thread Re: Do I need to Turn it off in Payments Troubleshooting

Do I need to Turn it off

AwokeDesigns — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 08:07:47 GMT

Do I need to turn the square off if I’m not using it for a few days? Or can I just keep it charging indefinitely until I need to use it? Is it going to sleep it’s version of ‘turning it off’?

Re: Do I need to Turn it off

MJD — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 17:10:53 GMT

Hey there @AwokeDesigns!

As someone who hasn't ever actually come into contact with Square hardware I can't tell you for definite about sleeping and powering off, but, however, I can say it is never a good idea to charge a device indefinitely, I'm almost certain the Square reader uses a lithium ion battery which degrades and loses capacity as it charges (not at any rapid rate but it will get worse the more regularly you indefinitely charge the device) and the smaller the battery (Square reader isn't bulky so likely rather small) the easier it degrades, so I'd advise only charging it when it needs charging otherwise you'll start to see shorter lifespans, best idea would be to leave it now and charge it just before you next plan to use it!

Hope this could help, if it did, please mark it as best answer to help others in the future!

Re: Do I need to Turn it off

AwokeDesigns — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 22:03:15 GMT

Thank you so much!😁

Re: Do I need to Turn it off

Seamus — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:48:33 GMT

Thanks for chiming in @MJD!

@AwokeDesigns The only other thing I'd add here is that if you're not using a reader for an extended period of time, give it a full charge every month - lithium ion batteries can also lose capacity over time if they discharge completely while not in use.

Charge it once a month if it's not being used for a while to help prolong battery life 🙂

Re: Do I need to Turn it off

AwokeDesigns — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 05:09:32 GMT

Thank you. Does it turn itself off when not in use? Is there something I should do when I put it away?

Re: Do I need to Turn it off

Seamus — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 06:14:03 GMT

@AwokeDesigns there's no need to turn Terminal off when not in use - you can if you want, it will use more battery while in sleep mode than it will when turned off. But whether you turn if off or not when not in use (say, overnight) shouldn't make a difference to overall performance.

As best practice in general though, I'd recommend power cycling the device (turning it off and on again) roughly once a week or if you're seeing any issues. Personally I do this with most electronic devices (phone, laptop etc) as regularly power cycling tends to help keep device performance at optimal levels!