thread Re: Square terminal reliability problems in Payments Troubleshooting

Debugging Square Terminal API Setup

AMM — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 09:25:43 GMT

It is connected to a custom POS system, using API calls to update orders and create terminal checkouts. We're experiencing a number of issues with our terminal. It is totally unreliable at the moment.

1. The terminal seems to sleep, despite being in checkout mode. New CreateTerminalCheckout API calls usually wake it however sometimes it stays asleep. After tapping the screen a few times, it "comes alive" and the checkout appears. Sometimes it causes an error.

2. The terminal takes payment from a customer. It beeps as expected, but the blue screen does not go away and no COMPLETED webhook is sent. The customer confirms that payment has been taken. A SECOND payment can then be made. How is this possible?

Unless we can find some solutions, we will be moving to a different payment provider. The terminal is permanently powered, connected to good wifi, fully updated, and restarts every morning.

Re: Square terminal reliability problems

AMM — Fri, 16 May 2025 08:08:08 GMT

Anyone experiencing similar issues? Any solutions?

Re: Square terminal reliability problems

Laurie_ — Tue, 20 May 2025 05:37:08 GMT

Hi @AMM!

Thanks for reaching out to us!

Our scope of support on the Square Community platform is limited to general troubleshooting for Square hardware and software. Even for supported third-party integrations, we're only able to assist with basic setup steps, we’re not able to provide in-depth troubleshooting for custom or developer-built solutions.

As a first step for more immediate support, I’d recommend reaching out to our Square Support Team by phone. They may be able to connect you with a Developer Success Engineer, who can better assist with your questions. Just note that these types of cases are typically handled via email, so they may initiate a follow-up that way. Also please feel free to check out our Developer Forums to see if your question has been previously asked, or visit our Developer Documentation for information on our APIs.

Another quick setting to check on your device in regards to the first issue you mentioned, is your Square Terminal sleep timer setting. Go to More > Settings > Hardware > Display. From there, you can adjust your settings as required.

You can call support on 1800 760 137 (Mon - Fri, 9 AM - 5 PM Melbourne time), or contact us via online chat or email. See the below steps.

1. Sign in to your Square account.

2. Head to our contact page https://squ.re/3AWfZs2

3. Go to "Other", then "I don't see my issue".

4. Click "Message us", "Email us" or "Call Us".

Or, if you see the new chatbot help flow, type “support” to bring up a list of contact methods.

If you run into any issues reaching out to our team, let me know.