My Square Contactless and Chip Card Reader won't charge or turn on. Any ideas?

[mnorton1230]

Last week my contactless and chip reader reader was working just fine.  Today  I try to use it with my first customer.  Not only will it not turn on, it won't even charge.  Any ideas?

[Sean]

@mnorton1230 Sorry to hear. 😕  Those tips have definitely been helpful for some other sellers affected by this issue. You can go ahead and process a warranty exchange here.

@Rounded - Were you able to try out the tips that @Spenser posted?  

[mpcbobmari]

red light flashing what do i do?

[Style2]

Our contactless reader is doing the same thing. We have contacted Square and there is a problem with a recent update on firmware. 

[Bruce]

I have the same problem. I plugged it in to recharge for three hours to no avail--I still get a single flash of a red light when I attempt to turn on the chip reader. Any other possibilties? Thanks.

[George]

Can you try out the above tips posted by @Spenser? They've been helpful to get many sellers back in business.

And please write back to keep us updated on your progress!

[AZL]

Should we see any lights while it is charging?

How will we know when it is fully charged?

[Nanica54]

I don't know about the lights on the reader itself, since mine is plugged in all the time and there aren't any lights if it's not in use (processing cards).  There is a small image of a battery on top of the iPad Square screen (under the time, where it says Reader Ready) and you can tell from that if it's fully charged or not, since the image changes.  

[Sean]

@Nanica54 - Thanks for pointing that out! It's a great tip. 

@AZL - While there isn't a charging indicator, if you tap the button on the back - it will light up along the top. You'll see 1-4 green dots (1 being less charged, 4 being most charged). Hope this helps! 

[MarkDG]

I just did this to mine and it now shows a full charge. Thank you!

[Ltmassage]

I did try all of the suggestions and did not help, now it doesn;t even blink red.  did the warrenty exchange, hope the next one works better...

[rucoconuts]

I appreciate your suggestion.  Hopefully that will work to "reboot" and I will no longer have to input the credit card information and be charged a higher fee.  

[Tom]

Hey @rucoconuts, welcome to the seller community! Were you able to get the reader to work? If not, feel free to touch base with our Support Team for a closer look, or proceed with a warranty claim.

[Meji]

My new chip reader wasn't taking a charge, but after resetting the device by depressing the power button, the green lights came on and I'm good to go.

Thanks for the tip.

[Tom]

Glad to hear that helped, @Meji! Thanks for letting us know. 🙂

[denice]

I realize this is an old thread, but having same issue. The thing I do not get is when you state to turn power on reader while charging. How the heck do you do that when it is on the charger? USB connection is right next to power button and not accessible....

[Nanica54]

Sorry Denice, I'm assuming that you have the dock for the reader so that's why the power button is covered?  Mine is just charging through the USB connected to the stand, so the tiny power button is accessible.  You do need to have longer nails or use a pencil to press the button, though, since it's a bit difficult.  Can you take it out of the dock for a bit?  It doesn't have to be charging all the time.

[Christian95]

This does not work for me. 

It was working fine and always in my office drawer so gently and occasionally used. 

Green lights when touch the button so fully charged, I GUESS.

When I try the reset it shows orange blinking lights followed by red blinking lights. 

Cannot even be foound by bluetooth on Iphone.

Warranty period is done but hardly used, obviously some issue here that Square should replace anyhow, especially since you will make money from us.

[Nanica54]

Hi Christian95,

You say you keep the reader in a drawer and use it only occassionally?  I doubt it can be fully charged if not plugged in.  Rechargeable batteries lose their charge if not put into a device right away, so how about recharging the chip reader for a bit and then going through the steps again?

[Christian95]

It was never totally discharged, I am pretty well versered in electronics.

It has been plugged into three different chargers for at least 12 hour each. There is definitely another problem.

[katieand]

Hi @Christian95 - Have you seen these additional troubleshooting steps in our Support Center? If you're still not able to pair the reader go ahead and call our CS team so they can help you out!

[Vitalgate]

Same thing but also the audio/lighting jack magstripe card ALSO did not work as a backup.

Why were BOTH suddenly not working?  

I get the wireless keeps sending a message in the app that battery is low. The unit IS pluggedin...but It doesn't know its' being charged?  I wonder..when it's charging should a light be blinking so we get visaul confirmation that its actually charging?