Do RFID sleeves actually stop a card reader? We filmed ten tests of Alpine Rivers® card sleeves on a live 13.56 MHz reader, each in one continuous take: top-load and side-load, black, red, brown and numbered, two of them straight out of a wallet. It is real footage with the reader's own sound: no added beeps and no added lights.
How to read each test
Card in the sleeve: red light and no beep. The same card out of the sleeve: green light and a beep. Back in the sleeve: silence again. This card, this reader, these takes.
What the ten tests show
In all ten tests, the card inside the sleeve was not read, the same card out of the sleeve was read, and back inside the sleeve it was not read again. That is what this reader did with this card, so we show each take in full instead of a summary. Other cards and readers can behave differently.
Jump to a test
- 0:00What does a card-reader test show?
- 0:21Does a top-load sleeve stop a card reader? Red, black and brown.
- 1:19Does a side-load sleeve stop a card reader? Brown and black.
- 1:57Do numbered sleeves stop a card reader? Two straight out of a wallet.
- 3:00Is it the sleeve, or just a dead card? The same card out of eight sleeves.
- 3:15What can a sleeve do, and what can't it?
- 3:37One more: does a red side-load sleeve beep?
What a sleeve can do, and what it can't
A sleeve can keep a 13.56 MHz card reader from reading the card inside it. It can't stop online fraud, phishing or data breaches, and it can't shield your phone's tap to pay or a magnetic stripe. To pay, slide the card out, tap, and slide it back in.
In 2016, our card sleeves achieved FIPS 201 US government approval (GSA APL #1424). Read its honest status today.
Frequently asked questions
Do RFID sleeves work?
In these ten tests on one 13.56 MHz reader, the card inside an Alpine Rivers® sleeve was not read, and the same card out of the sleeve was read. A sleeve shields a card only while the card is inside it.
Can I still pay with a card that lives in a sleeve?
Yes. Slide the card out and tap as usual, then put it back. The test above does exactly that: out of the sleeve it is read, back in it is not.
Does a card sleeve protect my phone's tap to pay?
No. A card sleeve shields the physical card inside it. Phone and watch wallets pay from the device, and most ask for a face, fingerprint or passcode first.
Go deeper
- How RFID protection works
- Why 13.56 MHz is the only frequency that matters
- Does RFID blocking actually work? The science at 13.56 MHz
- RFID sleeve FAQ: payments, passports and PIV cards
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