Square says my Android device is rooted BUT its not!

[ConnectMe]

Square you need to allow all android devices that are not rooted which mine is not to have access to the contactless chip reader, I cant connect, 2 months old from the OPTUS store, i've checked the rooting of the device and it comes up with no root. 

You need to upgrade the software please because i'm not the only one getting this message out there. 

[Seamus · Accepted solution]

Hey there,

Thank you for your message! 

The message that you're seeing saying your device is rooted may be related to Developer Options being enabled on your phone. Apps to check the rooting of a mobile device also need to be uninstalled from your mobile device before you can connect a Square Reader.

If you've already disabled developer options, restart your phone, and have another go. I would also recommend checking your phone's compatibility on our page!

We are always working towards having more Android compatibility, but sometimes a mobile device does not meet all the security requirements to support card processing, and we need to be mindful of our customers' private card information being processed securely.

Cheers!

[Seamus]

Hey @PeterT,

No updates unfortunately - I passed your feedback to our Android development team, however we're likely not going to be seeing any changes to Android compatibility messaging in the near future.

[PeterT]

Hi Sheamus,

I understand that there might not be any imminent app updates, however, my main query was around getting a list of the checks that the app does. At least then we might have something to assist in troubleshooting rather than just bumbling around trying every possible combination under the sun whilst standing on one leg with a singing parrot on the shoulder and a tea cosy on the head (I'm pretty sure this did actually work for me once).

Also, I see there is a beta app (5.24b1) in the Google Play store. Not sure why it's got the same version number as the old one (5.24) but can you please advise whether this app should (or could) be used in preference to the previous non-beta version. Does it have any changes that may be remotely linked to our current issue? Or will installing it break the functionality even more as betas are more likely to do?

[4qct]

Hi @Seamus 

I have just experienced the same issue on my phone. It is a Motorola G4. I have been using the square app and reader for over a year now, and apart from the occasional glitch of having to forget the reader and add it back again, has performed well. I have been experiencing ghost touching (a known problem with Motorola phones), with one of the recommendations to determine what part of the screen being affected is to turn on developer mode and screen press echo. That was the only change I did. Go to do a transaction, and get the message that Square will not run while in developer mode. Fine, I go and turn off developer mode. Try again - and then get the message that the device is ROOTED and refuses to connect to the scanner. Restart the phone, update the app - nothing worked. The phone is not rooted, that is a bogus and misleading message. This has now cost me money as I could not process the transaction at the time.

It is unacceptable that using the same phone with a small change (that was reversed) can suddenly make Square rendered inoperable - and with a false generic error message. To hide behind the compatibility list and state that maybe it is this, maybe it is that but hey, that is the risk you take??? You are aware the ACCC requires clear and transparent labeling when providing services or equipment? Where is the statement that says "Square may or may not work after any update, changes to your carrier, or apps you install"? Is this broadcast to all users on a regular basis? I can say no, as I have never been aware of these potentially business crashing issues.

At the very least, there should be an app or help tool in Square that can be run to identify the cause of compatibility issues (root or otherwise). That is a minimum that I would expect, and could only be helpful to Square as well. Obviously the current app can determine that something is making it not happy - that Square refuses to divulge what this is in the great name of secrecy is beyond a joke. I used to advocate and promote Square - in good faith I cannot do this, I am so disappointed - I had hoped to move away from the major providers, not head back to them.

[AvilaVista]

@Drewster Australian consumer law overrides any vendor warranty restrictions, and to sell here they MUST include specific wording to that effect, explaining your rights.

[AvilaVista]

Buying a low-cost compatible phone specifically to use with the device could be a reasonable option, however when you guys have phones on the compatible device list that STILL fail to work after their latest update then that seems like an unwarranted risk.

Hopefully they will soon work out what they have done wrong and fix it in another update. 

[Daylef]

I had exactly the same thing with a Samsung S8 after replacing the contactless reader and called support. I was told there is an app on the phone that doesn't pass Square's rigid security requirements and I would have to do a factory reset (a big job obviously) which I said was unacceptable and asked if uninstalling and reinstalling the Square app would help, to which his response was "no it wouldn't" and "a factory reset is the only solution". After the call, I uninstalled the app and reinstalled it. Guess what? The problem disappeared and the app found the new reader.     

[Lahcen]

I uninstalled the app too and yes it recognizes it but won't let me do any transactions. Honestly im fed up with this bull**bleep**.  Are they that lazy? I don't buy this security nonsense.  If my phone isn't factory reset don't tell me that's the issue because its not. 

[Seamus]

Hey @Lahcen,

I understand this is a frustrating issue for you and I wish I was able to give you an easy solution.

The advice provided in this thread and by Square's support team at large is the advice that has been provided by the engineers who make the Square POS app. On a wider scale, the vast majority of attempted connections on Samsung S8 and S9s are successful - when they're not, we need to be looking at the operating environment of the individual device, how the Android install on a given device may have been altered (either knowingly or unknowingly) and what settings or 3rd party apps may be causing the issue.

I've written in detail about possible causes of this issue, explained the technical reasons behind why you may see this issue and noted the operating conditions Square's app needs to meet to comply with PCI operating standards as a safe and secure card processing machine.

Ultimately it's up to you as to whether you accept this explanation, but regardless of how you feel about this I'd like to ask that we please keep the conversation respectful and in line with our Community Guidelines.

Cheers!

[Guy62]

As a user with the same problem I can only point out that this is an unacceptable situation. Clearly our once-usable devices are no longer compatible with a large number of popular Android devices.

I understand the need to meet PCI standards, but at the very least any routine that rejects a device should provide a clear diagnostic message why the device has been rejected.

The "rooted" device message is clearly a catch-all and/or very poor coding.

Square should either address this by coding their security-risk detection routines correctly for Android, or they should openly declare that Android is not supported. They should remove the Android logo from the products and commence refunds.

Please let this community know. Will there be a remedy to this or not? We have to make business-platform decisions based on the likelihood of a resolution.

[Seamus]

Hey @Guy62,

For clarity, please refer to our list of compatible mobile devices for supported Android devices. If a device has been tested as compatible by Square it will be listed here, along with which of our devices it will work with. Non-tested devices may incidentally work with Square's readers upon meeting certain operating requirements, however if a device is not listed as compatible it means we don't test for compatibility when we update our reader firmware and POS app, and don't officially support the device.

Are you able to let me know which make and model of Android device you are using, and is it listed as compatible?

[Guy62]

Hi Sheamus, it is an Oppo R15. It worked fine originally when I bought my Square but stopped after your upgrade.
When I bought the Square unit, there was no compatibility list, at least not one that was publicised or noted anywhere on the packaging. It simply worked with Android.
My phone is not rooted and has no compromising software on it.
My complaint is that I made the decision to buy Square on the available information in the store. It worked until Square rendered it inoperable, and that you have done that through an incorrect assessment of my device.
I had a payment system that I was actually quite happy with, but you've taken it away.
Can I and other Android users expect you to fix it, or do we just have to go elsewhere?

[Seamus]

Hey @Guy62,

I'd be happy to pass your feedback on to our marketing team for further consideration, however we unfortunately don't have a solution for you here.

The Oppo R15 is not a device Square test as compatible and has never featured on our compatibility list. You may find some Oppo devices will incidentally work with Square if they meet certain Android operating requirements, as it seems yours has in the past. With that said, because we don't test for compatibility on this device when we update out POS app and reader firmware, we can't guarantee it will work on an ongoing basis with Square as we continually update the firmware and security in our readers. 

Sorry I can't be of more help here! If you'd like to discuss further with our support team, please feel free to call in on 1800 760 137. Lines are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.

[fbau]

Hi @Seamus,

Thanks for your help on this so far. I was wondering if the pending reader update in the next 24h is going to address some of these issues/improve compatibility with android devices at all?

Additionally, can you confirm whether Android One devices should work? Given that Android One is certified to be stock android without vendor modifications to the OS, can you get the engineering team to confirm that these devices should work?

I've noticed there are already some Android One devices on the compatibility list (?

Thanks so much,

  fb.

[Seamus]

Hey @fbau,

The update to the reader firmware makes some general improvements to payment speed and performance, but nothing Android specific as far as I know.

While I can't find direct reference to Android One compatibility, I don't see why it wouldn't work - if the device is on the compatibility list and allows for Google Pay it should be fine. I'd assume stock Android should have less issues than a modified version.

I can see if we have anyone in the office running Android One and check in with engineering, then get back to you on this 👍

[Seamus]

Hey again @fbau,

Following up from yesterday's post, Android One should be fine on any Android device we list as compatible.

I was also able to test pairing our Contactless + Chip reader on a Nokia 8.1 (not officially supported by Square) and it also worked.

[fbau]

Hi @Seamus , appreciate the response!

Just to clarify, Android One is a certification standard from Google (not an OS), so when you say:

Android One should be fine on any Android device we list as compatible

---

That doesn't really make sense? Android One is a family of devices that are officially certified by Google to be running real, stock Android (without modifications by the vendor), ie:

• Australia (15 devices)
• USA (51 devices)
• UK (16 devices)

These represent the most "officially approved and supported" android devices (short of those made by google themselves), so it's a little frustrating that almost none of them are on the official compatibility list (particularly things like the Xiaomi A2/A3).

Also, a lot of the compatible devices that are listed are extremely old (ie: the nexus 7 is 6 years old) and no longer receive security updates, which seems ironic given that the compatibility list is under the guise of security 😐

It also appears that the reader used to be compatible with pretty much anything with BLE (in fact, the sales page still says this):

---

The Square contactless and chip reader is compatible with most tablets and smartphones that have BLE built in. If you’ve bought a new device in the last few years, it’s more than likely to have BLE, which is fantastic because it helps maintain a longer battery life

---

This is (sadly) counter to what people are reporting in this thread and also what I have discovered trying to buy numerous modern/supported android devices only to find they suddenly don't work with Square reader.

The page then goes on to say:

To make things easy (it’s kind of what we’re known for)...

---

To be honest, not knowing at any given point if a specific android device will work or not (or might start working, then stop working some weeks later) is not really "making things easy".

Understand the challenges with the wide android ecosystem here, but if there could be some increased transparency as to what makes a device compatible or not other than "it might be" that would be super helpful for real users!

I love square a lot, but it's super tricky to keep that up if the device list is a combination of old and unstable. Thank you!

[Seamus]

Hey @fbau,

Please accept my apologies if I've misunderstood the nature of Android One. I've inquired further about whether or not we have any plans for Android One and will report back if the team has anything to share.

At the end of the day we can only refer you our Compatibility List as the official resource for Android compatibility. This list is collated by the engineers who develop our Android app and ensure Square's reader will operate on unmodified devices that appear on the list. Other devices may incidentally work upon meeting certain operating conditions but yep, you're totally right - this can change with app and firmware updates, which is why we don't list these devices as compatible.

I can't speak for the person who wrote the copy in the blog post you've linked, but the Android compatibility situation hasn't changed since then (other than new devices having been added). We've always referred merchants to our compatibility list for complete info, and the blog you've linked also refers to this page for the most up to date info. We try to support the most common/popular models of Android devices, which is what this post may refer to.

I appreciate your want for more transparent info surrounding Android operating conditions and more recent models to be added to the list - all I can really do here is pass your feedback on to the Android development team for consideration. Regardless of how old an Android device may be and whether or not it still receives updates from the manufacturer, Square's job is to ensure these devices meet our obligations under PCI Compliance.

For security reasons, I don't think it's likely we'll publicly release more granular info on Android operating conditions - however if we have any more info to share in the future I'll be sure to post it here and let you know.

We appreciate your support, and do understand the challenges Android users face with compatibility! This thread has been passed to our Android development team a couple of times now, and while we can't guarantee any specific changes, our team is reading and considering your feedback.

All the best!

[AvilaVista]

---

@Seamus wrote:

Hey @fbau,

[...]

For security reasons I don't think it's likely that we'll be publicly releasing more granular info on Android operating conditions, however if we have any more info to share in the future I'll be sure to post it here and let you know.

---

This sounds like "Security Through Obscurity", which is really not security at all!(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_through_obscurity)

Modern security opens the system and implementation to public scrutiny to ensure there are no unintended flaws in either.

[fbau]

Hi @Seamus,

Really appreciate the feedback. My main concern is how old the majority of the compatible android devices are and how few of them are still receiving updates. For example here is a (slightly incomplete) extract from the compatibility matrix:

Name: Released
Motorola DROID RAZR M: 2012
ASUS Memo Pad: 2013
Google Nexus 7 (2013): 2013
HTC One: 2013
LG G Pad X 8.3: 2013
LG G2: 2013
LG Nexus 5: 2013
Motorola DROID Ultra: 2013
Motorola Moto G: 2013
Samsung Galaxy Note 3: 2013
Samsung Galaxy Note 8: 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4: 2013
ASUS Memo Pad 7: 2014
Google Nexus 6: 2014
HTC Nexus 9: 2014
HTC One (M8): 2014
Huawei Ascend Y550: 2014
LG G Pad 10.1: 2014
LG G Pad 7.0 LTE: 2014
LG G Pad 8.3 LTE: 2014
LG G Pad F 8.0: 2014
LG G3: 2014
LG Optimus L70: 2014
LG Optimus L90: 2014
LG Volt: 2014
Motorola Moto G 4G: 2014
Samsung Galaxy A3: 2014
Samsung Galaxy A5: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Avant: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge: 2014
Samsung Galaxy S5: 2014
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active: 2014
Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 LTE: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 LTE: 2014
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5" (Wi-Fi): 2014
Verizon Ellipsis 8: 2014
ZTE ZMAX: 2014
ZTE ZMAX: 2014
HTC One M9: 2015
Huawei G8: 2015
Huawei GR5: 2015
Huawei Nexus 6P: 2015
Huawei P8: 2015
Huawei P8Lite: 2015
Huawei Y360: 2015
Lenovo TAB 2 A10: 2015
LG G Stylo: 2015
LG G4: 2015
LG Leon LTE: 2015
LG Nexus 5X: 2015
LG V10: 2015
Samsung Galaxy A8: 2015
Samsung Galaxy J3: 2015
Samsung Galaxy J5: 2015
Samsung Galaxy J7: 2015
Samsung Galaxy J7: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Note 5: 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6: 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 active: 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge: 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+: 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 G920V: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab E 9.6: 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (9.7", 4G): 2015
Sony Xperia Z5: 2015
Sony Xperia Z5: 2015
Verizon Ellipsis 10: 2015
ZTE Zmax 2: 2015
ZTE Zmax 2: 2015
Google Pixel: 2016
Google Pixel XL: 2016
Huawei Y3 II: 2016
Lenovo Tab3 7: 2016
LG G Pad X: 2016
LG G5: 2016
LG K10: 2016
LG K10: 2016
LG K7: 2016
LG Tribute HD: 2016
LG V20: 2016
Motorola Moto G4: 2016
Motorola Moto Z: 2016
Motorola Moto Z Play: 2016
OnePlus 3: 2016
OPPO A57: 2016
OPPO F1s: 2016
Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro: 2016
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime: 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7: 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active: 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab E 8.0: 2016
Samsung Galaxy Tab E 8.0: 2016
Sharp Android One 507SH: 2016
ZTE Zmax Pro: 2016
ZTE Zmax Pro: 2016
ASUS ZenPad Z8s: 2017
Google Google Pixel 2: 2017
Google Pixel 2 XL: 2017
Huawei GR3: 2017
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite 10: 2017
Huawei MediaPad T3 10: 2017
Huawei MediaPad T3 7: 2017
Huawei MediaPad T3 8.0: 2017
Huawei P smart: 2017
Huawei P10 Lite: 2017
Huawei Y7: 2017
Lenovo Tab 7 Essential: 2017
LG Stylo 3 Plus: 2017
Moto E4: 2017
Motorola Moto C: 2017
Motorola Moto C Plus: 2017
Motorola Moto Z2: 2017
Samsung Galaxy J3 Emerge: 2017
Samsung Galaxy J5 Pro: 2017
Samsung Galaxy Note8 SCV37: 2017
Samsung Galaxy S8: 2017
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active: 2017
Samsung Galaxy S8+: 2017
Google Pixel 3: 2018
Huawei P20 lite: 2018
Huawei P20 Pro: 2018
LG Aristo: 2018
Nokia 1: 2018
Nokia 2.1: 2018
Nokia 5.1: 2018
Samsung Galaxy Note 9: 2018
Samsung Galaxy S9: 2018
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 4G: 2018
Sharp Android One S3: 2018
Samsung Galaxy S10: 2019
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4-Inch Tablet: 2019

Note how few of the devices are in the last 2 years. This makes it extremely hard to find "officially compatible" Android devices that are still on sale/being supported by the manufacturer.

I feel like if there's going to be an official "whitelist" of compatible devices, then it needs to be much more up to date. Either that or listing entire families of devices (ie: "Samsung models with BLE released in 3 years" or "Android One Devices by these brands") as the current approach is extremely limiting and quite frustrating.

Appreciate your help so far. Thanks again,

  fb.

[Seamus]

Hey @fbau,

While I'm not privy to the choices made regarding what Android devices we support and why, we do continue to support a lot of older devices. Merchants have relied on this list in the past when purchasing Square-compatible Android devices, and it's important that we maintain support for as many of these devices as we can.

Our Android development team do endeavour to support the most popular Android devices on the market that are able to meet security requirements and I imagine they weigh up various factors when deciding what new Android models we support. I totally get your point about wanting more newer Android devices on the list though - the best I can do here is again pass your feedback on to our Android development team.

Appreciate the feedback and the time you've taken to highlight the above figures!

[Daylef]

Not sure if yours is related to a reader failure but I found I had to "Forget" the damaged unit and turn it off before being able to consistently connect to the new one. While a bit off topic, I noticed that if this phone connects to the reader temporarily for a transaction, it won't reconnect to my Gear 3 watch. I have to cycle Bluetooth on the phone and reboot the watch. Very annoying but fortunately this phone isn't the normally used for transactions.