Keyboard Wedge RFID & NFC Readers: USB, Bluetooth and USB-C

Pick the row that matches your card or tag first, then the connection your host has.

Not sure whether your card is 125 kHz or 13.56 MHz? See 125 kHz vs 13.56 MHz, or send a photo of the card with your RFQ.

A reader can hand data to a computer in three ways. Each suits different software, so choose on purpose.

• USB HID keyboard (keyboard wedge). The reader enumerates as a standard USB keyboard, so the operating system's own driver handles it. Data goes wherever the cursor is, and it works with any program. The limits: the right field must have focus, the host keyboard layout must match what the reader sends, your software cannot tell a card read from typing, and the link is one-way — the application cannot send commands to the reader.
• Virtual COM port. The reader appears as a serial port; your application opens the port and reads the bytes, with or without focus. On this page it is offered on the UHF desktop reader/writers as a customized build and on the USB port of the Q430-M. The 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz USB readers here are keyboard-only; for serial output with those cards, use the RS232 models.
• SDK or PC/SC. None of the 125 kHz or 13.56 MHz readers on this page is a PC/SC or CCID device, and no SDK is documented for them. They cannot read MIFARE sectors, NDEF records or other card memory. If your application needs that, describe the card and the data in your RFQ and we will confirm whether a suitable model is available.

Setup steps and a full comparison are in what is a keyboard wedge.

Most 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz models type a 10-digit decimal number: a 32-bit (4-byte) card number written in decimal and padded with leading zeros. On an EM4100 card that is the last 4 of its 5 ID bytes; on a MIFARE Classic card it is the 4-byte UID. The H510-B Bluetooth pocket reader defaults to 8-digit hexadecimal (4 bytes in hex), with 10-digit decimal and 10-digit hex as options; see how an EM4100 or TK4100 card ID becomes a number. The keypad readers (L310-U, H310-U) send the number followed by Enter, and the Bluetooth readers (H510-B, U510-B, U550-M) and the U220-C append Enter by default. If your software expects another format, ask for a custom output format; it is confirmed in your quotation.

The number a reader types does not always match the number printed on the card. Printed numbers are often in another base or split into a facility code and card number. Check with the card number converter, and see RFID card number formats for how 10-digit decimal, 8-digit hex and Wiegand 26 relate.

To collect numbers in Excel, format the target column as Text first; otherwise Excel drops the leading zeros from a number such as 0004521873. Click the first cell and present the card. On readers that send Enter, the cursor moves down one row after each read. The full walk-through is in how to read RFID card numbers into Excel.

• Android phones: the H220-C 13.56MHz USB-C NFC reader, L220-C 125kHz USB-C EM4100 reader, U220-C USB-C UHF reader and A220-C USB-C FDX-B reader plug into the USB-C port and type into any app. The phone must support USB OTG; see the OTG checklist.
• iPhone, iPad and laptops: the Bluetooth readers pair without a password and work as a keyboard on iOS, Android and Windows. The H510-B USB cable is for charging only; data goes over Bluetooth or the 2.4G receiver. The U550-M UHF pistol-grip handheld adds a phone holder and a rated 0–3 m UHF read range.
• Counters with data entry: L310-U 125kHz keypad reader and H310-U 13.56MHz NFC keypad reader combine a reader with a numeric keypad (0–9, F1–F5, Esc, Clear, Enter) for membership and POS desks. See POS and membership and time and attendance.
• Animal tags, QR codes and magnetic stripes: A110-U and A140-U read 134.2 kHz FDX-B and 125 kHz EMID tags at up to 150 mm. An FDX-B number has 15 digits (a 3-digit country or manufacturer code plus a 12-digit ID), so check on a sample that the typed output carries all the digits your registry stores; see how the 15-digit animal ID is built. Q430-M reads QR codes plus EM and MIFARE cards. M170-U reads tracks 1, 2 and 3 of membership, hotel, ID and attendance cards; see magnetic stripe tracks explained.