HID Mobile Access Reviews

by __storybrooke

HID does not work. Our work has rolled these out and we used to use key cards but we have switched over to HID . I can only get in to the building 50% of the time. And even on those times I typically have to open HID in the car before I walk to the door and then still have to restart HID standing at the door. All while also wearing a face masks and gloves, you then have to use a pin and fiddle through closing and reopening an app. In the cold. I’ve never been so annoyed at an app that should be so simple. Some people at our work haven’t had issues but we’ve all compared our settings to each other and to what HID recommends and it all is correct. Please figure this out... clearly from the reviews it’s been like this for years...

by JustARandomBush

I live in a building where we need to scan 4 times for us to get into our rooms. It is very frustrating and unreliable. Another suggestion is to allow it to be added to the apple wallet so you don’t have to open your phone every time you need to get in.

by T321321

HID does not always work, I frequently need to close HID and open again before the reader picks up the device, even though HID is open in the background. Needs development work on reliability, especially when it comes to communicating with readers.

by Jtransue

Running this on the latest iPhone- I have a hard time understanding why it is so bad. App usually has to be re-launched (which means PIN because of faceID and masks) and then the credential has to be manually selected to attempt to unlock doors.

I have heard good things about this app the company, and if they want to keep their reputation up... this has to get fixed OR they have to admit there are technical challenges that mean their product isn’t ready for general use.

by B.S.B..

The idea behind HID is wonderful. However, to really be useful it needs to “just work.” HID, well, doesn’t. I can think of exactly one time it unlocked a door the first time I held my phone up to a reader. Beyond that, I find myself consistently standing at the door, failing to unlock it with the phone three or four times, and reaching into my bag for my card—which works like the phone should. For as inconsistent and unreliable as the phone seems to be, the watch app and lock screen widget are worse.

To be fair, the phone app does seem to be more reliable when open and running but allegedly that shouldn’t be a requirement.

We installed new card readers in part to support unlocking through smartphones, and have a waiting list of users asking to have their devices enrolled for this function. I’m “lucky” enough to be one of our testers but, as the IT leader who is sure to have the flakiness of this system pinned on their group, don’t think I’ll be rolling it out to our users any time soon.

by Hello.hudson

Holding my phone up to the door causes Apple Pay to open, then when I open the this app app, Apple Pay pops up again, then maybe it will unlock when I dismiss Apple Pay a second time. It’s a whole rigamarole every time I need to get into the apartment building. Not to mention this involves digging through my stuff to find my phone, having to take off my gloves to unlock the phone to open HID , etc etc. Super fun especially in winter, coming back from the grocery store etc. My kid has a fob, it works great.

by Kmm154

First off, it initiates Apple Pay each time it’s used. Secondly, I have HID set to run in the background, however that means nothing. It will not work unless I open HID each time I need to enter the building. This is a major inconvenience as I get to work each morning, or anytime I need to re-enter the building.

It has never improved and it doesn’t look like anyone is in a hurry to improve it.

by High-Stepper

The good: When it works, HID allows me to open secure doors in my condo building without having to search for a key fob.

The bad: HID works about 25% of the time (I’ve tried all kinds of settings, and neither regular method of holding the phone near the reader or the “twist” method seem to work consistently).

The ugly: HID brings up an image of a credit card linked to my Apple Pay account when I try to unlock a door. Kind of scary.

by CptnYawp

Whenever I’m within about a half a block of a reader, my phone starts going crazy alerting me of communication with a reader. When I get close enough to actually see the reader, I see it is flashing multiple colors like it does when I hold the phone near the reader. It does not actually unlock the the door until I hold the phone up to the reader. But it should be alerting me like that when I’m not really at the reader!

by Slim Fugu

My apartment started rolling out this and it has been a week now I can’t get this thing to work reliably.. usually took me 7-8 times (1-2 mins) to open the gate. When I held my iPhone next to the reader, the Apple Pay wallet app showed up and I had to kill it and somehow with one hand to try HID again .. has the company tested this with a real phone with Apple Pay installed to see the conflict between two NFC apps ?

by Cableguy7778

HID works well only when your phone is unlocked, turned on, HID is open and on top. These things are exactly the opposite of the selling points of this product. This needs to be fixed in order for me to consider this a functional product.

by Kakebl

1) it only works sometimes, 2) most other app based locks on the market allow me to give guests access but this one doesn’t, 3) app works maybe 50% of the time, and 4) this is the only app that doesn’t backup in an encrypted backup. Every time I swap phones or back to reset my phone I lose HID. This is an unacceptable app and the developer should be ashamed to have released it to market.

by Subcomandante

I’ve been dreaming of not carrying my badge everywhere and Jan g my watch instead for a long time. HID enables that which is amazing.

Too bad HID isn’t reliable. The settings are inscrutable, and for an incredibly simply app they managed to create a confusing UI. Half the time it doesn’t work. Every now and then HID goes crazy as soon as I enter my building, sending notifications every 3 seconds which only stops when I force quit.

In other words: too useful to not use but there’s soooo much to fix.

by Frshly Grnd

The key part of HID works fine. The UI is not pretty but is functional.

The concern is that 50%+ of the time a scan opens Apple Pay. There is no payment (for me) in HID. I’m surprised it got through App Store review with such an interaction. Violates Apple’s rules as I remember when I used to work on iOS apps.

by WhiteKnight

It’s annoying how whenever you touch your iPhone to the panel, it opens your digital wallet and shows my primary cc and it stays on the screen. Have location set to always.

by Ripple80

I only use it in emergency. Every time I scan, it opens my Apple Wallet. I was hoping an update would have fixed the issue by now. It has been that way for as long as I have had HID . Great when you forget your badge. Little too cumbersome for me to use on the daily.

by Scminter...

When it works it is great. But most of the time I have to close and reopen HID to get in. Maybe if it could be added to the Wallet it would work more often. If it worked half the time I would use it, but that has not been my experience.

by SriK@nth21

It’s unstable. Sometimes it automatically recognizes the access point other times there’s a wait.
Advice: can you make the card accessible via Apple wallet.

by Chitobruh

I use my Apple Watch with HID due to my work’s garage transitioning to a gated entrance. The phone app works okay. However, I think the 2 meters (6feet) should be 3 meters. 2 meter range hasn’t been working properly with my Apple Watch, even if my phone is close to my door (driver side). This kind of defeats the purpose of the Apple Watch having a Mobile Access complication. Please improve ASAP.

by Mattopotamus

Unlike most of the reviews, I am having a lot of success with HID . I am using an iPhone X, have the “always” setting turned on for allow mobile access, and also “twist and go” turned on. From about 6 feet out, I can just pull my phone out of my pocket and turn it and the door unlocks. It’s worked every single time.

I do wish there was a way to make it work without having to take the phone out of my pocket (proximity sensor). Like others, is I tap my phone to the sensor it brings up Apple Pay, so I do it from a distance. The Apple Watch app also does not work.