chip reader doesn't read anything

[Fatgranny]

I just set up an account and got a Square chip reader.  I have tried everything to get it to read a mag stripe or chip and absolutely nothing happens.  I typed the card info in manually and it went through.  Is there some kind of trick to getting the reader to work?  I have tried it on my iPhone 5 as well as my iPad Air with no response from either device. Thanks for your help.

[OnPoint525]

I charged it this morning and someone just came in and the iphone never recognized the chip reader. POS scam to make me keystroke number or use old reader so Square can charge me higher rate. This is a terrible ill-conceived piece of crap preventing me from running my business efficiently. And I pay for it everytime I have to use the old reader or hand entered cc numbers.

[EJ_]

@OnPoint525 Did you attempt to troubleshoot? If so, what troubleshooting steps did you try?

You can check out this existing thread for some tips that might help.

[OnPoint525]

Why should I be spending time over and over again troubleshooting such a shoddy product? It's a poor use of my time for an issue that there is no solution other than constantly sending one chip reader back for another. I would rather pay $100 for something that works every time than $29 for this poor excuse of a card reader. How can a company release something this shoddy? Do they not make enough money off their customers? I used to rave about Square to everyone and anyone. Now I tell them to shop around.

[shelley632]

I Agree. 

[breadbykim]

Same happened to me!

[OnPoint525]

This chip reader is a total garbage. Cannot hold a charge for even a full day. If I hadn't seen this in my feed I would have forgotten to charge it again. A complete scam to make people key in at a higher rate.

[MiniIndyGoKarts]

Yes, I just received a replacement one for the one that as soon as I plugged it in, it said "reader damaged".  Guess what? The new one says the same thing!  Took 14 days to get here, while in the meantime, they are charging me a higher rate for having to key the info in, and now the replacement doesn't work, either!

[shelley632]

I do. I returned one that the mag stripe wont read. Got another one same thing. Only use it for the chip 

[shelley632]

The chip doesn't read all the time. This is garbage

[SC]

I had trouble with my readers initially and finally figured out the case on me device blocked the reader from inserting completely into the hole. I took the case off the device and, voila! I then took a knife and cut a larger area in the case around the hole and put the device back in the case and everything works fine.

[festivalsatSSV]

I have been having issues as well but whats funny is that I can dip a card and it goes through but cannot use the swipe optin on the reader. I had to manually enter the numbers for the sale to go through and of course had to pay more in fees. Something is happening with these new devices and it must be fixed, we do a lot of sales outside of our tasting room. Has anyone else had this problem? if so, what did you do to rectify it?

[shelley632]

Yes this is my 2nd one. I gave up

[Sean]

@shelley632 - So sorry to hear about the trouble! If you want to reach out directly, our Support Team would be happy to follow up and see if there is anything else we can try out to get you up and running. Thanks!

[shelley632]

Why are you sending me something to fill out yo tell them my problem? I have dine this before. 

[shelley632]

Why are you sending me something to fill out to tell them my problem? I have done this before. 

[EJ_]

I'll definitely pass your feedback over to our Product Team. If there's anything else we can help with, just reach out and we'll do our best to help. 

[OnPoint525]

A chip reader that I don't need to charge every morning and that actually reads chip cards would be great. I still believe Square deliberately sells defective chip card reader to garnish higher charge rate. Sorry.

[Mel_reesey]

I just received my square mag strip and chip reader in today and it won't work! I've done all the "trouble shooting" and tried on multiple devices as well as multiple mag strip cards AND chip cards. I can type in manually, but am annoyed that I will be charged additional fees! Not a good start to my first experience with Square:/

[Spenser]

Sorry to hear that @Mel_reesey! That's definitely not the first experience we want you to have either. As @Tom suggested above, go ahead and contact our Support team so we can take a closer look.

[Looliemom]

I am having the same issue. I got my chip reader last September but haven't used it until this past weekend (well, tried to use).
I charged it (only found the charger by accident because it's not mentioned anywhere on packaging). The reader didn't work all weekend. I didn't bring my old charger because I didn't want the liability. Now I have to pay more in fees?

[Horse]

There is a serious issue with these chip readers. They take way too long. You can't keep a protective case on your phone or the reader won't connect. (If we are using the chip reader we are obviously outside normal selling situations and need a case on our phones). It is way too touchy and most the time it bumps out way too easily and then you have to reconnect it.
Very disappointed.