Cat and Dog Chip Readers: Home Microchip Scanners Explained
Before spending money on a home scanner, it helps to know why a phone won't work, which chip types a reader might miss, and why a microchip cat flap can't identify a stray.
A home chip reader shows you a chip’s number and nothing else. You can then look the number up on a database. Our chip checker does that for free.
Can a phone read a pet's microchip?
No. The PDSA says it’s not possible to scan a microchip with a phone, though you can buy a scanner that links to a phone. If you want to scan at home, you need a dedicated reader.
The reason is the frequency the chip works on. By law, a compliant UK chip must respond to a reader working at 134.2 kHz, under the ISO 11784 and 11785 standards. The NFC in your phone, the bit that handles contactless payments, works at a different frequency entirely: 13.56 MHz, according to the NFC Forum. The two don’t meet, so a phone can’t pick up the chip’s signal.
What to check before you buy a chip reader
The first thing to check is which chip types the reader can pick up, because not every scanner reads every chip. Pet-ID, for example, describes one of its scanners as an “ISO FDX-B only scanner”.
Some older or imported chips aren’t the ISO type. WSAVA lists non-ISO chip types that lack universal scanner compatibility, including 125 kHz FDX-A chips and the encrypted AVID FriendChip, which needs its own proprietary reader. If you’re buying a reader to scan found pets, or your pet came from abroad, make sure the reader reads those chip types too.
Treat the read range on the box as a seller’s claim rather than a guarantee.
What a chip reader tells you
A scan gives you one thing: the chip’s number. It doesn’t tell you which database the pet is registered on, and it doesn’t give you the owner’s details.
The next step is to look the number up. Our chip checker does this, and our guide to how a chip lookup works explains the process.
The law names only authorised people and keepers as those a database must give information to, so the owner’s phone number stays private. If you’ve found a pet, contact the database the checker points you to. You can also take the pet to a vet or a rescue centre, or to the council dog warden if it’s a dog, and they can take it from there. If you’re checking your own pet, the checker tells you which database to contact about the record. Our guide to which microchip database your pet is on explains how the system fits together.
Temperature chips and home readers
Some chips can also read a pet’s body temperature. MSD, which makes the Thermochip, says it’s an ISO-compliant chip, so any ISO reader will pick up the ID number. Showing the temperature is a different matter. MSD says only the SureSense Universal Microchip Reader and the Global Pocket Reader Plus reliably display it. There’s more on newer chips in our guide to the future of pet recovery.
Why a microchip cat flap isn't a reader
A microchip cat flap scans your pet’s chip, so it’s easy to assume you could use it to identify a found pet. You can’t. Sure Petcare says its flap reads the unique code on your pet’s microchip or collar tag and unlocks when they approach. The flap stores up to 32 pet identities in its own memory.
The flap only recognises numbers you’ve already programmed into it, so it’s no help with a stray. For that you need a handheld reader, or a trip to a vet or rescue who can scan for you.
To check your own pet’s chip, run the number through our free chip checker.
