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Troubleshooting card read results

The reader won't accept the project cards

Details

Issue 1
The reader's RFID interface might not be configured at all. Then the reader's Autoread mode is disabled, i.e. the reader doesn't autonomously scan for cards.

Solution 1
Create a configuration with an Autoread component. The easiest way to do this is Autoread Wizard.

Issue 2
The reader's RFID interface might not be configured for that card type.
This means that the configuration contains an Autoread component, but not for the required card type.

Solution 2
Add an Autoread component for the required card type to the configuration.

Issue 3
The reader may not be compatible with this card type. For example, you may be using a 125 kHz card, while the reader only supports 13.56 MHz cards.

Solution 3
Check which frequencies the reader supports.

Issue 4
You try to read HID Prox, Indala, or Keri cards with a reader that doesn't have a Prox license (learn more).

Solution 4
Order a BALTECH LicenseCard to equip the reader with a license.

Issue 5
You try to read HID Prox, Indala, or Keri cards with a reader that has the wrong Prox license type. For readers purchased between 1 June 2020 and 1 February 2025, a discounted Prox license SE was available for readers with an HID iCLASS SE Processor. However, if no HID iCLASS SE Processor is inserted in such a reader, it cannot read the cards.

Solution 5
Insert an HID iCLASS SE Processor (also known as "iCLASS SAM") into the reader to use the existing license, or equip the reader with a standard license. To do so, you can use a BALTECH LicenseCard.

Issue 6
You try to read HID Prox, Indala, or Keri cards with an ACCESS200 reader that is configured for Wiegand. In this case, the reader cannot read the project cards, even if it has a Prox license.

Solution 6
Update the reader firmware to 1100 v2.05.00 or above.

Issue 7
There may be general issue with the reader hardware or firmware.

Solution 7
See these entries.

I configured the reader to scan for PCNs and UIDs as a fallback, but all I get is UIDs

Details

Issue
The RFID interface components may be processed in the wrong order. If a configuration contains multiple RFID interface components (as in your case for UID and PCN), the reader processes them from top to bottom for every card - and it stops as soon as it gets the first result. If the UID component is processed first, it will always produce a result (as every card has a UID), and so the PCN component will never be used.

Solution
Change the order of RFID interface components in your configuration, so that the PCN component comes first in the list.

  1. Open the configuration in BALTECH ConfigEditor.
  2. At the top of the window, right click a component and use the Up and Down options to change the order.

Screenshot: Change the order of configuration components in BALTECH ConfigEditor

The UID is returned differently than by certain non-BALTECH readers

Details

Issue
BALTECH readers rotate UIDs of ISO 14443 Type A cards bytewise by default, i.e. the first byte is swapped with last, the second byte with the second-last, etc. Certain non-BALTECH readers don't do this, so their output may differ.

Solution
Create a configuration containing an Autoread UID component for your card type and enable the checkbox Rotate Bytewise. This will swap the bytes back to create compatibility with the non-BALTECH readers concerned.

Using Autoread HID Prox Number in ConfigEditor doesn't return the printed card number of my HID Prox card

Details

Issue
The Autoread HID Prox Number component in ConfigEditor covers the most common HID Prox formats. However, there are many more in the field. If your card uses such a less common format, the component won't provide the printed card number as expected.

Solution
Order a custom configuration. As a basis, please provide us the card's raw data stream.

To obtain the raw data stream:

  1. Open the latest version of BALTECH ConfigEditor.
    Download it here as part of BALTECH ToolSuite.
  2. Click Start Autoread Wizard.
  3. In the RFID Interface section, select HID Prox. The other settings don't matter.

  4. Click Create Configuration.

    Screenshot: Select *HID Prox* in the Autoread Wizard of BALTECH ConfigEditor

  5. Connect a test reader and click Test Full Configuration with Host System.
    Select a suitable option to deploy the configuration to the test reader.

    Screenshot: Button "Test Full Configuration with Test Reader" in BALTECH ConfigEditor

  6. Open BALTECH ID-engine Explorer (also part of BALTECH ToolSuite).

  7. Click Test VHL File.

    Screenshot: Button "Test VHL File" in BALTECH ID-engine Explorer

  8. Present a test card to the reader.

  9. Click Select Card (Reselect = True).

  10. In the Number of Bytes field, enter 16 and click Read.
    If you get an error, change Number of Bytes to 8 and click Read again.
    The raw data stream is shown on the right.

    Screenshot: View raw data stream of an HID Prox card in BALTECH ID-engine Explorer

Send us the raw data stream together with the printed card number.
If possible, provide these values for several test cards.

Autoread works in ID-engine Explorer, but not in my test application

Details

Issue
When you switch from BALTECH ID-engine Explorer to your test application, Autoread mode is automatically disabled on the test reader.

Solution
Disconnect the reader from your computer when you're done in ID-engine Explorer, and then reconnect the reader to start testing in your test application.

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