Chip was locked when I installed it..No help from DT!

xEM tag – 125kHz ISO11784/785 ATA5577 RFID chip

Please see the following email chain (doesn’t include the first 1-2 emails-- Start from bottom to top when reading), I have had issues with my implant that has been locked since purchase, I just want everyone to be aware and on the lookout for this.

As of now it has been around a year since I had my implant done and not been able to use it. I was offered a refund but I feel that is unacceptable for a device embedded in my skin.

Other than that there is nothing I can do as I cannot afford the high end reader/writer required to unlock the chip.
Please be aware that if your chip does the same you might have to end up cutting yourself open to retrieve this device out of you skin.

According to the website all chips are tested and verified before packaging in the needle but obviously someone was not doing their job, and being as you can not verify it before injection there was no way for me to have known.


From: Amal Graafstra
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 3:24 AM
To: Michael
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hey Michael,

Sorry… email is a wasteland at this point… it’s why I set up the forum and pointed our support link to it. It’s almost impossible to keep up with the flood of stuff hitting my inbox lately. I happened to catch this email while waiting at an airport.

My loaner was immediately stolen by a guy who has dropped off the net and will not respond to my emails or forum posts… that really sucks. My best offer is that I can refund your purchase price and when we finally get a device design that can fix the situation you can hopefully resolve it. Let me know your paypal address and I’ll send the purchase price to you.

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, WA (GMT-8)


From: Michael
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 3:01 AM
To: Amal Graafstra
Subject: Fw: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hello,

I would appreciate a response, I have been nothing but patient but this is very unprofessional of you.


From: Michael
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2017 4:37 PM
To: Amal Graafstra
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hello,

I emailed you again about a month back…just need an update on what can be done about my situation. I’m getting to the point where I feel like something needs to be done about this I’ve been sitting here with a chip in my hand that is useless and I’m starting to lose faith in all of this. Like I said in my last email, whatever you can do would be appreciated whether we get the loaner you’re talking about or if your ever in Vegas I can meet up so we can get this resolved. I’m not looking for anything but to get this chip operational

Thank You


From: Amal Graafstra
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 4:15:38 PM
To: ‘Michael’
Subject: RE: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hi Michael,

At this point the only option is to use a proxmark iii to overwrite data to the xEM tag. These are quite expensive, so we’re going to look to offering a loaner so people can fix their xEMs. Once we have our own cloner hardware, we’ll offer discounts to people who’ve purchased the current xEM Cloner

Amal


From: Michael
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2016 5:20 PM
To: Amal Graafstra
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hey just wondering if you have any news for me on this one?
I think I’ve ran out of ideas myself


From: Amal Graafstra
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2016 11:09:07 AM
To: Michael
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

no not bugging me… we’re trying to figure out a low cost replacement for the cloner… something open source that can be built cheaply and also fix tags like this.

the cloner sets a password on the xEM so that might be necessary to authenticate with first before you can write to the xEM… I don’t think the RFIDler can do that.

We are progressing with our cloner idea and I have an EE on the case now so we should have something in the next few months. I know that’s not a great timeline, but things are progressing.

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, USA (GMT-8)
o: +1.360.610.7381


On 6/15/2016 8:02:33 AM, Michael wrote:
Yea I tried to just write to it as well, in emulate mode it continuously tries to write as I move the coil around at different angles and positions. Sorry don’t mean to bug you so much just really trying to figure this out

Thanks again


From: Amal Graafstra
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 5:11:28 PM
To: Michael
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

hmm can you just tell RFIDler to write to the tag without trying to read it? for example with the expensive proxmark iii i cannot read a borked xEM tag either but i can issue a write command with random ID number and afterward it works again.

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, USA (GMT-8)
o: +1.360.610.7381


On 6/14/2016 8:45:34 AM, Michael wrote:
Hey, hope you been well. Just wanted to give you an update. I recently ordered a RFIDLER from Aperture Labs and just received it. I was messing around with it yesterday and unfortunately I’m getting the same problems. Again I tested it and I was able to read/write/emulate different RFID badges no problem but still can’t detect my implant. RFIDLER has a sniffer mode that continuously searches for any signal and an auto tag feature that automatically sniffs all tag types and with either I still can’t connect to my chip no matter what angle I try to place the coil. I’m kind of at a loss here and I think I’ve tried everything I can…I can make a video showing me attempting to read the implant using both readers and showing everything I’ve tried if this would help.


From: Amal Graafstra
Sent: Friday, May 6, 2016 9:47:25 AM
To: Michael
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Hmm, the only thing I can think of is to rotate your chip angle so you approach the keypad at 0 degree, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees… like you’re playing spin the bottle on top of the keypad with your chip.

I will order this keypad now to see if there is a fundamental design issue with the RFID antenna in the keypad… it may just be that the problem has to do with design of the reader antenna.

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, USA (GMT-8)
o: +1.360.610.7381


On 5/5/2016 6:48:41 AM, Michael wrote:
Ok sorry for the delay. So later that day I went home and was trying to add it to my system and it wasn’t picking up my chip so I started messing with the antenna on the reader and accidentally broke something. So long story short I had to order a new entry keypad for my system and it just got here yesterday. I still cannot get it to pick up my chip.

I’ve watched all the videos on how to read the chip since it is a rectangle coil on my entry keypad and you have to find the sweet spot to find it to read the chip and I messed with it for a good amount of time and I could not get it to pick up my chip.


From: Michael
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2016 12:05:58 PM
To: Amal Graafstra
Subject: Re: ==========> Dangerous Things: Implant defective?

Oh I’m not sure, I figured the implant came blank so I’ve been trying to duplicate a key that it came with into the implant. But if that’s not the case I will try to add it to the system when I get home from work


On Apr 15, 2016, at 12:00 PM, Amal Graafstra wrote:
does the xEM implant work with the EM access control system? It should because the xEM is preprogrammed in EM mode. just see if you can add it to that system, just as a test.

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, USA (GMT-8)
o: +1.360.610.7381


On 4/15/2016 11:39:03 AM, Michael wrote:
That sounds like a possibility for sure, I’ve been wanting to get a better cloner I just haven’t had the money for it so I haven’t been able to test it with anything else. I tried a EM tag from this access control system I bought for home and I’ve tried my HID badge from work.


On Apr 15, 2016, at 11:34 AM, Amal Graafstra wrote:
Hmm, ok. It may be the cloner actually. It’s much more likely that the cloner is not well tuned and unable to talk to the implant than it is the implant is non-functional. Cards are much easier for a detuned cloner to talk to than a small implant. I’ve had one other case where this has happened and the cloner was the issue.

Have you had a chance to try reading the implant with any other readers? What are you trying to clone to the xEM? Is it an HID card?

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, USA (GMT-8)
o: +1.360.610.7381


On 4/15/2016 11:01:03 AM, Michael wrote:
It’s the xEMi implant and I bought the xEM cloner directly from you. It doesn’t pick up the implant at all, I’ve even tried removing the cover/case on the cloner to get the coil part as close to my implant as possible. I’ve also tested the cloner on blank cards and I can easily read and write to and from those. The implant is close to my skin and protrudes a lot when I clench my fist so it’s definitely not implanted too deep. I’ve tried to clone both EM and HID and get the same result with both.


On Apr 15, 2016, at 10:19 AM, Amal Graafstra wrote:

Hi Michael,

Sorry if I missed your previous email. What type of implant is it and how are you attempting to write to it? Can you read from it? Is it only writing that is an issue?

Thanks,
Amal Graafstra
Dangerous Things
Seattle, WA (GMT-8)


On 4/15/16, 7:40 AM, “Dangerous Things” wrote:

Message Body:

Well its like day 34 and my implant still cannot be written to. I messaged you when I first noticed this problem but I never received a response. Please email me ASAP and handle this situation.

According to the website all chips are tested and verified before packaging in the needle but obviously someone was not doing their job, and being as you can not verify it before injection there was no way for me to have known.

The cloner caused the issue. This is a well known issue now, and is stated as such on our cloner page. The tag was tested and in working order when it left our facility. Your interaction with it using the cloner is the cause of the problem.

I was offered a refund but I feel that is unacceptable for a device embedded in my skin.

What do you want then? Refund + replacement? Let me know and we’ll work with you to make it right.