thread Re: iPhone Tap to Pay in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

iPhone Tap to Pay

GROUTSQUAD — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 11:01:49 GMT

I cannot connect Tap to Pay on iPhone to Square. The connection is ok, iOS is updated, but it doesn’t work, the conection failed every time. What can be wrong?

Re: iPhone Tap to Pay

Sineaid — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:20:13 GMT

Hi @GROUTSQUAD!

Welcome to the community! I hope that you’ve already been able to find some useful resources on this, from previous discussions.

While there are a number of threads that I could point you to on this, I think it’s best to first understand the issue a little better.

If you’re still having trouble after checking the device compatibility and set up guide in this article, could you let me know which model iPhone you’re using and confirm the iOS version that’s installed? Also, which version of the Square app are you using, is it Square Point of Sale, Square Appointments, Square Invoices or Square for Retail?

If you could also confirm the exact message, or provide a screenshot of the error that you receive when the connection fails, that would help me investigate further.

Re: iPhone Tap to Pay

GROUTSQUAD — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 11:16:38 GMT

Hi Sinaid

iPhone 15+, iOS 17.5.1

I used the latest version of Square Point of Sale and Square Appointments.

Yesterday, I spent three hours in the Apple store and on the phone with Apple Care. They ran a diagnostic on the phone and they said all is good with the phone. But still Tap to Pay failed to connect to Square. Strangly NFC works fine when I need to pay in store, no problem at all.

I spent three hours with Square agents, they run diagnostics on the app, and all is good. They log into my account, aand all is good.

I installed Square Point of Sale on my wife’s iPhone 12, and Tap to Pay worked perfectly.

Well, something is wrong with my phone and Square app and Tap to Pay but everybody keeps saying all is good at their end so...I don't know what to do.

I even wiped my phone, and installed iOS again but Tap to Pay still not working.

I am very happy to provide images but I don't know how to do it. It is just a message on top of the screen saying: “ Failed to connect to Square”. I checked the connection, and it is good.

Re: iPhone Tap to Pay

Laurie_ — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 04:19:39 GMT

Hi @GROUTSQUAD,

It sounds like the issue is indeed specific to your device, especially since you can enable Tap to Pay on another Apple device using the same steps. However, the exact cause is still unclear.

You've mentioned having your device checked by Apple, performing a factory reset, and installing the latest iOS version. Have you also tried completely deleting and reinstalling the Square app on your device?

Additionally, do you use a hardware case on your device? We've noticed that some cases can interfere with Tap to Pay's ability to read card chips, even though they don't affect payments via digital wallets. It's a small detail, but since you've tried almost everything else, it might be worth considering.

Also in the future, if you want to attach an image to your reply, just hit to little camera icon above the text field. 👍

Re: iPhone Tap to Pay

51stavenue — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 05:24:41 GMT

Hello Laurie,

I have also experienced the exact same issue on my iPhone 15 Pro, and have also spent many hours across 4 different appointments with Apple with my hardware also testing OK. While at the Apple store, we even tested one of their demo iPhone 15 Pro's with the same issue.

I should also point out that while I have had the Square app installed on my iPhone 15 Pro, I have been unable to even make payments using ApplePay, which has been very annoying. As soon as I uninstalled the Square app, ApplePay now works 100% of the time.

I suspect there's a compatability issue with the Square app and the iPhone 15 Pro. I say this because one of our other members who has a different iPhone model has no issues whatsoever in taking payments using TapToPay.

I have now circumvented the issue by purchasing a Square Terminal, however this is very annoying, and I shouldn't have had to purchase the Square Terminal.