Zebra EM45 RFID with Tulip Player (Android) - best practices / setup examples

Support, Troubleshooting, & Help
, , , ,
1

Hi everyone,

We’re currently integrating Zebra EM45 RFID devices with Tulip Player on Android 14 (DataWedge v14.1.32, Tulip Player v2.6.0) and would like to hear from other users who’ve successfully connected RFID readers through Tulip.

Our main goals are:

  • Triggering RFID reads from a hardware button or Tulip app button

  • Sending scanned RFID tag data to a Tulip variable (via input field or machine trigger)

  • Preparing for a future setup where multiple tags (4–6) are read and handled as an array

If anyone can share configuration examples, DataWedge profiles, or tips on reliable Tulip integration patterns, that would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance for your feedback and experience sharing!

2

Hi there,

Thanks for the question. Zebra devices can work with Tulip through DataWedge as long as the profile is set to send data as standard keyboard input with an Enter key at the end. This lets Tulip read the tag either through a focused input field or through a device trigger.

The hardware trigger on the EM45 should work once it is mapped in DataWedge. For multiple tags, most apps collect each read into a table or variable and handle grouping or deduping in a trigger.

A good way to check your setup is to try the RFID Scanner Unit Tests app from the Tulip Library. It helps confirm that the device is sending data to Tulip as expected.

If you want to share your DataWedge settings or what you see in the Player, I can help review.

References
DataWedge setup guide: https://support.tulip.co/r230/docs/zebra-android-datawedge-configuration
RFID test app: https://library.tulip.co/apps/rfid-scanner-unit-tests

1 Like
3

After several discussions with the Zebra team and some additional research, I was finally able to resolve the issue.

The hardware buttons used to trigger RFID reading are now clearly identified:
EM45 → SYMBOL_TRIGGER_3, configured using the Key Programmer in the Android Setup.

The DataWedge profile is now correctly configured as well:

  • Create a dedicated profile and link the allowed apps

  • RFID Input (Power settings, trigger mode, read delay, ASCII conversion)

  • Keystroke Output (Keyboard events, character delay, prefix/suffix, basic or advanced configuration)

The trigger behaviors are also properly set:

  • For standard input-field scans, simply ensuring the input field is focused is sufficient

  • For batch / multi-tag RFID scans, use the Devices → Barcode Scanner trigger, then handle the retrieved values one by one

Thank you all for your input — it has been extremely helpful.

1 Like
4

Thank you your answer and links have been extremely helpful.

1 Like