From today, residents of the Ile-de-France region can create a virtual Navigo pass on their iPhone. We explain the steps to follow, the advantages of the service, but also its limitations.
Unless you have an Android smartphone, if you travel to Île-de-France, the Navigo pass or a Navigo Easy is still slipped into your wallet. This plastic card is becoming obsolete for iPhone users.
This May 21, 2024, the iPhone becomes eligible for the virtual Navigo pass. And it’s a first in Europe! Until then, only a few American and Asian cities had taken the plunge with Apple to fully integrate their transport services into iOS.
Which iPhone and Apple Watch are compatible?
The dematerialized Navigo pass arrives at the same time on iPhone and Apple Watch. All iPhones are compatible from XS onwards. They must be updated to iOS 17.5 to access the transport card service. On the watch side, it is accessible on all Apple Watches since Series 6.
The icing on the cake, for the occasion Apple announces that “Real-time transit information in Apple Maps is available in Paris to help users navigate the city.”
How to use your iPhone to take the metro?
The virtual Navigo pass uses the iPhone’s NFCor near field communication, the same as for contactless payment.
Its activation does not require any identification. If the phone is lost or stolen, it can be used by anyone, but it is possible to recover purchased titles by importing your account to a new phone.
Another fear that one may have is the 0% battery when validating their transport ticket. Well on iPhone this is not a problem since Apple’s Transport Express mode allows the virtual Navigo pass to work even when the iPhone is turned off.
How do I add T+ tickets to my iPhone?
This is the easiest to use since it requires no installation and no account. Everything goes here through Apple Maps (Apple Wallet), preinstalled on the phone.
By clicking on the button “+” at the top right of the Apple application, several choices for adding cards are available to you, including one for a transport card. In the France section appears the field “Navigo” which brings together the different proposals available.
Besides the Single metro ticket, there are also booklets of 10 full-fare or reduced-fare tickets, airport tickets (RoissyBus, Orlybus) and a day pass. Prices are the same as at the counter.
Once you have decided on an option, simply pay via Apple Pay or credit card for the title(s) to be added to Apple Cards.
| Apple Maps | Île-de-France Mobilities | |
|---|---|---|
| T+ Tickets | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reduced T+ tickets | ✅ | ✅ |
| T+ notebooks (10 tickets) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Station to station tickets | ❌ | ❌ |
| Day package | ✅ | ✅ |
| Weekly package | ❌ | ✅ |
| Month package | ❌ | ✅ |
| Year package | ❌ | ❌ |
| OrlyBus | ✅ | ✅ |
| RoissyBus | ✅ | ✅ |
| Special packages (young weekend, anti-pollution | ❌ | ✅ |
| Freedom+ | ❌ | ❌ |
How do I add a Navigo plan to my iPhone?
Apple Cards does not allow you to purchase a plan, except for the day plan. To go further, you have to go through the Île-de-France Mobilités application. It accommodates weekly and monthly packages.
Île-de-France Mobilités requires the creation of a customer area which requires a few trips to your mailbox to validate the process.
Then go to the tab ” Purchase “, “On my iPhone” and select the line ” New user “. There, the third occurrence leads to forfeits. Monthly or weekly, both require a photo. All that remains is to pay via Apple Pay or by credit card.
How to add transport tickets on Apple Watch?
The Île-de-France Mobilités application allows you to choose between iPhone and Apple Watch. Impossible to use your plan on both simultaneously. However, you can easily transfer the Navigo pass from an iPhone to your watch using the Apple Watch application and its section “Cards and Apple Pay”.
Can you transfer a Navigo pass from Android to iPhone?
No, it is impossible to transfer a virtual Navigo pass from an Android smartphone to an iPhone and vice versa.
The only possibility currently offered is the transfer of a virtual Navigo pass from one iPhone to another iPhone. To do this, you must select “I would like to find my existing titles” in the purchasing process of the Île-de-France Mobilités application.
Can you add an active Navigo pass to your iPhone?
No, a physical Navigo pass cannot be imported into Île-de-France Mobilités or Apple Cartes. It is best to consume it completely before creating and loading a virtual Navigo pass.
How to add an annual Navigo pass or an Imagin’R to the iPhone?
Currently, annual and Imagin’R subscriptions are not available on iPhone. They will only be added at the end of 2025 since their subscription has no impact on the congestion of counters and ATMs in stations.
Same story for Origin/Destination tickets (from station to station). For them, you must keep your physical Navigo or continue to buy cardboard tickets at the station.