Smart card readers: any recommendations?

A buddy of mine just traded in his old ID for a new electronic one (EU).

He’s asking—and honestly, I’m curious too since I haven't kept up with this stuff—where can he pick up a smart card reader to actually get that EU thing activated?

Thanks 🙂

https://www.bestbuy.com/example-link
http://www.amazon.com/example-link

Something like this?

Exactly like that, thanks 🙂

Can anyone recommend a decent card reader for my $33?
Are they all pretty much the same? 😳

Also, can I plug a USB 3.0 reader into a USB 2.0 hub?

Do all Nedis products still come with a CD included?

And honestly, do I even need that disc? My desktop doesn't even have a drive.

Noah Sanchez39 said:A buddy of mine just swapped his expired ID for a new electronic one (EU style).

Now he’s wondering—and honestly, I am too since I haven't dealt with this crap—where can he grab a smart card reader to actually get that thing activated.

Thanks 🙂

Check the local government offices, Amazon, Best Buy... they're everywhere.
Most readers work fine, and setting up the driver to read the ID is a breeze on basically any machine—even a MacBook M1.
The real headache? The government-side stuff (those digital certificates) won't run on a MacBook M1. If anyone actually knows how to make them work, drop a comment here on how to download and install them on macOS Big Sur running on M1 Apple Silicon.

Yeah, basically it's just plug and play on Windows.
50-$33

Thanks!

So, I picked up a Gemalto reader at CVS

$40, there was also one for $90, but I passed because it came with some weird mini CD

I absolutely hate it when things feel tight going into the USB port—it always makes me think the build quality is cheap, and I get paranoid about damaging the port. One of my old flash drives actually trashed a port once, so I'm always cautious

I really didn't expect this much resistance from the more expensive model

Well, I won't be using it constantly, so I guess it'll be fine, but I'm honestly pretty disappointed

CDs are useless now. I just grab the drivers from the internet on Windows.
Yeah, whatever. Sometimes they hang, but I wouldn't sweat the drive itself. Just don't wreck the port on your laptop or desktop by constantly swapping stuff in and out. Better to just leave it tucked inside the computer or use a USB hub.

wiredotter14 said:Those CDs are pretty much useless nowadays; macOS just grabs the drivers from the web automatically.
Yeah, true, sometimes things hang up, but I wouldn't sweat the drive itself—just be careful not to wreck the port on your laptop or desktop if you're constantly swapping it in and out. Best bet is to just leave it plugged in or use a USB hub.

Thanks... man, now I'm really regretting not getting the other one

I gave it another shot and it worked a bit better once I realized I didn't need to force it in so hard. 😁

But I can't just leave it plugged in all the time; there are way too many wires. 😁