Alacrity 2D 1D Wireless Barcode Scanner with Stand, 3-in-1 Connectivity Bluetooth 2.4G Wireless USB Wired, Barcode Reader with Hands-Free Mode and Vibration Alert, Blue

While I am not a really demanding user of bar code scanners, I do appreciate when they work well and are convenient to use. This one qualifies of both counts. For my own purposes, I got this scanner to use at work when doing equipment inventory, where having it be cordless is going to be a huge blessing, as I will typically be using it my IT storage closet that is full of equipment, hard to move around in, and would be impossible to maneuver with a corded scanner. After doing a bit of testing, I am quite pleased with how well this one works, both wired, wireless with the dongle, and wireless with Bluetooth. It had no problems scanning any of the barcodes that I typically use, even at off angles, with reflective lighting, and with some barcodes being partially smudged. Additionally, while the range with the included dongle was good and required no setup at all (beyond scanning the code in the manual to put it into dongle mode), the range with Bluetooth was even better. I was able to scan codes with no problems at all on the other side of my basement from my office, which is close to 30' away through 3 walls. Essentially, this means I'll be able to connect this to my laptop by Bluetooth and leave my laptop setting on the shelf outside my IT closet while using it, which is going to make my life easier. About the only issue I experienced range-wise was when I got even a few feet further away: specifically, as this emulates a keyboard, it sends the make/break codes typical of such devices, and it would occasionally miss the break code. The end result of this would be that it would start repeating some of the characters in the bar code...in some cases, dozens of times. That being said, this was at probably around 40' of distance and not totally unexpected, but having it totally drop the Bluetooth connection itself when it started getting errors would have been a better failure mode. Regardless, I am not at all upset about this, as that range is really pushing it.The one area where I am going to criticize this scanner is with regards to the included documentation. While it is great for those things that it does include, there are a bunch of things that simply are missing from it. One of these is the set of scan codes to put it into continuous scan mode, which is how you typically would want it configured when being used on the included stand. Fortunately, these codes are actually shown in the pictures on the Amazon website, so you will probably want to make a point of saving them and printing them out, as they are not present anywhere else. Additionally, the other thing that is missing is the PIN code required to actually allow this to connect via Bluetooth. Fortunately, after a bit of experimentation, I discovered that the code is the relatively common "0000" and was able to get it connected.So, great product, but incomplete documentation, for which I am knocking one star off on the review.

I've been trying to organize the boxes and boxes of papers I have at my house and decided that it would be worth investing in an inventory management software. I thought it would be great to use barcode stickers on each box to make it easier to find what I'm looking for. I decided that I needed a barcode scanner and came across this product.The scanner was ready to use right out of the box. It was already charged and worked perfectly when I tested it out. The "beep" it makes is nice and audible to me, the stand is sturdy and super convenient to have, and the trigger worked perfectly. I like that it has Bluetooth technology because that feature allows me to connect the scanner to my computer with the inventory management software.

So I own an electronics company that fabricates electronic boards and therefore work with a LOT of parts (picture is just one wall of parts, we have 3 walls like this). Recently I switched over to barcode scanning which has made my life so much easier. As we migrate inventory to include barcode labels it also makes checking material out of inventory easier as well. And since our inventory program can search by barcode, it also means we can pull up information and datasheets far faster than before just by scanning the barcode. Anyway...enough about why I use this.The other barcode scanners we are using are handheld too, they are not like this one (they are like a square bar instead) and over some time are a little hard on the wrist. When we check in inventory and need to scan a lot of stuff the 'hands-free mode' is what caught my eye. There was a small hiccup on that though where the included brochure did not have the proper settings code to get it to go into automatic scanning. The seller was quick to reply and provide me with an image of those settings which worked wonderfully. It definitely put a smile on my face. I have included the image that was provided. Unfortunately I don't know if Amazon will crop the picture and reduce it's resolution to the point it can't be scanned...in which case you'll need to ask the seller for it since I couldn't find it on the manufacturer's website.Scanner is comfortable to use, light weight and not bulky. Scanner was able to easily transmit (via Bluetooth) at a distance of ~30 feet on the same floor and one floor below at around ~35 feet. I believe it could go further, but for our office space this is more than adequate. Scanning was quick, quicker than the other two scanners we have. The flashing red square that shows what you are scanning seems accurate as well...able to select one barcode over another that is right next to it (my other one wouldn't always get the one you were pointing at).When the scanner is in automatic mode it uses movement to turn on/off the scanner. This means all you need to do is wave an item in front of it and it will turn on and scan the item. The only negative I had with the automatic mode is occasionally we would get a double scan. There were two different automatic modes so maybe we'll need to experiment with both of them to see if it helps. Otherwise I think with a small amount of use the double scan will be much less (or eliminated entirely).I like that this has the ability to show what battery level it is at. Although you need to keep the scan codes close to do this (I'm still trying to see if I can download the brochure so we can have the scan codes on the network instead). With the settings you can also add a prefix or suffix to all scanned codes (so if your company uses a custom prefix to add to the original manufacturer's code - this can do it for you). It can take a little bit to program in if you are doing it one letter at a time, but I think (don't quote me on this) you can create a custom barcode that has the entire prefix/suffix you want to use instead. You can also program in the date/time and use that to add to your barcode scan outputs.Just in case you don't know this, the item is basically detected as a keyboard by the computer you are using it on. Then when you go to scan something you just need to have your cursor wherever you want the output to go. It has an automatic carriage return after transmitting the scanned code (which is great for our inventory program), but this feature can also be turned off if needed. It can be plugged directly into a computer via the cable which is also a plus just in case you don't want to use Bluetooth (or their provided 2.4GHz dongle).

It read every 2d barcode I have thought to try, including one that another scanner couldn't (The one UPS uses with the dot in the middle) Either that isn't IN ASCII or it got it wrong, but my hunch is that it isn't stored as text and that's what the other one had a problem with. Regardless, this one did get the data to the PC, so it probably can be USED, if you knew the trick.It has a targeting retical. Put the red square on the barcode that you want. One drawback on scanning is that it needs to be more aligned to the code, rotationally speaking, than a classic analog sensor. Somewhere around 30 degrees, it won't read. It also seems to have more trouble with fuzzy barcodes than the analog style. Not a lot more, but more. (I haven't tested it with sunglare, but it likely is more vulnerable to that, as well) The key thing, though, is that it works well.Anyhow, I expected it to work when I plugged it directly into a USB port. It didn't. It loaded all the expected drivers (though more *instances of them* than I expected) and then gave me an error code when I tried to scan things. (flashed red and made a grumpy sound.) On a hunch I simply unplugged it and plugged it back in. Everything began working as expected. Never had an issue since.After testing it with that, I tried plugging in the dongle. Here comes the first (minor) complaint: The dongle is actually a bit TOO tight. It is snug, though, so that you can trust it not to fall out any time soon.The thing loaded the drivers almost instantly and started working. I think plugging it in directly loads the wired and wireless drivers or something. Regardless, this pup can hunt.It also comes with a usable stand and such if you want to simply set it someplace or set it to continually scan and send whenever you put a code under it. (I don't want that, so I've not tested it out. Sorry.)To change how it works, you'll need to scan the appropriate codes from the included book. That's pretty straightforward. It has codes like most of these including turning on that continuous scan function.Not that it matters much to me, but it also actually looks pretty snappy.

This review is for the Alacrity 2D 1D Wireless Barcode Scanner with Stand, 3-in-1 Connectivity Bluetooth 2.4G Wireless USB Wired, Barcode Reader with Hands-Free Mode and Vibration Alert, BlueIt has been tested with many different bar codes that we use at our company and seems to work well without issue. It charges via USB, which is included. It has a Rubbery Plastic grip. It doesn't feel super cheap. It is lightweight and easy to maneuver.