader on a laptop.
A USB or Bluetooth reader on a laptop works in any browser and is quicker than a phone at a busy desk. Any reader sold as “keyboard wedge” or “keyboard emulation” will do, and several can feed one laptop at once.
You need 13.56 MHz NFC bands. Most wristbands sold as “RFID” are 125 kHz, which no phone can read, and they look identical. Tally tags: what to buy explains what to look for, or order branded bands from the shop.