Why does Square reject insecure wifi?

[TrainGuy]

I sell at public locations like convention centers, schools, armories, etc. Lately Square will not recognize/pair with the chip reader if the wifi is unsecure. I know the transactions are scrambled and secure, so why am I not able to use public wifi?

[Tom]

Hey @TrainGuy, thanks for bringing this up. Sorry to hear about the trouble.🤔

You're right. Whether you’re using a public or private wifi connection on your phone, you should be able to process payments using the Contactless and Chip Card Reader.

I want to make sure I'm on the same page — are you receiving any kind of error message that indicates there's an issue with the public wifi connection? In addition, these troubleshooting tips usually resolve any kind of pairing issue.

Hope this helps clear things up. If you're still encountering any trouble with this, please let us know and we'll have another look.