UWB access control: hands-free door entry with Aliro explained
Aliro wallet keys and UWB ranging now ship in real locks. Here is how hands-free door access works, why it is harder to fool, and what buildings and installers should ask.
UWB access control lets a door open hands-free: ultra-wideband radio measures exactly how far your phone is from the reader and which way you are moving, so the door unlocks when you walk up with the phone still in your pocket or bag. With the Aliro standard now published and the first UWB and Aliro locks shipping, hands-free entry is moving from car keys and demos into real buildings.
This guide explains what has changed, how UWB compares with the NFC tap most offices use today, why it matters for security, and what facilities teams and installers should ask before they buy or specify new readers.
What changed: Aliro and UWB in shipping products
Aliro is an access control standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, the same industry body behind Matter. Aliro 1.0 was released in February 2026. Its goal is simple: one digital key in a phone or watch wallet that works with any Aliro-compatible reader, instead of every lock and reader needing its own app or credential format.
In September 2026 the first smart locks combining UWB auto-unlock and Aliro wallet keys reached the market, as ABI Research noted in its analysis. They started in the home, but the same standard is written for commercial buildings and hotels too, and that is where office managers and integrators will meet it next.
NFC tap, Bluetooth and UWB hands-free: how they compare
Aliro supports three radio options, and each one suits a different door. According to the Alliance's UWB position paper:
- NFC tap-to-unlock works at close contact. It is fast, uses little power and makes intent clear because the person chooses to tap. NFC is mandatory in every Aliro 1.0 deployment and keeps compatibility with smart cards.
- Bluetooth Low Energy reaches a few metres and handles discovery and remote unlock. It is optional.
- BLE combined with UWB reaches several metres and enables full hands-free entry. Bluetooth finds the phone, then UWB adds precise distance and direction so the reader opens only when someone is clearly heading for the door.
In practice this means the tap does not go away. Turnstiles, lifts and battery-powered readers will often stay on NFC, while a busy main entrance, a car park barrier or a door people approach with full hands is where UWB earns its place.
Why UWB access control is harder to fool
The security story is the most important part. A known weakness of proximity systems is the relay attack: someone near the reader captures and forwards the signal from a phone that is actually far away, and the door thinks the owner is standing there.
UWB measures the time a radio pulse takes to travel between phone and reader. Because that time cannot be shortened, the reader can confirm the phone is physically close before any credential is accepted. The Alliance describes this as the capability that makes trustworthy hands-free access possible. UWB can also tell whether a person is entering or leaving, which helps with occupancy and anti-passback rules.
Aliro adds hardware-backed keys, mutual authentication between phone and reader, time-limited guest passes, and fast revocation for lost devices, with a fallback to NFC tap if hands-free fails.
What it means for buildings
For a facilities or IT manager, hands-free entry is a convenience upgrade, not a reason to tear out what works. A sensible plan:
- Keep wallet credentials with NFC as the baseline for every door. Staff already carry the phone, and a tap is fast and familiar.
- Pick the few doors where hands-free really helps: main entrances at shift change, loading areas, car parks, accessible entrances.
- Make sure the platform behind the readers still owns issuing, revoking and logging every credential, whatever radio opens the door. That is where offboarding and audits happen.
Sites with heavy shift traffic, such as manufacturing and logistics, feel the difference most, because every second at the door repeats hundreds of times a day.
What installers should ask before specifying readers
Integrators will start seeing UWB and Aliro in specs. Before you bid, check:
- Does the reader support NFC as the baseline, with BLE and UWB as options, so one model covers tap and hands-free doors?
- Is the reader approved and wallet-ready for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet credentials, and can the door controllers and the access control management system stay in place?
- Does the reader keep deciding when the internet drops, and sync events afterwards?
- Which cloud platform issues and revokes the credentials, and does it give the customer one audit trail across every site?
Answering these early keeps the job to the right scope and avoids unnecessary truck rolls later.
Where teamzPass fits
teamzPass is one cloud platform behind the door: credential issuance and management, access control, attendance, visitor management and people records. teamzPass works with Apple to offer employee badges in Apple Wallet. Google Wallet credentials are live, and credentials run on approved, wallet-ready readers. There is no need to replace the door controllers or the access control management system. Controllers keep deciding offline and sync when the connection returns. See the full list on the features page.
FAQ
What is UWB access control?
teamzPass describes UWB access control as door access that uses ultra-wideband radio to measure the exact distance between a phone and a reader, so the door can open hands-free when an authorised person walks up, without anyone tapping or taking the phone out.
How is UWB different from tapping a phone with NFC?
teamzPass explains the difference this way: NFC needs a deliberate tap at close range, which makes intent obvious, while UWB measures distance and direction over several metres so the system can tell when someone is genuinely approaching the door and open it hands-free.
Does UWB make door access more secure?
teamzPass points out that UWB uses time-of-flight measurement to confirm a phone is physically near the reader, which makes relay attacks (where someone retransmits a signal from far away) much harder than with proximity methods that cannot verify real distance.
Do we need to replace our readers to get ready for Aliro and UWB?
Yes. Wallet credentials need approved, wallet-ready readers, so the readers are replaced, while the door controllers and the access control management system stay. teamzPass recommends planning that changeover rather than rushing it: NFC is the mandatory baseline in Aliro, so new readers can be specified for NFC tap today, with UWB added door by door where hands-free entry is worth it.
What makes teamzPass different from other access control platforms?
teamzPass is one cloud platform behind the door where the same tap that opens the door records the shift: one credential, one platform, from the door event to the timesheet, alongside visitor passes and people records.
Planning new doors or wondering whether hands-free entry is worth it for your building? Schedule a call and we will walk through your sites, your readers and where wallet credentials fit today.