Various embodiments of the invention may use a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with a writable non-volatile storage element to receive and store configuration parameters for a device connected to the RFID tag, even if the device itself is powered off. Upon power-up and startup of the device, the device may read the configuration parameters from the RFID tag and install them for its subsequent operation. Some embodiments may work in the opposite direction, by allowing the powered device to write its configuration data into the RFID tag's storage element, whose contents may subsequently be transmitted by the RFID tag to an RFID reader, even if the device is unpowered at the time of transmission.