MIFARE Classic Access Control
MIFARE Classic is the most widely deployed contactless card in offices, campuses and car parks. xSERVA readers read Classic 1K and 4K cards, so an existing estate keeps working on day one without re-badging a single person.
What You Need to Know
- Frequency
- 13.56 MHz contactless, ISO 14443 Type A
- Variants
- Classic 1K and Classic 4K
- Typical use
- Staff cards, student cards, car-park cards, canteen and lockers
- Security level
- Basic. The original cipher is old and well studied, so it suits low-risk doors rather than high-value ones
- On xSERVA
- Read by UltraPASS-Door and UltraPASS-Bio readers, with UID letter case, byte order and number base configurable
Where It Fits
Strengths
- Cheap and everywhere
- Fast read, under 0.3 s
- Existing estates migrate without re-badging
Limits
- Older cipher with known weaknesses
- Copied cards are a real risk on high-value doors
- No modern secure messaging
How to Use It Well
Keep Classic where it already works, pair it with a PIN or face on sensitive doors, and issue DESFire for new cards. Both can live on the same site at the same time.
Other Card Technologies
MIFARE Classic Questions
Will my MIFARE Classic cards work with xSERVA?
Yes. UltraPASS readers read MIFARE Classic 1K and 4K cards, and the UID encoding can be matched to your previous system so card numbers do not change.
Is MIFARE Classic secure enough?
It is adequate for low-risk doors. Its cipher is old and known to be weak, so for server rooms and cash rooms pair it with a second factor or move to DESFire or a biometric.
Can I mix Classic and DESFire on one site?
Yes. Every card resolves to the same holder record, so staff can be moved from Classic to DESFire at their own pace.