Hack a locked tag

In short no. Locking an NTAG213 type tag isn't an encryption or password based process. It changes the memory in a 'one-way' only method which means that the data is secure.

The slightly longer answer : There are actually two types of locking. A 'software' lock which configures the memory of the chip in a way that it effectively politely tells the reader 'I'm locked don't change my data'. Most NFC Forum compatible phones will obey this instruction. However with the right hardware you can ignore it and change the data anyway. A 'hard' lock is as described above. The memory of the chip is changed so that the chip itself doesn't allow the memory change.

It's also possible to 'lock' an NTAG213 or ICODE SLIX 2 type tag using password protection which could be hacked. Although it's possible to set this so that after a certain number of failed attempts the tag effectively goes to hardware lock.

On NTAG424 it's possible to lock to an encryption key. This is extremely secure
Seritag - 12 Nov 2025