Got an xEM implant a few weeks ago. Use case is building access on several locations. Primary locations uses EM41xx mode, for which I just ‘enrolled my hand’ in the existing system. But I wanted access to other locations to, where only HID is usable. The primary location is also compatible with HID (we use a single HID based access token for all).
I cloned my HID access token onto the xEM and was able to get into the new locations without any issues. But the ‘primary location’ is now giving me issues. Sometimes I need to keep my hand still for 2 or 3 second on the reader before it works (before it was instant) and sometimes it doesn’t work at all and I have to take my hand away and retry. I’ve been struggling with this for a week now and it’s really annoying … the primary location has the most authentication moments in a day for me, so I’m thinking of putting it back in the old mode, but that will mean I don’t have access to the other location. i would prefer a properly working HID mode, but I’m unable to pinpoint what the actual issue is. If all else fails I will probably just get a second implant
Sounds to me like more of a reader issue… Trying EM for a second or two, then falling back to HID. Only thing I can suggest is a) deal with it, b) get another implant, or c) swap out the readers.
That would make sense if my company issued HID token was showing the same issues. I cloned the token onto my impant, so I would expect them to behave the same ?
I’ve noticed this myself and it’s an issue for all devices and even EM mode xEMs… basically, when you are dealing with a small tag like the xEM, it is extremely sensitive to interference and even detuning issues based on something as simple as humidity or temperature. In other words the threshold for successful reading has an extremely thin margin for the xEM, whereas larger tags like keyfobs and cards have a much broader margin.
Another issue can be related to the saturation process… the way the tag and reader interact magnetically when the tag physically moves into the field. For example, the xEM and xEM Access Controller sometimes has this issue with the xEM in EM mode and I have to either hold it there several seconds or remove it and place it again. It’s rare, but it does happen.
The best thing I can suggest is to try to find a method of approaching the reader that is consistent and brings the tag in a path that glides it across the reader coil in a perpendicular angle. The speed and approach at which you do this should provide better results.
