I’ve been researching cabinet and desk locks recently, as I will have the xNT in one hand, and the xEM in the other. My desk at work is a metal cabinet, and I’d like to use my x-series tags to unlock it.
What I’ve found so far are things like this:
It notes that it is not strong enough to be used through metal.
Is anyone currently using a cabinet or desk lock that can read through metal? It’s not thick metal at all for my work desk, but it would be great to be able to lock my desk (generally my laptop stays locked in there overnight).
I’ve had mixed results with readers like this… and of course, it will matter what your cabinet is made out of, how thick it is, etc. Metal will definitely be a challenge as well. My guess is that if the lock worked with your xEM through wood, it would still not likely operate well enough to deal with a metal cabinet.
This could potentially compromise the cabinet, but now I’m thinking if there would be a way to either shave down the thickness of the cabinet where the reader on the lock mechanism would be, or hollow out a hole but fill it in with something like a very thin plexiglass or other surface.
Work probably won’t be too stoked if I ever leave my desk/job that I made holes in my desk, but it’s a pretty laid back tech environment and a risk I’m willing to take. Worst they can do is make me pay for a replacement cabinet for the desk, and that price is worth the experiment.