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?

[Chad]

That's pretty odd @Vitalgate. 

Have you tried doing a hard reset on your contactless and Chip Card Reader and let it charge for a few hours? 

With the Magstripe Readers were there any error messages when trying to process a payment? 

[Ronaconda]

I purchased my reader about 13 months ago to be used every December when I participate in 2 outdoor sells. Last year it worked fine as I only did one event. This year, after a 2 hour charge and a test transaction all was fine. 3 Transactions into the event, it died. I called Square and went through their troubleshooting process to no avail. Then the notifided me that it was more than a year old and was out of warranty. I have another sell this coming weekend and I am down to mag stripe cards and cash. 

I am sure we all expect such a devise to work more that 1 event. The cost of the devise is the lesser of the damaged caused as being unable to process a sell has a huge negative impact on my business. It is clear there is a design flaw with the devise and it seems like a reputable company would correct the problem and replace or repair all the devise in the field that are defective.

I'm looking at their competitors for a solution.

[lib1]

my square reader..not yet even used..is flashing red light..whats this mean?

[EJ_]

Hi @lib1, this thread might have some useful information for you. A few other sellers ran into a similar issue. See the tips mentioned above. 

[Steve1]

My chip card reader suddenly won't sync to my iPhone anymore. Iv tryed updating my phone but no change. Any one have the issues?

[Kelly]

Check out Spenser's answer above for tips and tricks to get you up and running! 

[woodspirit]

Tried Spencer's tips. here's what's happening: brand new out of box-trying to sync tablet and reader-got lights to flash orange, but htey only last a few seconds, not long enough to complete the sync. Tried to charge and depress button while charging-same thing. Not sure if it's charged or not. When I first put charger in, the lights flash orange then green. Nothing when I unplug. button seems hard to depress, charge cord seems like a poor fit. Recommendations?

[puka]

Hey @woodspirit

Sorry to hear that the troubleshooting tips didn't work out for you. 😕  Feel free to get in touch with our Support Team for a closer look or make a warranty claim.

[Corrielafrenaye]

My card reader is blinking red and will not turn on

Biu

[Tom]

Hi @Corrielafrenaye, sorry to hear about the trouble with your reader.😕 Please have a look at Spenser's suggestions as these usually resolve any issue right away. Hope those help!

[Ltmassage]

Same thing happen to me.  Just got the darn thing was working fine. Had a day off and was dead when I got back to work. Plugged it into outlet all day and it just blinks a red light.  

[EJ_]

@Ltmassage Have you tried any of the troubleshooting steps listed in Spensers reply? 

[Rmarcotte666]

I'm on my 2nd reader in 4 months and twice the same thing has happened where I go to use a mag swipe while the app is "establishing secure service" with the chip reader and bricks the device...I've done all said steps to try and get it working and now I'm stuck with something that costs 50$ and breaks every few months?

[Helen]

Hey @Rmarcotte666, sorry to hear that! Were you able to go through Spenser's troubleshooting steps for your reader? 

It's also important to make sure you're using the latest version of the Point of Sale app, and the latest version of your device's software.

If you continue to have trouble with your reader you might want to call our Support team before filing (another) warranty claim. They help you identify the root cause of this issue! 

[Petedose1]

My Square chip reader is turn on but as soon as I put it in the holder and put the top on to hold in place the reader is off.

I touch it to wake it up but nothing happens. Iv tried to use a card but nothing.

any ideas?

Mary

[Chad]

Hello @Petedose1! 

The Contactless and Chip Reader will go into sleep mode while it's not being used. The reader actually doesn't have a setting to turn it off or on. It will always be on until it runs out of battery. To wake the reader up add an item to your cart on Square Point of Sale and tap Charge. You should then see one green dot on your reader. This means the reader is ready to accept a charge. 

Please let me know if the reader is still giving you trouble after you give this a try! 🙂

[Petedose1]

so the chip reader does not light up untill the charge ?

[puka]

Correct. It will light up as soon as you tap Charge on your app.

[KAFrye]

I need my reader to be faster.  It takes too long to wake it up.  I keep it plugged in so it will never lose charge.

[Valentina]

Have you tried running through some troubleshooting yet, @KAFrye?

Making sure you are running the latest version of the app, and that your device software is updated, will also help!

Feel free to get in touch directly if you need a hand, or file a warranty claim if eligible.

P.S. Welcome to the Seller Community ✨

[BearlyThere]

I had one reader for 4 yrs, I now have 6 that died in under a yr??? Won’t take power