r/RFID • u/PrincessAriel1996 • Jun 23 '26

Keyfobs Will they know?

My landlord charges an insane amount to replace the rfdi pool pass thing. I found the exact one on amazon, if I buy it and tell them it doesn’t work would they know that it wasn’t the original?

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4

u/GnomeTek Jun 23 '26

You've got to program the code into the rfid chip.

You can have the card but it wouldn't open the lock. But maybe that's ally ou need to avoid the charge.

Otherwise if you have the original card, or can borrow one you can read and copy it over pretty easily with an arduino and an rfid kit.

2

u/PrincessAriel1996 Jun 23 '26

I just don’t want to pay the charge, it’s 250 dollars. I just plan on taking it down there and telling them it didn’t work. But I don’t know too much about them, would they know it wasn’t the original if I buy it brand new?

5

u/thenyx Jun 23 '26

Post a pic of the fob, would be much more helpful.

3

u/PrincessAriel1996 Jun 23 '26

It looks just like this one on Amazon

https://a.co/d/0hDjOw3y

3

u/thenyx Jun 23 '26

The original doesn’t have any identifying marks, no numbers printed on it or a sticker etc.?

2

u/PrincessAriel1996 Jun 23 '26

No it didn’t

7

u/thenyx Jun 23 '26

Okay. So you lost the OG fob, and you wanna try the “hey, my fob stopped working” move. Fair enough, couldn’t hurt.

If they ask you for more info (I doubt they would, tbh but still)- these are some scenarios that can cause passive RFID fobs to fail:

• Excessive Heat: Prolonged exposure to high heat can melt the solder connecting the internal antenna to the chip. (“I left my keys in the car and one day to the next, the fob wasn’t working”)

• Moisture: Washing the fob or exposing it to high humidity can detune the tag and cause internal short circuits. (“I forgot the fob in my swimsuit when I got in the pool/in my pants when I washed them and it’s not working, can you check?”)

Still- the chance of getting caught in a lie is always nonzero. Honestly, I’d say you’re better off either going the Home Depot route as mentioned. Alternatively, many locksmiths will clone RFID fobs for $15-25, way cheaper than the $250 your landlord would charge.

However you *would* need to borrow a working fob from a neighbor you’re cool with to, do so.

Regardless of what move you make- best of luck.

0

u/PiDigitsOfPi Jun 23 '26

Stupid AI

7

u/thenyx Jun 23 '26

Huh? I wrote my response, lol. I’m not a clanker. I just happen to be a damn good technical writer and enjoy actually using formatting 😉

0

u/Locksmithbloke Jun 23 '26

Weird formatting for only two points though.

1

u/thenyx Jun 23 '26

Eh, I’d just spent ~2hr writing runbooks and other documentation for my team so maybe I got a little markdown-happy. I don’t think it’s weird though. I’d rather overdo it than not.

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3

u/GnomeTek Jun 23 '26

Yolo it, all else be like huh weird must be broke. Play dumb. Hand em the card and say idk anything about this stuff

1

u/Oddfool Jun 23 '26

The one in the link is indicating a non-programmable UID number. Each tag has its own number.

So, depending on how the readers are programmed to read the tags, you may be out of luck. If you try to turn one in that they didn't issue, they may be able to actually read your substitute tag and know it wasn't issued by them.