How to unlock a tachograph card: restoring the PIN code

It is impossible to unlock the tachograph driver card yourself.

The driver’s personal card may not be accepted by the device, i.e. blocked. There are several reasons for blocking:

1Card and device are incompatible. They may relate to different existing formats - CIPF and AETR.

The 2PIN code was entered incorrectly three times. This can happen if a person has forgotten the driver’s card PIN code or mistakenly inserted someone else’s card into the tachometer.

3Expired. The use of the card is limited; deadlines must be carefully monitored.

4Chip is damaged. All information is stored in it, so if the chip is somehow deformed, the tachograph will not read it.

5The reading device is faulty.

6The card may be blocked when trying to transfer data from the chip to the computer. In this case, the problem may lie in both items, including the computer software.

As mentioned above, unlocking the card yourself is impossible. But the driver can find out the reason for the blocking himself.

1“The PIN code was entered incorrectly. X attempts left." It is obvious that the combination of numbers was entered incorrectly. Make sure that you enter the data correctly and that it is your card that is in the machine. If you are sure that the data is correct, then this indicates a breakdown of the reading element in the device.

2"Card is invalid." The validity period has expired. If this is not the case, then it is possible that the device’s internal date and time settings have become incorrect. Check them out.

3"Authentication error/failure." If this message appears on the screen, there is a technical problem. Insert the card into another device - if the message is repeated, then the chip has failed; if not, then the problem is in the device itself.

By correctly identifying the messages on the screen, you can understand why the card is blocked and find the correct algorithm for solving the problem.

Read about the general rules for working with a tachograph in this article.

Eliminating common mistakes

Drivers make a lot of mistakes, so let’s first try to eliminate the most common and banal ones. You must understand that only the driver card for tachographs with a cryptographic information protection unit . AETR driver cards are not blocked; in principle, they do not have a PIN code for operation.

Is the card definitely blocked?

Why did you decide so? On the tachograph display, after entering the card, does it specifically say something like “ card blocked ”? Below in the photo we show an example of an Atol Drive 5 tachograph inscription if a blocked driver card is inserted into it. Other tachograph models should have something similar.

Is this the case? In this case, you can skip the next paragraph. However, if the error number is simply written on the tachograph screen without a hint of blocking, or the device silently throws the driver card back, the reason most likely lies elsewhere! Read on...

Typical mistakes...

If the tachograph simply “spits out” the driver’s card without a blocking inscription and indicates an incomprehensible error number, then it is advisable to check the following. Let's consider the options:

• Does the driver card match the appearance of the tachograph? There are two completely different types of cards and tachographs - AETR and CIPF. They are not compatible with each other and are not “friends” in any way. Maybe you are trying to insert a CIPF driver card into the AETR tachograph? If so, then this is a utopia. There's nothing wrong with your card, it's just that the tachograph doesn't match. We wrote in detail about the types of tachographs and driver cards in our blog article “Types of Tachographs and Driver Cards,” so we will not consider this issue again here. Please read carefully. The main thing you need to make sure of is that you are actually inserting the cryptographic information protection card into the tachograph with the cryptographic information protection unit .
• Are you sure you insert the card into the tachograph correctly? In most tachographs, the driver card must be inserted with the chip facing up and away from you, as shown in the picture below.

• Has your driver card expired by chance? We take the driver card out of the device and carefully look until what date is it valid? If the period has expired, then you just need to order a new tachograph card. By the way, this can be done through us, we accept orders online, produce quickly and promptly deliver throughout Russia and the CIS - please contact us!
• What date is on the tachograph? Pull out the driver card and see what date the tachograph shows on the display. If the current date is not displayed on the screen, dig into the device menu. Pay special attention to the YEAR! Quite often, the date in tachographs disappears and they are “teleported” into the future or past for several years. If there is a problem with the date, then the driver card has nothing to do with it, it’s the tachograph itself that is faulty - go to a workshop, you can’t fix this on your own.

And now what i can do?

If you are sure that the driver’s card is really blocked, there are only TWO !
Take the money to a special tachograph service or try to unblock the card yourself. Of course, it’s up to you to decide, but we recommend that you still try to do this simple procedure yourself. There is no certainty that this will not happen again in the future. So what, will you run to the service center and pay every time? The money is decreasing... What if it happens on the road and there is no normal service nearby? Driving without a map is not cheap! But if you learn to do it yourself, you can always help yourself, your friends and colleagues - decide for yourself for free or for a bribe. This way the money can start to add up. ))) For those who are not far from us and don’t want to do it themselves - come! Our specialists will help you unlock your tachograph driver card. Moreover, we have all the necessary technical means and experience. More details about this service and cost are written here. Too lazy to go? You can call our specialist to your place, for an additional fee, of course.

If you are far away (in another city), or nearby, but just don’t want to come to us, read on, we will tell you in detail how you can unlock your tachograph card yourself.

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How to unlock a tachograph

The tachograph is a modern and reliable device, but sometimes unforeseen situations occur when it becomes necessary to unlock the tachograph. In this case, you should contact a specialized workshop. Today there are quite a lot of offers for unlocking and repairing on-board devices, enough for a specialized workshop. It is important to evaluate the entire segment of the services offered, comparing the cost of repair services and the level of quality. To get a complete picture of the level of professionalism of the workshop, you can read customer reviews, talk to the manager and ask in detail about the service provided. Checking the license for this type of activity and all necessary documents is also mandatory and can protect the consumer from unpleasant surprises and unforeseen expenses in the future.

Let's move on - the procedure

• We connect the reader to any free USB connector on the computer. We are waiting for the operating system to determine the device type automatically or not. If you have determined it, everything is fine. Otherwise, install the hardware driver (must be on the disk included with the reader).
• Download and install the program for reading ATOL data: Tachograph Cards.
• Insert the driver card into the card reader. Which is correct? In most cases, the card is inserted with the chip facing up and away from you, but depending on the model of your reader, it may be different. If the reader has a green indicator, it will light up when the card is inserted correctly.
• We launch the program for working with ATOL cards: Tachograph Cards, if you have not already done so. It should look something like this:

• First, let's make sure that the card is really blocked. Click the “ Read Card ” button. A window should pop up, like in the picture below. The program asks us to select the model of the connected reader and enter the PIN code. Select the reader from the drop-down menu (most likely, you will only have one), enter the PIN and click “ Read ”:

If the card is indeed blocked, a message similar to the following should appear at the bottom of the window: “ Error: PIN code verification data is blocked. Error code: 27011 ". See the picture below. You should not pay attention to the error code number itself; they may change and differ depending on the software version and types of driver cards. The key content in this case is: “Data for checking the PIN code is blocked,” it is this inscription that indicates the driver’s card is blocked.

• Close the window and click the “ Unblock Card ” button, another window will appear - see the picture below. Here, similarly, select the reader model and enter the PUK code. Attention! The PUK code of the driver card consists of 8 digits, written in the card envelope. If you do not have a PUK code, you can use our online service to recover PIN and PUK codes of your driver card. Let's move on... The bottom two lines: “ New PIN code ” and “ Confirmation ” - in both lines you need to enter the new IDENTICAL PIN code from the driver card. Which? Is it the same one or maybe a new one? It's up to you to decide, now you have the opportunity to set the card to a completely new PIN code for the driver card, perhaps more convenient than the factory one. Well, if you are used to the old, you can introduce the old one! But! If you enter a completely new PIN code, be sure to record it somewhere, it is better to make a corresponding note in the card envelope. If you forget it and at the same time lose the envelope with the PUK code, you will no longer be able to restore this new PIN. Our online service for recovering PIN and PUK codes sends only the original payment data installed in the card. In principle, there is nothing very scary in this situation either. You can always request a PUK code through the online service. and if it is available, you can again set a new PIN by repeating the procedure from the beginning, and here it does not matter which PIN code was set previously. So, enter the data and click the “Unblock” button.

IMPORTANT ADVICE!!! Do not hurry! You should succeed the first time, carefully press the buttons on the keyboard. You must exclude any possibility of error when entering the PUK code! If after this operation the card is not unblocked, we strongly recommend that you contact the nearest QUALIFIED service center. Do not try to enter the PUK code over and over again. After three attempts, the card will be blocked forever and there will be only one way out - to issue a new driver card for the tachograph. And these are costs, and, most importantly, time, downtime, losses and the like. If you don't succeed the first time, leave the attempts to the professionals. Well, in general, see for yourself, you are the owner of the card, it’s up to you to decide... Well, if suddenly you killed the card with three incorrect attempts to enter the PUK code, you can order a driver card for a tachograph through us. We accept orders online, quickly produce and promptly deliver to any region of the Russian Federation - contact us!

A small digression: In the same way, you can change the factory PIN code on a normal, NOT blocked driver card. Insert the card into the reader, press the “unblock” button, enter the PUK code and a new, more convenient PIN code in the bottom lines. Voila - the PIN has changed! Sell ​​this service to your friends...)))

• We really hope that you were able to enter the PUK correctly the first time and the card was unblocked. You will receive a message similar to this:

Congratulations! So everything was done - correctly!

BY THE WAY! We recommend using this simple but functional program. It helps to keep track of reading dates, download the necessary periods for inspection authorities, change the PIN code to a more convenient one, unlock cards and many other small but very useful features. Of the free solutions, this is probably one of the best! Thanks to the developers.

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On the road - a couple of tips!

Do not forget that it is advisable to periodically check the driver’s card for violations of work and rest schedules. Most drivers now take this “casually”, but this is before the first meeting with an inspector normally equipped with technical control equipment. This is where the surprise comes in! It is important to use your driver’s card correctly and “work on mistakes” in a timely manner, otherwise you can run into colossal fines. Take a closer look at our online service for deciphering violations on the driver’s card for a tachograph - it’s much cheaper than purchasing specialized software. We described in detail where the fines come from in our blog article “Driver Card for Tachograph - Friend or Foe.”

Moreover! We return money in FULL to ALL disciplined drivers who, after decoding, have NO active violations of work and rest regimes identified on the driver’s tachograph card. We believe that this can be a good incentive to carry out self-monitoring more often and improve your knowledge in the field of proper operation of tachographs and the use of work and rest devices along the route. In addition, it will be useful to you financially; studying is much cheaper than paying fines. Studying these questions in advance will put you ahead of the curve! Forewarned is forearmed! When others are mercilessly fined, everything will be fine with you! And the most important thing is road safety!

Purpose of the card

The main purpose of the tach card is to record the working time of a commercial vehicle driver and record the duration of the flight period.

The tachograph records data about the movement of the vehicle, and the card with chip that comes with it performs the following tasks:

• identifies the driver who is currently driving the car;
• records working hours, and also puts notes on overtime, which are subsequently monitored by representatives of the State Traffic Inspectorate.

In situations where the card is blocked, the actions described above are not registered.