HID Seos Cards

Seos is HID's most secure card technology, and it is what HID's phone-based credentials run on. We encode Seos cards at our facility to your format and facility code, so they work on your readers the day they arrive. This page covers what Seos is in plain terms, which readers can read it, how to move to it from prox or iCLASS, and what we need from you to quote an order. For prox, iCLASS and Seos side by side, see our guide to access credentials and encoding.

What a Seos card is

A Seos card is a contactless smart card that runs at 13.56 MHz, the same frequency as iCLASS and NFC cards. What sets it apart is how it protects the data it carries. Before a Seos card hands anything over, the card and the reader each prove to the other that they belong to the same system. Everything they exchange after that is encrypted with AES-128, and messages that have been copied, replayed or tampered with along the way are rejected.

The access data itself sits in what HID calls a Secure Identity Object, a signed and encrypted package tied to that one card. HID describes Seos as software-based and independent of the chip underneath it, which is why the same credential can live on a card, a key fob or a phone. Our glossary entry on Seos has the short version.

That is the practical difference from a 125 kHz prox card. A prox card gives any reader the same plain number, and HID itself says prox cards are easy to clone. If you are replacing prox because of a security audit or a copied badge, Seos is the HID card built for that job. Our post on prox versus smart cards explains the gap in more detail.

Which readers can read Seos

Answer this before you order, because a Seos card only works if the reader in front of it can read Seos.

• HID Signo readers. HID's current reader line reads Seos.
• iCLASS SE and multiCLASS SE readers, on firmware revision E or later. Earlier firmware cannot read Seos.
• Classic iCLASS readers, the generation before SE, cannot read Seos at all.
• 125 kHz prox readers cannot read Seos either. If some of your doors still have prox readers, a Seos + Prox card covers both.

The keys have to match as well. Most systems use HID's standard keys, and a standard-key Seos card works on any standard-key Seos reader. If your system uses HID Elite keys, only cards made with your Elite keys will open your doors. There is more on that below.

Not sure what you have? Send us the reader model, or ask your access control provider which credentials your readers are set up for, and we will help you work out the right card before you spend anything.

Seos cards we program

HID makes Seos in several forms. These are the cards we program at our facility.

• Seos card (HID 500 series). The standard printable card, in 8K (5006) or 16K (5005) memory. If you are not sure which your system calls for, ask us.
• Seos + Prox (510). A Seos chip and a 125 kHz prox chip in one card, for buildings that still have prox readers in places.
• Seos + iCLASS (522) and Seos + iCLASS + Prox (520). For moving off classic iCLASS, with or without prox in the mix.

HID also makes Seos key fobs, but we program cards only, not fobs. Every Seos card is the standard credit card size. HID makes them from a PVC and polyester composite, the construction HID recommends for any card that will be laminated.

Moving from prox or iCLASS to Seos

Few buildings can change every reader and every badge in one weekend, and you do not have to. HID's migration path runs the old and new technology side by side for as long as you need.

1. Issue combination cards. Seos + Prox or Seos + iCLASS cards keep opening the doors you have now through their older chip.
2. Replace readers as time and budget allow, with readers set up to read both the new and the old cards.
3. Switch to Seos-only cards for new people and replacements once every reader reads Seos.
4. Turn the old technology off. When the last old card is gone, have your integrator set the readers to Seos only. HID warns that readers left reading the old cards after a migration keep the old weakness open.

A rebadge is a natural time to start. We can print the new badges, program them to your format and run the changeover in phases. See our rebadging and access system migration services.

Standard keys and Elite keys

Every Seos card is locked with a set of keys, and the reader has to hold the same keys to read it. HID offers two kinds.

• Standard keys are one key set that HID uses for all standard Seos cards and readers. That is why a standard-key card works on any standard-key reader. Your format, facility code and card numbers are what tell your system which cards are yours.
• Elite keys are a custom key set HID creates for one organization, so its readers accept only its own cards. Cards made with them only work on readers set up with the same keys, and the organization decides who is allowed to order cards on them.

Most systems run on standard keys. If yours uses Elite keys, tell us when you ask for a quote. Elite cards need your organization's sign-off and HID's Elite reference number for your system, which starts with ICE, so we will work out the order with you before anything is made. Your integrator or security team will know which keys you have.

What we need to quote your Seos cards

• The card, if you know it, or what your readers are.
• Your card format, such as 26-bit H10301, 37-bit H10304 or HID Corporate 1000.
• Your facility code.
• The card numbers: where the sequence starts and how many cards.
• Standard or Elite keys. Most systems are standard. If yours is on Elite, say so up front.
• Printing: whether the cards should be printed, and with what.

If some of that is missing, send what you have. Your access control provider can usually fill in the rest, and we will tell you what is still needed before anything is made. You can send it all through our programming quote form.

Printing on Seos cards

Seos cards print in both direct-to-card and retransfer printers, so the photo ID and the door credential can be one card. A retransfer printer prints onto film and then bonds the film to the card, which gives a more even finish over the chip and antenna, and HID recommends retransfer for some of its Seos cards. Our guide to direct-to-card versus retransfer printing explains the difference.

Plan for two things. HID engraves a small HID logo and reference number on Seos cards shipped in North America, so leave room for it in your design. And do not punch a slot wherever you like. The antenna runs inside the card, and some Seos cards cannot be punched at all. Tell us if your badges need a slot, and we will tell you what the card allows.

No card printer? Our ID card printing service prints and programs the badges for you from your roster.

Seos on phones

Seos is also the technology behind HID's mobile credentials, including employee badges in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Those are issued through your access control system and HID's mobile service rather than ordered like cards, and your readers have to support them. We supply and program the cards. If phones are part of your plan, ask your integrator about mobile access alongside your card order.