If you just ordered a smart card reader, security token or biometric reader from ACS, HID or Identiv then you have found the right place. Our blog offers you all the tips and tricks that you need to answer your troubleshooting questions.

Our superior customer support and guidance have not gone unnoticed with large corporations within both the public and private sector having purchased from us to support their cybersecurity needs. These companies include some of the largest in fields such as ride sharing, imaging & printing, entertainment and technology.

We are a distributor for leading smart cards, their readers and other security hardware such as physical access control and security tokens. We have been in the business since 1997 and have stayed on top of leading technologies such as new card formats and even the adoption of RFID stickers with NFC capabilities. Tx Systems is a passionate force in the industry and is dedicated to supporting you through whatever usage case you may have for both enterprise and government customers. Trust us to stay on top of cybercriminals and start securing your data by taking a constructive step forward.

Given our vast knowledge on the subject, we would be your first line-of-sight for troubleshooting questions. No need to go to the manufacturer’s support channels as they are focused on building the best and most secure product for you. We are the guys getting the product to work for your specific use case.

Do not be discouraged if you are a hobbyist in your garage testing out smart card technology! We help all types of people from enterprise customers to those hobbyists who want to test our smart card readers for their own personal projects.

Not only is the blog extremely helpful because we are available to speak over the phone and via email to answer any installation or implementation questions (Shoot Away!) that may arise on your smart card journey. So feel free to reach out to use at 858.622.2004 for both our customer support and technical support lines. We are usually available from Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.

No need for a ticket number though as you simply need to fill in our standard contact form for the most efficient help. You will then receive a follow-up email or call through the contact methods that you provide.

** Be sure to specify in the message what the best way to reach you is. **

Now comes the fun part. What do you put in the message section? That tends to stoop me because I want to write it as quick as possible to get it done with, but I realize that by providing little detail upfront that it is going to take me longer in the future. To prevent having you go through the same dilemma, I have included some fantastic pointers that will help best help both of us.

A word of advice here is to be as specific as possible, and by that we mean make sure to follow the five w’s which are:

Who are you?

Let us know your name, position, industry and company name so that we can understand what you are using your specific smart card reader hardware or software for. This will allow us to understand where to go to from there.

So, for example, if you were using the SecuGen Hamster Pro Duo CL Fingerprint Reader for Windows Hello that would be a unique conversation from using it for physical access control. Each set-up will require different tools to get it up and running such as mounting brackets for a wall versus desk space for a cubicle.

Or, if you are a home user trying to set up smart card login then it would be a much different approach then if you were a IT administrator for a large Fortune 500 company. The IT administrator would need much more hardware to support the employees and might already have a information system protocol in place. This would influence how they are going to use their hardware and will dictate what they can and cannot do. You might only need to use if for one computer to secure your investment and stock portfolio files. You are not bound by strict rules and regulations.

If you only remember one thing from this question, answer, tell me more about yourself?

Tell us the brand name and model number which you can find on our website. So for example, if you are using the Kensington VeriMark Fingerprint Key , then be sure to mention just that.

Make sure to specify what connector it is such as a USB-A/USB-B/USB-C. If you are wondering what those are, refer to our previous post All You Needed to Know About USB Port Types for Your Smart Card Readers which gives you an in-depth rundown into what to look for when determining the USB type. If you ever had trouble differentiating between a USB-A versus a USB-C or a USB 2.0 versus a USB 3.0 then this will answer all your questions.

Also, include certain features that you are honing in on, so if you were using a device for its NFC capabilities then include that within this area. Many of our devices include various features such as contact/contactless smart card support, NFC tag reading, Bluetooth pairing and much more. The more specific that you can get, the quicker we can solve your problem.

So essentially, what was the main feature that drew you into the product, or what is the one feature that you are trying to use the most?

You can also go further by mentioning the operating system that you are using it with such as Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris or Android. This will allows to understand the environment that it is functioning with and the specific requirements that each operating system has with your hardware/software. A version type would also be great to determine the specific driver that may be required for say, Windows XP or Windows 10. The other major operating systems also have separate version numbers which you can find through the links below:

Use this to specify when the specific issue had occurred for you such as when you were trying to initially install the device or software. For example, there may have been a hiccup with your smart card installation as it was the wrong driver for your version of Windows. Another cause could have been playing “Diner Dash” while installing the smart card reader which may have resulted in a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Keep this in mind, there are many factors to consider when troubleshooting hardware or software as there are many processes running at the same time to keep your PC alive. Be aware that the issue may not have been with the device that you purchased from Tx Systems but rather a system settings or application on the host PC.

A great suggestion would be to give us the rundown of the steps that you took before the error occurred, so we can use it as breadcrumbs to find the root of your problem. This can be made using a Word document or other text editor for more structure. Enhance it by sending us any screenshots, pictures or videos to visually explain how the error came to be by highlighting error screens. Just make sure that they are less than 25 MB in total size as it will not be possible to send that over email to us without compressing the file size.

As with any device troubleshooting whether smart card or not, it is easy to run into a problem along the way of trying to figure out your initial problem. Patience is key when working with technology because no matter how smart it seems, it still makes mistakes.

The biggest piece of advice from experience is that the more time you invest in the research beforehand, the more results that you get in the long run. Who knows you might have help with other problems being answered along the way which you were not even searching for. Talk about solving your problem in one fell swoop!

We can use this to determine what the best time to reach you would be. As we are based in San Diego, we are on the PST/PDT time zone meaning that we could be either 1-3 hours ahead if you are based in MT, CT or ET. If you are located in another country then that is a whole other story which may be the case as we have customers from countries such as Japan to Germany who have unique needs.

So, specify your schedule for the best time to have a troubleshooting conversation. You may want to carve out a period of 1-3 hours especially if the problem is much bigger say, you get an error code when you use your smart card reader, or you have absolutely no idea how to use one of these things.

Let us know if you are also on a time crunch as well whether that be at work where you must have this smart card reader in order to fulfill a regulatory deadline or simply need it to access a report that is due by 5 p.m. We will be able to then prioritize your needs above the others.

Both of these will be able to customize the solution that we offer you which may be able to save you a few minutes on working on.

By doing so, we can ensure that we have an ample amount of time to address your issues without rushing through a solution that could be forgotten the next day.

The biggest question to answer is why are you reaching out.

If you can, please use some sort of formatting option to bold, italicize or choose a font color that stands out. This truly is the meat of the entire message as we will have a general category to put this in.

So for example, let’s say that you are having trouble getting your fingerprint to be scanned clearly on a SecuGen Hamster Pro , and you swear that you have cleaned the reader multiple times. Well mention, the main problem and categorize it as fingerprint read error. That way, our team can center the conversation around that very issue. *Include this at the top of the email before the start of the salutation.*

Do not be surprised if through our interactions if that reason starts to change! Sometimes, new paths start to appear out of old ones meaning you might end up in a place that looks totally different than when you started.

A great way for us to find your path to Tx Systems would be to determine what route you took to get here. Did you find us through a friend who had also purchased a reader or was it through a Google Search for a specific reader. Let us know that process, so we can start to see how we are reaching you, the customer, and to see if there are ways that we can improve.

We know that it can be tricky to find support for smart card readers on the web. So, we want to make sure that our blogs and other resources are front and center to move you past any forks in the road.

We are open to constructive criticism meaning that we actually see it as a positive because that means that we can best serve you. This includes product alterations such as dimmer LED status lights, new smart card reader colors so on and so forth. You might not be the only one who is thinking about it meaning that you could speak up for others and solve their problems.

Lastly, the biggest piece of advice is to take time to be mindful of your thoughts and situation that you find yourself in. There is no reason to blow the problem out of proportion because that is when we overlook the simplest of answers. So, a simple issue such as forgetting to plug an Identiv 3310 V2 Smart Card Reader into the USB port may turn into a disaster situation where you start thinking that it is completely fried. So always, take a step back when an error occurs and start truly believe that you will solve this problem. More than likely, your head will start to clear and the solution will start to seem as clear as the sky.

Another positive is that will allow us to more clearly understand your specific problem. Imagine if you were scatterbrained and trying to talk about your problem. We would not be able to understand your train of thought. It is only with a clear mind that we can get to the bottom of it.

Remember that we are here to answer your smart card reader questions. We are available for both callers and emailers at 858.622.2004 for both our customer support and technical support lines and at sales@txsystems.com.