thread Re: Square Terminal - Encryption Unsuccessful in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

Square Terminal - Encryption Unsuccessful

chodongba — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:17:22 GMT

My Square Terminal shows 'Encryption Unsuccessful'. The touchscreen is completely unresponsive, so I can't select 'Erase All Data'.

Re: Square Terminal - Encryption Unsuccessful

rtfulk — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:05:48 GMT

@chodongba That’s an Android encryption error. That can be one of things.

1 The encryption process was interrupted during boot up.
2. It’s corrupted.

Have you tried holding the power button for 20-30 seconds? That will perform a hard reboot, hopefully that is all it will need.

If that doesn’t work the me thing I would do is contact Square support. Hopefully it is still under warranty, because it may need to be replaced. Do you know how old it is? Is it version 1 or 2?

Re: Square Terminal - Encryption Unsuccessful

chodongba — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:02:06 GMT

Thank you for your reply.

I have already tried holding the power button for more than 45 seconds multiple times. The terminal does perform a hard reboot, but it always returns to the "Encryption Unsuccessful" screen.

The touchscreen is also completely unresponsive, so I cannot select the "Erase All Data" button to perform a factory reset.

The device has not been used for several months, so it may have been left with a fully discharged battery for an extended period.

I have contacted Square Support and am waiting for their response. I think it's V1

Thanks again for your help.

Re: Square Terminal - Encryption Unsuccessful

rtfulk — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:28:54 GMT

I was hoping the hard reset would work. The only other thing I could suggest is leave it plugged in over night and give the battery a chance to get a full charge and try the hard reset again. I do know Square has sunset V1 of the terminal last September I think it was. So they may tell you it’s time to upgrade.

If you do decide to upgrade and you don’t need the built in printer, I would suggest getting the Square Handheld.

I have my fingers crossed Square can help you.