Does anyone know why the app freezes with credit card sales?

[Kenyon]

This just started three weeks ago. When I swipe a card the app freezes and then goes black on the sign page. This is after I restart my phone. When I first start the app and swipe a card, the app acts like it's processing and the screen starts turning from vertical to horizontal over and over again. Does anyone know why this is happening?

[JK_Fiber_Art · Accepted solution]

Finding the root cause is most likely not possible as there can many reasons.  Best you can do is look at everything one step at a time.  As we don't have any specific details about your setup, we're going to assume that you're using Square's Magstripe Reader with your smart phone and Squares POS App.  If not, you may want to provide more info.  First place to start is to make sure that your phone has the latest operating system.  From there, it's sometimes good to just start clean - meaning uninstalling the POS App, then restart your phone (power off and back on), next reinstall the App (this ensures you have the latest version).  Connect the Reader and open the App and go thru the setup.  (Also ensure that when using the App, it's best not to have other Apps open - that way you can be sure there's no conflicts.   There's also other options to consider - check out Square's Tap and Pay option (Android and Apple) - no hardware required.   There's also Square's Contactless and Chip Reader - connects via Bluetooh (my favorite accessory).   The reason I mentioned both options is if you are only relying on Swiping (Magstripe) transactions there's something called a Liability Shift.  We only rely on Swiping Cards as a backup or if the Card does not have a Chip.  And as a disclaimer, the volunteer community members here are not the same as Tech or Customer Support, but we do have hands on experience using Square's Hardware and Apps.

[Ice]

Same issue, beginning about a month ago, after having no such problems. Using Reader. Have updated everything and followed all suggestions. Still have no solution and problem persists.

[Sineaid]

Hi @Ice,

Thanks for letting us know you’re having trouble with your Reader. 

So that I can take a closer look, could you let me know which mobile device you’re using, and the software version that’s installed? Could you also confirm if it’s the Magstripe Reader that you’re using, or the Square Reader for chip and contactless cards? 

The OP here mentions that after swiping a card they are redirected to the sign-in page, which goes black. Is that your exact experience, or do you see any error messages or codes after trying to process the card?  

[Ice]

Moto G Power (2020) phone, Android 11, Contactless chip reader #1

No sign in page for me. When I swipe the card the phone goes to a screen that flips back and forth vertical and horizontal, black and white. It remains there until I force shut down. Then I usually get a message that I need to open the app again to complete the sale or, more often, that the sale has been canceled (95% or time). Very, very, very occasionally, a sale will go through,  when I reopen. No codes are visible that I have seen.

[Ice]

Wanted to add that I appreciate your response. I would like to understand what exactly is causing this problem. All worked fine earlier.

[frances_a]

Thank you for your reply! 

Seems like the issue is with the app itself and not so much the Reader you are using. 

You can find troubleshooting steps for your app here.

While the Android version you are running is compatible, they have released Android 14, so trying to update to a newer version will help. 

As for what exactly is causing the issue... We wouldn't be able to tell exactly here in the Community, or without access to the your device.

We have received no other reports of this, besides the ones in this thread, so it is most likely a local issue like connectivity issues, or some error that happened during app installation. Removing the app and reinstalling typically helps if there was an issue while the app was being installed. 

Hope this helps!

Thank you.