My card reader won't read any cards. How do I fix this?

[Laurahiner]

[Note: The title of this post has been edited by a moderator for clarity.]

Square won'the read the swiped card. I have to key in the account number.

[VanKalkerFarms]

What phone do you have?  What square credit card reader?  Has it worked before?  Does the phone show a overlay pop up that a reader is connected when you plug it in?

[maggie201]

It is a new reader. It has never swiped a card ok. I always have to put the info in manually.

[VanKalkerFarms · Accepted solution]

Is it the free magstripe reader or the $29 chip card reader?  Here are some tips depending on which you're using.

Magstripe Reader Troubleshooting

Chip Card Reader Troubleshooting

The readers do have a warranty if these tips don't help. Warranty Info 

[casp101]

my don't swipe only reads chip cars.  now what. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

@casp101, sounds like you have a contactless chip card reader.  if you need to swipe you can get a free mag stripe reader.  https://squareup.com/shop/hardware/us/en/products/free-credit-card-reader

[zacharie67]

Yes

[dg3]

Send me another card reader for a I-Phone8 at no cost please

[ashc]

Hi @dg3,

Only the very first reader with us is free. Any additional readers are $10 and can be bought on the Shop. 

[haven928]

I have the same problem. Did you ever get an answer? I have used Square in the past. When I resumed using it six months later on a new phone, it would no longer read cards. The phone recognizes the device when I plug it in, but is unresponsive when I try to scan. I got a new reader but the same result.

[Chad]

Hey @haven928, have you tried the troubleshooting article @VanKalkerFarms posted? 

It's a great guide to solving common issues with the Free Square Magstripe Reader. Also, I recomend taking a look at our Device Compatibility page to make sure your device works with this reader. 

[npha]

Similar problem. All of a sudden today it isn't recognising some cards. Two cards today charged perfectly without issue (one was my own card as a test). With two other cards (with good clean strips on the cards) the app simply says "card not charged". That message takes a few moments to appear, and strangely keeps appearing even when I haven't swiped. One of the cards I successfully charged just last week. I've had to key in one charge already. I really hope this isn't an underhanded way for Square to make a few extra bucks.

[Helen]

I'm sorry that you had problems with the reader recently @npha!

If you haven't already I recommend going through these troubleshooting steps for the magstripe reader. If those steps don't do the trick you may need to order another reader.

I want to make sure you're up and running ASAP so please let me know if you're still experiencing issues accepting cards! 

[Laurahiner]

Thank you for your help. I ordered a new reader & it is working. 

[npha]

I did and will try them again. I already have two readers and will order another. The problem persists today.

Thanks.

[npha]

I have ordered a new reader but I have good reason to believe it's not that. Tried all the troubleshooting suggestions more than once.. no change. I have a Samsung S4 mini, Android version 4.4.2. My colleague is using a Samsung Galaxy s7 and isn't having the any problems.

Was there a recent square update perhaps? This all happened all of a sudden last week. Never had any trouble before.

[VanKalkerFarms]

You may want to delete the app and download it again. That might fix the problem. You won't lose any information as nothing is actually stored on your phone.

[npha]

Thank you. I'll try it again.

[zacharie67]

Yes

the customers are not able to use the swiper, for charge

[npha]

Could it be a problem with too little memory? I had turned off/on my phone and that helped for a couple days, but I started having the same problems again today. I know i need to clean out my phone so I'm wondering if that could be the cause. Thanks!

[puka]

Hey again @npha!

Sorry to hear that you're still having trouble. The amount of storage in your phone might be a possible factor since it could be causing the app to run a bit slower resulting in it not capturing the swipe fast enough. I'm wondering if it might also be your phone itself. I saw above that you have a Samsung S4 Mini which is an older model that is running an older version of the Android firmware. To confirm, I would have your colleague use the same reader you're having issues with on their S7. If it works for them then it could be that your phone is having trouble keeping up with the most updated version of the Point of Sale app and it may be time for an upgrade.

Let us know if that helps! If not, feel free to let us know and we'll keep trying until we get you in the right direction.