The Status Bar Stays Orange after connecting the Reader
The Message “Reader Damaged” appears
Cannot complete the transaction with IC chip card
1. I Cannot charge the Square Reader (My Square Reader won’t charge)
To charge your Square Chip Card Reader, you can use the included Micro USB Cable. If you lose the included cable, you can use any Micro USB cable to charge the Reader.
Please submit a warranty claim or contact Square Support team if you experience any of the following, which are most likely charging port defect:
•The reader cannot hold a charge
•The light at the bottom of the reader doesn’t turn on
•The red blinking light
2. The battery runs out quickly
Battery life varies with use, but Square Chip Card Reader should stay powered through a full business day (approximately 12-14 hours) of accepting payments. Therefore, if the battery of your reader doesn’t last that long, then please try the following:
▶ Remove the reader from your mobile device when not in use. When plugged into a mobile device, it will continue to consume its battery. If you don’t use the reader often, plug in the reader to your device only when you need to.
▶ Please be sure to charge the reader using a Micro USB Cable. Connecting your reader to a mobile device does not charge the reader.
▶ It takes approximately 3 hours to be fully charged. Please charge the reader fully once to see the battery.
If you’ve tried the methods above and still have issues with your battery, please submit a warranty claim or contact Square Support team.
3. The Status Bar Stays Orange after connecting the Reader
When you connect the charged reader to your device, the orange status bar will appear at the top of the Spare POS app screen. Once the connection between the device and the app is established, the status bar will turn black and show “Reader Ready”.
If the status bar stays orange, check the following settings:
▶ The volume of the device’s output is too low.
The Square Chip Card Reader uses the headphone jack on your device to communicate with the app. If the volume setting on your device set to low or is limited, the connection may not be established. If your device has a volume limiter, please turn it off and try again. It is also effective to physically press the volume button to set your volume to max while the reader is connected.
If you are using Android devices, you may receive a volume warning when Square reader is connected. Please click [OK] if you keep using the reader.
▶ Equalizer or audio enhancing settings on your device is turned on
Because the Square reader relies on the audio signal from the headphone jack to communicate to the app, anything that will alter its signal will affect the connection. If you have audio quality settings such as equalizers turned on, the connection may not be established. Please try the followings:
iOS (iPad, iPhone)
On your iOS device, go to [Settings] > [Music]. Make sure [EQ] / [Volume Limit] and [Sound Check] are all set to “Off”.
Android
If you are using an Android device, please turn off any sort of audio enhancing features from your device settings.
Here are some examples: Sound Effect, DSEE HX, SWS Mode, Dolby, JBL LiveStage, Beats Audio and BoomSound etc.
▶ The internet connection is unstable
Make sure you have a stable internet connection while using our app and reader. Internet connection is necessary to use our service.
▶ Loose connection or defect on the headphone jack of your mobile device
If there is any defect on the headphone jack, the connection may not be established. Please try the following troubleshooting methods:
- Check for lint or dust in your headset jack or Lightning connector. If you find debris, pull it out or blow carefully into the jack.
- Remove your device’s case, firmly plug in the reader and swipe again. Some phone cases prevent the reader from plugging in all the way.
- Clear debris from the card reader slot with a card reader cleaning card or a paper towel.
- Try listening to music or talking with the headset to see if the headset jack is working properly
- Check for corrosion inside your headset jack or Lightning connector. If you see a green color, that’s evidence of corrosion, and you may need to take your device in for service.
- Wipe the metal connector with a cloth. Residue can collect over time and prevent the reader from making a proper connection.
▶ A defect in the metal connector of Square Reader
After checking through all the troubleshoots and the problem still persists, please submit a warranty claim or contact Square Support team.
4. The Message “Reader Damaged” appears
If you see the message "Reader Damaged," the reader is broken and you'll need to request a new one. Please ssubmit a warranty claim or contact Square Support team.
5. Cannot Swipe the credit card
▶ Swiping a card with IC chip built-in
If the credit card has IC chip built-in, the IC chip is prioritized as it has better security. Therefore, if you swipe an IC chip card, it will prompt you to insert IC chip. Please use dip transaction for IC chip card.
▶ Practice Swipes
One way to improve the accuracy of swiping card is to practice with your own card.
- Plug the reader firmly into the headset jack until you hear it click.
- Make sure the charge amount is ¥0.
- With the card’s magnetic strip facing the thick part of the reader, swipe the card through in a level, fluid motion.
- When a practice swipe is successful, you’ll see “Card Not Charged. ¥100 Minimum Required.”
* If you see “Card Not Charged. Swipe Straight Through”, it means that this swipe was unsuccessful.
Here is the video you can check.
6. Cannot complete the transaction with IC chip card
If you cannot complete a transaction by dipping IC chip card to the reader after the Square reader is properly connected, the reader might be broken.
Please submit a warranty claim or contact Square Support team if you cannot complete a transaction by dipping IC chip card to the reader after the reader is properly connected. It is most likely that the IC chip reader of Square Reader has defected:
▶ If you have an iPhone 7 or later, please be sure to use the Lightning - 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (Please make sure to purchase an Apple brand adapter. Third-party adapters do not work with Square Chip Card Reader).
▶ Be sure you have passed the additional screening for accepting JCB, Diners Club, Discover credit cards.
Regular maintenance makes Square POS App stable.
▶ Delete and reinstall the app on your device. See Apple support or Google support for instructions. Note: If you’ve recently accepted payments in Offline Mode and haven’t uploaded them, don’t delete and reinstall the app or you’ll lose these transactions. Connect your mobile device to the Internet to complete these payments before deleting the app.
▶ Reboot your devices
▶ Check for lint or dust in your headset jack or Lightning connector. If you find debris, pull it out or blow carefully into the jack.
