Has anyone successfully tested a NeXT with the new AMAG Symmetry Blue “transition” readers? www.amag.com/blue (Datasheet)
They are supposed to read 125khz HID Prox cards and continue to support those while migrating to a mobile-phone-based bluetooth key. My NeXT absolutely will not register with any of them in my testing so far.
My building is “upgrading” to these apparently. Anyone have a success story with them?
I’ve noticed they are WAY less sensitive to traditional HID prox keys - they have to physically touch the reader, keeping the antenna within ~1cm to read. Maybe NeXT just doesn’t transmit strong enough?
Based on the app reviews on Android (2 5*, 1 3*, 3 1*, all of the reviews are negative) and the overall rating on the apple app store (2.6) you should tell your building management to not bother.
It sounds like the app is crap and the readers not much better.
Oof, that’s discouraging. I’m just a lowly renter, I don’t get a vote. Our HID Prox system was working great for me and I’m super bummed about it. I stopped carrying any keys at all more than a year ago, just relying on my NeXT.
I’m definitely going to make a fuss but everything I’ve ever objected to has fallen on deaf ears. They are still sandblasting my car in the garage every week with a leaf-blower and calling it “cleaning” despite my complaints.
Whenever dealing with commercial access control, you need to realize that the readers capabilities don’t mean much… on their own anyway. What really matters is the controller and how the system is configured to support various tag types. The reader of course needs to support the chip type, but that doesn’t mean it will be supported it just means it can be supported. It’s up to management and the security person to configure the system to support any of the chip types the reader might be compatible with.
Personally, if my landlord (or employer) demanded that I have a cell phone so that they can use a bluetooth app for access control I would expect them to provide an alternative or pay for the phone.
They are obviously following the “we don’t have to pay for credentials, we’ll save money” approach.
@amal I get your point. They seem to have these configured for HID Prox 125khz because all the legacy fobs work with them post-upgrade. They just don’t work very well (very short range). But that seems to be their transition plan, to keep all the legacy fobs working. So in theory my NeXT would work (cloned from those same fobs) if the range were there.
@Zwack I agree with you, I don’t think smartphone ownership should be required to enter your own home. I’m very annoyed by this whole thing. I’ve lived here for 10 years in a rent-controlled apartment but this might push me over the edge to move if it’s implemented badly enough.