Troubleshoot payment errors on Square Handheld
Square Handheld can accept tap, dip, and swipe payments. Learn how to accept payments with Square Handheld.
This article provides troubleshooting steps for your Square Handheld if you are experiencing issues accepting card payments.
Before you begin troubleshooting
When to troubleshoot
Troubleshooting payment issues involves steps that may take a bit of time, such as rebooting your hardware. For minimal disruption to your business, perform Square Handheld troubleshooting before or after business hours. If you need to resolve payment issues during operating hours, avoid peak times as some steps may temporarily interrupt service.
To troubleshoot payments, you may need the following:
Your Square account login information (email address and password, or device code)
Wi-Fi network name and password
Step 1: Confirm card processing method
If you have Skip payment type selection enabled, tap Confirm & Pay to accept payments ― you’ll see Tap, Insert, or Swipe on your screen. If a specific card processing method isn’t working, ask your customer to try a different form of payment.
Ask your customer to hold a contactless device or card near the contactless symbol in the top center of the screen to start the payment.
The front of the card with the chip on it should face up. Insert the chip card into the chip card slot and leave it in place until prompted to remove the card.
Swipe magnetic stripe cards through a connected Square Reader for magstripe USB-C (sold separately) on the left side of Square Handheld. The magnetic stripe must face inward.
Step 2: Verify your internet connection
Make sure that your Square Handheld is not near objects that can cause signal interference, such as microwaves and large electric motors such as blenders and grinders. Placing your Square Handheld inside a metal cash drawer can interfere with the signal.
Step 3: Update Square Handheld software
Tap ≡ More > Settings > Hardware > General. If you’re signed out, tap Change Settings > General.
Tap About Square Handheld.
From this page, you’ll see your software version. Tap Check for Update to see if a software update is available. If you see Software Up To Date then you are all set.
Step 4: Restart your Square Handheld
Restarting your Square Handheld does not erase important account settings like items, transaction histories, customer lists, modes, or team permissions. It will all be there when you sign back in. There are three ways to restart the Square Handheld:
Swipe down on the screen to open the quick menu. Tap the power icon in the top right corner and then tap Restart.
Or
Press and hold the circular power button on the right side of the Square Handheld and release as soon as you see the restart option. Tap Restart.
Or
Press and hold the circular power button until the screen turns off. Wait a moment, and then press and hold the power button again. Release the power button as soon as the Square logo appears on the screen.
Try to process a payment before moving on to the steps below to send a diagnostic report and factory reset your Square Handheld.
Step 5: Send a diagnostic report
Sending a diagnostic report helps Square further investigate your issue if you cannot resolve it on your own. This report is vital for discovering the cause of the issue and must be sent prior to factory resetting your device.
Diagnostic reports can take between 2-7 minutes to upload — make sure you have a strong internet connection and your device is powered on during this time.
Sign in to the Square POS app on your Square Handheld.
Tap ≡ More > Support > Troubleshooting.
Tap Upload Support Ledger.
Tap Send Diagnostic Report.
A blue loading circle will appear next to Sending Diagnostic Report as the report is uploaded to Square servers. Do not attempt any other troubleshooting steps until the circle disappears and the Send Diagnostic Report text turns blue.
Step 6: Factory reset your Square Handheld
The final troubleshooting step is to perform a factory reset on your Square Handheld. A factory reset, unlike a normal reset, will restore your hardware to its original state when it was first purchased.
Factory resetting your device should only be done after all other troubleshooting steps have been attempted.
Before you factory reset your device, you must:
Send a diagnostic report (Step 5)
Performing a factory reset on your device will reset your general settings (date, time, language, etc.), remove any assigned modes or printer profiles, delete all pending offline payments, and remove previous software updates.
Once you have read and understood the risks of factory resetting your device, you may proceed to perform a factory reset on your Square hardware. After the factory reset is complete, you will need to set up Square Handheld.