Why doesn't my ACR38 SmartCard Reader work?
Emily Wong 
I've this SmartCard reader:
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 072f:90cc Advanced Card Systems, Ltd ACR38 SmartCard ReaderI've installed the following packages: pcscd, libacr38u, pcsc-tools, and a driver available on this website
the pcscd daemon seems running:
andrea@centurion:~$ ps -e | grep pcsc 2799 ? 00:00:00 pcscdwhen I try to test if the smart card is working, I get no reply:
andrea@centurion:~$ pcsc_scan
PC/SC device scanner
V 1.4.16 (c) 2001-2009, Ludovic Rousseau <>
Compiled with PC/SC lite version: 1.5.3
Scanning present readers...
Waiting for the first reader...how can I fix this?
14 Answers
It looks like your ACR38 is supported by the CCID driver libccid
How to get the eid electronic card reader ACR38U working in Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit
Prerequisites: Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit, newest version of Mozilla Firefox, pcscd, default-jre, opensc, libacr38u, libacr38ucontrol0, libacsccid1, libccid
In a Terminal session, run the following commands:
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install firefox pcscd default-jre opensc libacr38u libacr38ucontrol0 libacsccid1 libccid
sudo aptitude remove --purge beid*
wget
sudo dpkg -i eid-mw_4.0.4r1253_amd64_tcm226-178472.deb
wget
sudo dpkg -i eid-viewer_4.0.4r146_amd64_tcm226-178482.deb
Manually set the following values in Mozilla Firefox in about:config
security.ssl.allow_unrestricted_renego_everywhere__temporarily_available_pref;true security.ssl.enable_false_start;true security.ssl.renego_unrestricted_hosts;*.be
Manually replace the security.ssl.renego_unrestricted_hosts name certif.belgium.be or *.be in about:config, if you want to authenticate on a DIFFERENT site than or test.eid.belgium.be !!!
Download Belgium Root certificates here:
Import Belgium Root certificates into Firefox.
The Belgium Root certificates are required if you want to use the applications of the FSP Finance (Belcotax, Intervat, Finprof, etc.).
Before you begin, make sure your identity card is in the card reader. Then:
Viewing certificates For Linux: Go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Encryption and click ‘View certificates’.
Check-marking certificates
Follow the steps below for the ‘Belgium Root CA’ and ‘Belgium Root CA2’ certificates. Can you only find one certificate? Then you obviously only have to perform these steps once. Find the ‘Belgium Root CA’ or ‘Belgium Root CA2’ certificate and click the line below the arrow. Click ‘Edit…’. Check ALL three boxes. Click ‘OK’.Ensure that there are absolutely NO add-ons or plugins installed in Mozilla Firefox. Installing the Belgium eid Firefox add-on will NOT work in Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit and only make matters worse!
Disconnect the eid card reader from the PC. Reconnect the eid card reader from the PC.
Insert eid card into card reader.
Reboot the PC.
Test eid card reader here:
2For anyone coming here for Ubuntu 18.04, I did the following to get it working :
sudo apt-get install libpcsclite1Download and install the ACR38 driver manually from
Unzip the downloaded driver and open a terminal in that directory + install the debian package
cd ubuntu/artful (it is for Ubuntu 17.10 but working. MAybe there will be a 18.04 directory in the future...)
sudo dpkg -i libacsccid1_1.1.5-1~ubuntu17.10.1_amd64.debRestart pcsc daemon
sudo service pcscd restartand the reaer was recognized (with pcsc_scan at least, and later with Belgian EID program)
1If you have Ubuntu 10.04 or later, then judging by the bug reports you shouldn't be experiencing this issue anymore. (Version 1.7.10 of libacr38u).
Seeing as the driver you downloaded is two years old, and there is a package to provide support for this device in the Ubuntu respositories (libacr38u) then I would keep away from the driver.
If you are on Ubuntu 10.04 or later (especially if it doesn't work in 10.10) then please report a bug by pressing Alt+F2 and entering ubuntu-bug libacr38u.
