Best Microchip Scanners for 2022

The most innovative scanner on the market, Halo’s revolutionary chip reader is the ideal aid for finding lost animals and comes with software designed to turn you from a concerned animal lover into a successful dog and cat detective.

In a lightweight steering wheel design that fits perfectly in your grip, it’s perfect for travel and fully rechargeable thanks to a USB port. Yet don’t expect to have to use this much, as with a stand by time of 6 months, it almost never needs recharging!

Best of all though is that the scanner is compatible with the computer software Scanner Angel, a database designed to keep track of missing animals. This means missing animal data can be stored onto your device at all times so that if your scanner ever takes a reading from an animal registered as lost the Halo will automatically alert you that it needs rescuing.

This helps remove all hesitation and uncertainty from an encounter with a lost animal, as you’ll always be able to know for certain whether they need help or not.

It’s the scanner we use personally and can vouch that it never lets us down. The fact it doesn’t need regular charging is ideal for emergencies and it is much more comfortable to hold than many of the others we reviewed.

An incredibly underrated mechanism for pet scanners is memory storage, a particularly important feature for those who work with livestock or in shelters, as you need to be able to scan and gain ID information of so many animals, often in quick succession.

This ID reader from Sonew has the biggest memory of any other scanner on the market, holding onto an amazing 128 tags at once, allowing you to upload batches of unique ID information to a PC rather than just one ID code at a time.

It’s no surprise then that this is a widely revered gadget in animal management circles where it is also praised for it’s OLED display screen which is readable and clear under strong light.

Easy to use and charge, it’s one of the more reliable options out there!

With reading compatibility for most 10 or 15 digit microchips, this chip scanner from Bewinner is also one of the few devices to boast detection of the increasingly popular ISO animal ear tag!

An easy to operate handheld model, it’s by far one of the most portable options, with an uncomplicated one-button system and simple to understand backlit display screen.

But one of our favourite features of Bewinner’s device is its internal historic data reader, which means you can easily navigate previous code readings if you ever need to double-check a past reading.

A great option for battery snobs, Bewinner’s scanner also offers 5 hours of battery life and a handy built-in alarm to alert you whenever your machine is in need of a little charge – which is no hassle thanks to a USB interface.

A no-nonsense scanner that gets the job done!

This scanner can hold its battery for up to a year, making it the ideal pick if you’re always on the go rescuing or checking for lost cats.

There is a storage facility which can hold up to 128 previous bits of data in case you need to double check something, and when it does need recharging, there is a USB cable so it can be done on-the-go in a car as well as at home.

Although easily the priciest microchip reader on this list, it’s no surprise this super pet scanner from Sonew is also by far the best model money can buy.

Thanks to its almost universal reading capabilities of 134.2 and 125KHz chips it will pick up the majority of new and old chips including FDX-A, FDX-B, EM4102 and HDX models, ensuring almost every pet in town is up for discovery.

But this isn’t just your basic chip reader either, as it’s also one of the only scanners to support seven languages and feature built-in Bluetooth technology, meaning you can link the scanner up to your phone to record and check missing code numbers on the go and quicker than ever before.

With a memory of up to 100 tags, it’s a fantastic choice for those who work in pet identification roles as it always allows you to scan several animals at once and to complete missing checks on mass.

But don’t worry if you’re averse to such advanced technology, as this Sonew creation can also perform the basic stuff too, with computer compatibility thanks to a USB port and one of the best LED display screens available featuring battery life and sunlight readability.