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MIFARE 13.56 MHz Compatible card available

MIFARE Classic 1K Compatible Cards & Fobs

MIFARE Classic 1K is the world's most-deployed contactless smart card format, running at 13.56 MHz with 1 KB of CRYPTO1-protected memory across 16 sectors — widely used in legacy access control and hotel lock systems but known to be cloneable.

Quote MIFARE Classic 1K cards View specs

Operating at 13.56 MHz per ISO/IEC 14443 Type A, MIFARE Classic 1K packs 1,024 bytes of EEPROM into 16 sectors, each secured by two CRYPTO1 keys and configurable access conditions. Because CRYPTO1 is cryptographically broken, all keys can be recovered non-invasively and the card can be fully duplicated onto commercially available magic blank cards — making it unsuitable for high-security new deployments but still serviceable for low-risk legacy systems where upgrading readers is not yet feasible.

MIFARE Classic 1K specifications

Brand / OEM
NXP Semiconductors
Technology
Contactless smart card (ISO/IEC 14443 Type A)
Frequency
13.56 MHz
Chip
NXP MF1S50YYX (EV1 variant: MF1S50YYX_V1); 1,024-byte EEPROM organized in 16 sectors × 4 blocks; 4-byte or 7-byte UID; CRYPTO1 stream cipher
Bit formats
26-bit Wiegand (H10301) via reader-side UID extraction, 37-bit Wiegand, Custom facility-code encoding stored in sector data blocks
OEM part numbers
MF1S5023YDU/D, MF1S5035YDU/D, MF1S50YYX_V1, MF1ICS50

Our compatible MIFARE Classic 1K credentials

American Key Cards manufactures non-OEM credentials engineered to work with your existing MIFARE readers — no hardware changes, encoded to your facility code and card-number range.

AKC MIFARE Classic 1K Compatible CardProximity / ISO card
AKC MIFARE Classic 1K Compatible Key FobKey fob / tag

Can MIFARE Classic 1K cards be copied?

MIFARE Classic 1K is an open format, so a compatible card can be produced from your facility code and card number. We don't copy individual cards on request — we manufacture new, correctly-encoded credentials for systems you own or manage.

CRYPTO1 encryption is cryptographically broken — academic attacks (Nested, Darkside, MFOC) recover all sector keys within minutes. Commercially available 'magic' UID-writable blank cards (Gen1a, Gen2, Gen3/APDU) allow full sector-for-sector duplication including UID. MIFARE Classic 1K should not be deployed where clone resistance is a security requirement; upgrade to DESFire EV2/EV3 or MIFARE Plus SL3 for new installations.

Where MIFARE Classic 1K is used

  • Legacy commercial office building access control
  • Hotel door-lock systems (pre-DESFire era)
  • University campus ID and facility access
  • Public transit fare collection (legacy systems)
  • Parking management systems
  • Time-and-attendance terminals

Compatible readers

HID multiCLASS SE (RP10, RP15, RP40) readersAllegion aptiQ multi-technology readersLenelS2 BlueDiamond multi-tech readersDormakaba Legic / MIFARE readersIDEMIA (Morpho) MorphoAccess SIGMA readersAny ISO 14443A / Wiegand reader supporting MIFARE Classic

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MIFARE Classic 4K

MIFARE Classic 4K expands on the 1K format with 4,096 bytes across 40 sectors for multi-application campus and transit use, but shares the same broken CRYPTO1 cipher that makes all MIFARE Classic cards cloneable with off-the-shelf tools.

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MIFARE Plus

MIFARE Plus is NXP's drop-in AES-128 upgrade path for MIFARE Classic infrastructure, offering backward-compatible SL1 mode (readable by Classic readers) and fully secure SL3 mode (AES-128, not cloneable) on a single card platform.

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HID iCLASS SE

HID iCLASS SE is the second-generation 13.56 MHz smart card platform, introducing Secure Identity Objects (SIOs) and AES encryption to make credential cloning technically infeasible.

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MIFARE Classic 1K — FAQ

Can MIFARE Classic 1K cards be cloned?

Yes. The CRYPTO1 cipher used by MIFARE Classic 1K was publicly broken in 2008 and all sector keys can be recovered in minutes with tools like Proxmark3 or MFOC. 'Magic' blank cards that accept a full card image copy — including the UID — are widely sold. For security-sensitive deployments, upgrade to MIFARE DESFire EV2/EV3 or MIFARE Plus SL3.

Are your MIFARE Classic 1K cards drop-in replacements for existing installations?

Yes. Our compatible 1K cards follow the NXP MF1S50 specification — 16 sectors, ISO 14443A, 13.56 MHz — and work with the same readers and access control software as OEM NXP cards. We can supply blank cards or pre-programmed to your facility code on request.

What is the storage capacity of a MIFARE Classic 1K card?

1,024 bytes organized into 16 sectors of 4 blocks each. Each sector's last block is reserved for two 6-byte Crypto1 keys and access conditions, leaving approximately 752 bytes of net user-accessible storage.