FAQ - iMag Pro II



This FAQ attempts to answer the common questions one might have while working with ID TECH's iMag Pro II. Older versions of the iMag Pro II (iMag, iMag Pro) are no longer supported. The iMag Pro II is a magnetic stripe reader for all Apple Lightning connector devices: iPhones and iPads. It will only work with Apple devices that have a Lightning connector. It is not a keyboard emulating read. That means it requires an application designed to work with it. A demo app is available on the Apple App Store. You cannot use the reader to fill in web forms or input data to an application that does not expressly support it.  For a keyboard emulating reader see the VP3300BT or VP3300USB.


Where can I find the user Manual?


Do I need a driver?


What is MFI and do I need to register my application with your iMag Pro II product plan?

How do I get my application added to the iMag Pro II's product plan?

What is the PPID for the iMag Pro II?

Will it work with lates iOS update? Will it work with iOS version x?

How can I test/demo/validate my iMag Pro II?

Can I use the iMag Pro II with a case? Can I use a lightning extender?

Do I need to charge my iMag Pro II? 

Can I charge my phone/tablet while iMag Pro II is connect? How does the passthrough port work?

Can I control (send commands) the reader and get data from the micro USB port?


How do I run the debugger on iMag Pro/iMag Pro II reader?

A. Since iMag and iMag Pro both use 30-pin dock and they share the same SDK, you may use iMag reader, which includes a Micro USB connector on the side, while developing their own application.

We received following message from Apple while we submit application to App Store. “We are unable to post your app to the App Store at this time because we have no verification that you are authorized to distribute apps that interact with the required MFi hardware.” What should we do?

A. Before submitting an iMag or iMag Pro compatible application to App Store, we, ID TECH, as the hardware vendor have to register the application to our product plan in order for the application to be registered to work with our product.  You need to provide following information to ID TECH.

  1. App Name
  2. App Developer
  3. Adam ID (the identifier of an application which shows under iTunes Connect as Apple ID)
  4. App Bundle Seed ID
  5. Version
The above mentioned certification process takes approximately 7-10 days. Once the above process is done, you can then submit your application with the PPID that ID TECH provided to you.

I am looking for a solution to get data from the magnetic strip into a FileMaker Go App (FileMaker Inc.).  If i'm in an iApp (for example, “Notes”) and swipe a credit card through iMag Pro II, would there be any data pasted into the App?

A. The mobile readers are not keyboard emulated. Therefore, an application is required to receive data from the SDK. The card data will not be shown in an iApp (such as Notes) because the application is not listening to data coming from either the lightning connector (for iMagPro II family readers) or headphone jack (for UniMag II/Shuttle family readers).

I am trying to send commands to iMag Pro/iMag Pro II reader through a mobile device, but I always receive <NAK>.

A. The command structure specified in the user's manual is based on the testing environment of PC.  However, in iOS environment, the pattern is slightly different. Please try to reverse the position of <ETX> and <LRC>.

Where to put the PPID once my application has been added to ID TECH's product plan and has been approved by Apple?

A. You can try to add the PPID in the "Review Notes".

I upgraded my Apple device to iOS 8 and my iMag Pro II stopped working, why?

A.Check the revision of your reader. This can be found on the label on the base of the reader. For the base model of IDMR-AL30133, if it is Rev. A or B, it must be upgraded via firmware to support iOS 8. If your reader is Rev. 55 or prior, it cannot support the upgrade and you will need to purchase a new reader. The cost of the upgrade is a one time fee of $15. Contact support for how to start an RMA and get your reader working again. *Note that when a Rev. A or Rev. B reader has had the firmware upgrade applied, it will have a small sticker on both the box and reader which says "DA-092514-2". If so, the reader should support the current iOS version. Please note that most Rev. B were already upgraded. This can be confirmed by checking for the DA sticker.

Does the iMag Pro and iMag Pro II SDK support ARM 64?

A.Yes, starting with SDK version 2.8, the iMag Pro SDK supports 64 bit.

See also: