The Latest Version of the RAIN RFID Protocol, Gen2v3, Is Here. What’s Next?
A new version of RAIN RFID’s air-interface protocol increases RAIN enterprise solution performance. Here's what you can expect.
Gen2v3 addresses an evolving industry
As RAIN RFID deployments grow in scope and scale, the air-interface protocol that specifies how tags and readers communicate over the air is evolving to meet enterprise demands for item visibility and traceability. Gen2v3, the latest version of the RAIN air-interface protocol recently released by GS1, adds new tag capabilities that improve filtering, increase read range, speed inventory, and streamline reading user memory.
With the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) expected to standardize Gen2v3 in 2026, it is time to focus on commercialization.
Driving the evolution of the RAIN standard
RAIN solution providers, manufacturers, logistics organizations, researchers, retailers, and the RAIN Alliance worked with GS1 in developing Gen2v3. Impinj is proud to have had its Vice President of Advanced Technology, Megan Brewster, as the committee co-chair and its Systems Engineering Technical Fellow, Rene Martinez, as one of the two project editors. Megan’s and Rene’s efforts continue Impinj’s significant involvement in developing Gen2 from its initial release in 2004, to Gen2v2 in 2013, and now Gen2v3 in 2024.
What is Gen2v3?
Gen2v3 defines the radio and logical layers of the RAIN air interface. Gen2v3 includes all the capabilities in Gen2v2, plus adds new capabilities that address the growing complexity of RAIN enterprise solutions. Gen2v3 builds on Gen2v2 to deliver improvements in:
- Tag read range: Powerup waveform shaping allows readers to deliver more power to tags, improving read range.
- Tag filtering: Tag selection, via a new QueryX command during Gen2 inventory-round initiation, ensures only tags-of-interest participate in the inventory round.
- Inventory speed: Configurable field strength during inventory allows readers to modulate the read zone and suppress hard-to-read tags at the edge of the read zone, increasing the read rate for remaining tags.
- Reading user memory: The new ReadVar command streamlines reading tag user memory by avoiding errors caused by not knowing the amount of data.
Impinj products already support many of the Gen2v3 capabilities today.
When will Impinj products support Gen2v3?
Our products already support many of the Gen2v3 capabilities today. Impinj M800 series tag chips support powerup waveform shaping and configurable field strength. They will support the new QueryX and ReadVar commands in the next major release.
Impinj E-family reader chips support powerup waveform shaping and configurable field strength today and will support additional Gen2v3 capabilities in a future firmware release within a few quarters.
Gen2X is part of, and significantly expands, Gen2v3
For nearly two decades, Impinj has helped visionary Fortune 500 enterprises solve operational challenges, which led us to develop key RAIN innovations — a solutions toolbox — that we call Impinj Gen2X. We broadly released Gen2X to the industry in December 2024. Our goal in doing so was to accelerate RAIN adoption. Gen2X is now widely available in readers, modules, and tags offered by most leading RAIN solution providers worldwide and has proven its worth by increasing tag read range, reducing the time required for handheld inventory, filtering tag populations in supply chains, and protecting consumer privacy at point of sale.
Some of Gen2X’s innovations were included in Gen2v2, and we are excited that more of them are included in Gen2v3. For example, Gen2v3’s powerup waveform shaping and configurable field strength during inventory-round initiation are both part of Gen2X, as is flexible tag selection. As a result, Gen2X operates seamlessly with the RAIN radio protocol, including Gen2v3. But it also offers dramatically enhanced capabilities.
Gen2X’s tag-to-reader link enhancements extend beyond Gen2v3 to increase read range by up to 75%, especially for small tags on densely packed items or traditionally hard-to-read items such as those containing liquids and metals. They accelerate inventory speeds by up to 100%, especially in cluttered environments. And Gen2X provides privacy protection that extends far beyond the capabilities in Gen2V3. Impinj will continue adding new innovations to Gen2X. And, as the opportunity allows, we will migrate some of Gen2X’s innovations into a future version of the Gen2 protocol. We look forward to sharing more of these innovations with the industry.
Learn more about RAIN RFID, the Impinj platform, Gen2X, and how Impinj can help connect every thing that matters in any industry.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2025
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Branda
Vice President, Marketing and Market Development
Matt Branda leads a team focused on developing new markets for the Impinj platform and delivering world-class marketing communications that engage and enable IoT partners and customers worldwide.
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