Square Stand Barcode Scanner

iluvskn — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:49:00 GMT

I recently purchased a barcode scanner; a generic $40 scanner. I-Pad recognized it... works great in notes. It clearly scans just fine. I attempted to setup in Square and it kept saying unknown device. However when I go to the checkout screen, when I scan a barcode, it clearly worked but the dumb popup of "unknown device" kept appearing. Clearly, square only wants you to use certain brands that they have partnered with. I shouldn't be forced to pay $200+ for a scanner when a $40 scanner works just fine.

Has anyone found a work-a-round for this or is this hard-coded into the software?

Re: Square Stand Barcode Scanner

rtfulk — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 22:54:20 GMT

@iluvskn Normally if you plug in a barcode scanner that Square doesn’t have a driver built into the system nothing will happen. No power to the scanner and won’t even be recognized.

When you get unknown device, sometimes it’s a power issue. Square does not publish how much each USB port on the hub can handle, they do publish the power supply puts out 45 watts. The iPad charging and running the POS pulls between 20 - 25 watts. That’s leave about 20 watts for everything else, so I’m gonna say probably 4-6 watts per USB port. I would also say the USB ports are 2.0 and not 3.0 because they are not blue on the inside. USB 2.0 is 5 Volts, 500mA.

I would check how much power your barcode scanner requires, if it is pulling more power than the USB port can put out that will be your problem.

I’ve never tried this and it may not work at all, but if you have a powered USB hub lying around connect it to the Square USB port, then connect your scanner to the powered USB hub. It’s worth a try because you are still sending data, just through two hubs.

thread Re: Square Stand Barcode Scanner in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

Square Stand Barcode Scanner

Re: Square Stand Barcode Scanner