As we have already explained, not all RFID is the same as NFC, and not all NFC is the same. But don’t worry, we’ll show you how you can easily find the right NFC implant for you. Please note that we also provide test implants for almost every NFC implant so that you can finally check for yourself whether the implant is right for you.
You already have a transponder in the form of a check card or key fob? Super! Then we can try to read out the transponder right away. If it is an NFC transponder, i.e. a 13.56MHz chipset, it is made especially easy for you. Since NFC transponders are usually also designed for use with smartphones, access cards, etc. that also have this technology can also be read easily with an NFC-enabled smartphone. For this purpose, we recommend the NFC TagInfo app from NXP or NFC Tools. Both apps are free and can be downloaded from the respective mobile app store.
As soon as you have started the app, you can read which chipset it is at the top of the first line. In this case, the chipset MIFARE Classic 1K is shown there. This is often used for simple access control and could even be cloned with our X3 Elite. However, there are still quite a few other transponder types that are used and are only partially compatible with smartphones. Here is an overview of our matching product:
MIFARE Classic 1K or 4K – X3 or X3 Elite
NTAG216 – X2
DESFire EV1 – X4
iCode SLI – X Range
VIGO – On request
If you have e.g. If you read in a DESFire EV2, this does not necessarily mean that the X4, i.e. the DESFIre EV1, is not compatible. Whether the existing access system can also process EV1 transponders can only be ensured with a test implant.
The smartphone does not respond and the transponder cannot be read. What now?
In this case, it will most likely be an LF, i.e. low frequency chipset. These chipsets were not designed for smartphones and also do not have the necessary frequency of 13.56MHz but 125KHz. This makes it difficult to read conventional readers / smartphones, so that the chipset type cannot be determined exactly. However, it is possible to try out our LF RFID implants “at random” to see if a model is compatible. Our test implants can be exchanged within 30 days without any problems.
