thread Re: Can the card reader be taken apart? in Payments Troubleshooting

Can the card reader be taken apart?

OH6 — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 06:51:09 GMT

A customer had tape on their debit card and inserted the chip. Once they removed it, the tape got stuck inside. We have a square register. Is there any way to take part this apart so that I can access the inside of where the card goes and try to remove it?

Re: Can the card reader be taken apart?

VanKalkerFarms — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 12:44:34 GMT

I have not attempted to take apart a unit, but in theory anything put together can be taken apart. THe question then is can it be put back together. A quick search and I don't see any teardowns on youtube.

I had something similar happen and I was able to stick in a piece of heavy card stock to get the stray piece out.

Re: Can the card reader be taken apart?

rtfulk — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 02:40:26 GMT

@OH6 I had a square terminal with a cracked screen and I wanted to replace it, I contacted support and they told me that all their devices have anti-tamper built into them and if tripped it will render your device useless. I was lucky and just had to replace the screen so I didn’t have to come in contacted with the swiper, or chip reader.

So I would keep that in mind, have you thought about trying something like a dental pick to try and pull the tape out?

Re: Can the card reader be taken apart?

Summer2024 — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:41:33 GMT

I definitely do NOT recommend taking the device apart for the reason that @rtfulk has stated...were you able to get the tape out?