HF vs UHF RFID: When Short Range Is the Right Choice

UHF RFID wins on range — up to 12 meters for a passive tag — but long range isn't always the advantage. HF RFID (13.56 MHz) only reads within roughly 10 cm, and that's a feature, not a limitation, for use cases like access control or payment taps: you want the system to read the one card someone deliberately presents, not every card within a few meters.

The Chainway R1 supports both HF and UHF in a single desktop unit, so a facility that needs both — HF access control at the entrance, UHF inventory in the warehouse — doesn't need two separate systems.