To establish communication between a host and a client, electromagnetic field is generated across coils disposed in the devices. The magnetic field generated across the coil disposed in the host is used to power the client and to transfer data to the client. The data received by the client may, in turn, be used to configure the client. To receive data from the client, the coil disposed in the host is placed in a quiescent data recovery mode. The data to be transmitted from the client to the host generates variations in magnetic field formed across the client's coil. These variation, in turn, form variations in the magnetic field across the coil disposed in the host, and are subsequently decoded by the host to detect the data transmitted from the client. Supporting circuitry in both the host and client convert the electromagnetic variations into a stream of bits.