By James Kelly on February 5th, 2020
Whatever type of access control card you’re using, one thing is for sure: if it isn’t working, it’s a major inconvenience. After all, smart cards and proximity cards are the modern-day equivalents to the lock and key. Although card readers can very rarely cause the problem, it’s much more likely to be the card itself.
Smartcard Store only supplies market-leading products from manufacturers such as HID and Paxton meaning issues are rare. But if your access control card has suddenly stopped working it could be for one of the following reasons:
We’ve used our knowledge to go into further detail on some common causes of a non-working access control card. Hopefully, it’ll help you work out why you’re having an issue. So, here’s five of the most common reasons access control cards stop working.
We know we might be stating the obvious here, but let’s start with the basics: if you work in a large workplace with restricted areas, or are trying to gain access outside of your usual hours, your card may be programmed to restrict your access.
This is because in many work places, a key card will be encoded to a specific user. This allows the administrator or security manager to track who is using the cards and where, but also to restrict access as is deemed appropriate for the employee.
It’s worth checking which areas and readers your card is allocated to with your facilities or security manager before jumping to any conclusions about your card, particularly if it is new and has no physical defects.
Similar to the above, if you’re trying to gain access at a certain entrance or at a certain time, check with your security manager or administrator that your card is programmed appropriately.
It’s also possible for an administrator to restrict your access under certain circumstances, such as if you temporarily misplace your card and report it as missing.
Another obvious reason your access control card might not be working is because it is physically damaged. If you use a magnetic stripe card, the iron strips on the back contain particles that can be extremely easily damaged by scratches or marks.
Once the damage has been done, it’ll make the data on the card unreadable when you try and swipe or scan it in a reader, and in most cases won’t be repairable. We advise that you take care of magnetic stripe cards and keep them away from coins, keys and other metal objects that could interfere with the strips.
In the case of contactless cards or proximity cards, it’s difficult to tell if is damaged because all the technology is contained internally. If it is cracked or split and isn’t working though, you can bet the internal antenna or wiring has been compromised.
Proximity and contactless cards might be more durable externally than magnetic stripe cards, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be damaged.
Even if they look intact on the outside, occasionally the bond between the internal chip and antenna can break in the circuit board and, once the signal has been lost, the card won’t be able to transmit its signal to a reader.
This problem is generally caused by abusing the card. That’s to say using it for things other than access control. It can also happen if the card is exposed to moisture or submerged in water. The only solution to this will be replacing the card.
If you’ve ever stayed at a hotel and used a hotel key card, you may be aware of just how easy it can be to scramble data; put it next to your mobile phone or in your wallet and magnetic fields from other cards can become problematic.
That said, it is less likely the higher frequency cards will require a rewrite in the first place because they are the most resilient to magnetic interference.
You should keep magnetic stripe cards – especially lo-co cards – away from magnetised objects and items that contain magnetic materials such as smartphones, while a less obvious item that can pose a problem are the security tags on new clothes and other high-price items.
You can read more about the different frequencies used for magnetic stripe, access control and proximity cards in our full guide here.
If you think your card may be suffering from one of the malfunctions mentioned above, the best thing to do is to talk to your facilities or security manager.
If you need to replace broken or defective access control cards, Smartcard Store stocks a full range of access control products from leading manufacturers including HID, MIFARE, PAC and Paxton.
Alternatively, you can check out our handy access control guides or, if you’re still looking for assistance, contact our staff via the number below.
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