> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.assetinfinity.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # RFID and Bluetooth readers > Fixed RFID readers and Bluetooth gateways at doorways and rooms: where tagged assets were actually seen, how to connect a reader, configure its antennas, map what it sends and act on arrivals. The **Readers** screen shows where tagged assets have actually been observed by fixed RFID readers and Bluetooth gateways — a dock door, a tool crib doorway, a yard gate — and whether those readers are working. Open it from **Assets → Readers**. If you don't see this in your navigation, your administrator can switch the module on under **Administration → Modules**, or it may not be included in your plan. The module is called **Readers** there, and is part of **Sensors**. The Readers screen on its Present tab, listing where tagged assets are

The Readers screen on its Present tab, listing where tagged assets are

Everywhere else in the product, an asset's location is where somebody last said it was. A reader is different: it says where the asset was *seen*, without anybody scanning anything. ## How it works | Idea | What it means | | - | - | | **Reader** | The box on the network. It either publishes to a message broker the product subscribes to, or posts its messages in over HTTPS | | **Antenna** | One port on the reader, pointed at one place. Each antenna says which site and location a read on it means, and what it is for — watching, or one side of a doorway | | **Tag** | The RFID or Bluetooth tag on an asset. It is recognised when it is registered against the asset (on the asset's identifiers, or from this screen) | | **Visit** (presence) | One stay of a tag in front of an antenna, from arrival to departure. A reader sees the same tag many times a second; the product turns that into one visit, not thousands of reads | | **Read** | One individual sighting. Not kept unless an antenna is set to keep them for diagnosis | A visit opens once a tag has been read enough times in a row (**Min Reads to Open**), and closes once it has not been seen for a while (**Absence Timeout Seconds**). If it turns up again within the grace window (**Reopen Grace Seconds**), the same visit carries on — a forklift that stops in a doorway is one arrival, not four. A tag is in one place at a time: opening a visit at one antenna closes any other open visit for that tag. ### How reads move assets A visit on its own records where the tag was seen. To act on it, switch on **Raises Events** for the antenna, then write an [automation rule](/config/rules) on the asset that runs when a tag arrives or departs. Rules can: * **move the asset** to the place the antenna points at, so its location in the register follows it through the doorway; * notify somebody — "tell me when it leaves the yard"; * check conditions about the read: which antenna and its purpose, the reader's code, the tag, how long it stayed, how many times it was read, and the strongest signal. Events are off by default. Switching them on everywhere would tell a site about every pallet in the building. ## The header | Figure | What it counts | | - | - | | **here now** | Tags currently present at an antenna | | **readers** | Readers registered | | **tags to claim** | Unrecognised tags still waiting for somebody to say what they are | **New reader** adds one. A banner appears when an antenna has stopped reading while its reader keeps reporting — one cut cable on a four-port reader looks exactly like a healthy reader with a quiet doorway. ## Present **Where things are** lists every recent visit by a recognised tag. | Column | What it shows | | - | - | | **What** | The asset (or tool or part) the tag is on, as a link | | **Where** | The location, then the antenna and its purpose — **in**, **out**, **checkpoint** or watching | | **Status** | **here** while the visit is open, **left** once it has closed | | **For** | How long the visit has lasted, or lasted | | **Last seen** | When the tag was last read | | **Reads** | How many reads the visit stands for, and how many individual reads were kept | A visit appears the moment a reader sees a tag that the register says is on something. Until a tag is registered, its reads land under **Unrecognised tags** instead. ## Readers The Readers tab listing two readers, one subscribed over MQTT and one that posts to the system

The Readers tab listing two readers, one subscribed over MQTT and one that posts to the system

The tab opens with **How a reader reports**, which explains the two ways to connect: the product holds a subscription to the broker the reader publishes on, or the reader (or middleware at the site) posts its messages in over HTTPS. A reader whose settings have one box for a server address can post straight in — set its transport to HTTPS and use **Issue a key for this reader** on its screen. If any reader is failing, a **Not reporting** section comes first, with the **Reader**, its **State**, **Why** (the broker's own error message, verbatim) and how many **Tries** have been made. | Column | What it shows | | - | - | | **Reader** | Code and name. Click to open the reader | | **Site** | Where it is | | **State** | **connected**, **connecting**, **unknown**, **paused**, **refused**, **unreachable**, **mapping failed**, or **push** for a reader that posts its messages in | | **How** | **we subscribe** or **posts to us** | | **Antennas** | How many, with how many have gone **silent** | | **Here now** | Tags currently present at it | | **Last message** | When it last sent anything, or **never** | **Connected, and nothing has ever arrived** means the broker accepted the subscription but nothing is published on that topic. Check the topic filter before checking the reader. ## Unrecognised tags Tags nothing knows about, each with a picker to say which asset it is on

Tags nothing knows about, each with a picker to say which asset it is on

**Tags nothing knows about**, most-seen first. On the first day, two hundred tagged assets and five thousand retail-tagged cartons through one dock door is normal; working down this list is how a site registers what it actually owns. | Column | What it shows | | - | - | | **Tag** | The tag value as read | | **Seen** | How many times | | **Where** | The antenna and reader that saw it | | **Last seen** | When | On each row, **This tag is on…** lets you pick the asset the tag is attached to; the tag is then registered against that asset and every later read is recognised. It needs permission to create assets. **Not ours** stops the tag being asked about — it keeps being seen, it just stops appearing here. It needs permission to configure readers. Each antenna records unrecognised tags one by one up to its **Unknown Tag Cap** per hour, so a flood of cartons never affects a registered tag. ## Reads The Reads tab listing individual reads from one antenna

The Reads tab listing individual reads from one antenna

A reader subscribed over MQTT: its state, antennas, payload map, broker credentials and recent visits

| Field | What it means | Notes | | - | - | - | | **Antenna Number** | The port number the reader itself reports | Required. Unique on the reader | | **Name** | What it watches — "Dock door 1 — inbound" | Required | | **Site and location** | The place a read on this antenna means | Optional. Without a location the read still says which site, which is all a yard gate can honestly claim | | **Purpose** | What the antenna is for | **observe** (the default), **entry**, **exit** or **checkpoint**. It is a label rules can read; nothing works out direction from the signal | | **Rssi Floor** | Ignore reads weaker than this, in dBm | Optional. How a reader stops answering for the next aisle. Empty accepts everything | | **Min Reads to Open** | Reads in a row before a tag counts as having arrived | Defaults to 3 | | **Offline After (minutes)** | How long the antenna may see nothing before it counts as silent | Optional. Empty follows the reader | | **Absence Timeout Seconds** | How long a tag can go unseen before it has left | Defaults to 120 | | **Reopen Grace Seconds** | How soon after leaving a returning tag counts as the same visit | Defaults to 300 | | **Raises Events** | Let rules and notifications fire for this antenna | Defaults to off | | **Keep Observations** | Keep the individual reads | Defaults to off. Useful while diagnosing; noisy after | | **Unknown Tag Cap** | Unrecognised tags per hour recorded one by one | Defaults to 500 | | **Active** | Whether the antenna is in use | Defaults to on | ### Reading the payload Every brand of reader sends a differently shaped message, so the shape is configuration rather than code. **The map** says which fields of a message hold the tag, the antenna and the signal. Paste a real message into **A message to try it on** — or use **use the last one received** — and press **What does this give?** to see the reads the map produces. This runs the same mapper that live messages go through. **Save the map** saves it. ### Broker credentials For a subscribed reader: a **User name** and **Password** for the broker. **Store it** saves them encrypted; afterwards only the last few characters are shown. No password is a supported state — a broker on a site network often needs none. ### Posting to this reader For a reader that posts its messages in, this section replaces the broker settings. * **This reader's own address** is for a reader with one box for a server address. Point it there and it posts whatever it emits — JSON, a form or a line of text. **Copy the address** copies it; **Issue a key for this reader** creates the key to send with it. * **Through a relay or middleware** gives a worked example of trading an [API key](/config/api-keys) for a token and posting the reader's messages. **Copy the push example** copies it. ### Try it without hardware Sends one message through the whole path — mapped, resolved, turned into a visit, with any rules run against it. **Send it** writes for real, so use it on a test reader or expect the visit to appear. ### Recent visits The last visits this reader saw: **What**, **Antenna**, **Status** (here or left) and **Last seen**. ### Removing a reader **Remove reader** asks you to confirm. The reader stops being listed and its reads stop being accepted — the doorway goes dark — but nothing is erased: its antennas and every read already taken are kept. In some organisations removing a reader needs approval; you are told either way. ## Who can do what | To | You need permission to | | - | - | | See the screen | View readers, antennas and what they have seen | | Add readers and antennas | Add readers and antennas | | Change readers, antennas, maps and credentials, or dismiss a tag as not ours | Configure readers, their antennas and their credentials | | Remove readers and antennas | Remove readers and antennas | | Claim an unrecognised tag for an asset | Create assets | This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.