thread Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not! in Payments Troubleshooting

Square says my Android device is rooted BUT its not!

ConnectMe — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 10:19:26 GMT

Square you need to allow all android devices that are not rooted which mine is not to have access to the contactless chip reader, I cant connect, 2 months old from the OPTUS store, i've checked the rooting of the device and it comes up with no root.

You need to upgrade the software please because i'm not the only one getting this message out there.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Seamus — Tue, 14 May 2019 23:28:59 GMT

Hey there,

Thank you for your message!

The message that you're seeing saying your device is rooted may be related to Developer Options being enabled on your phone. Apps to check the rooting of a mobile device also need to be uninstalled from your mobile device before you can connect a Square Reader.

If you've already disabled developer options, restart your phone, and have another go. I would also recommend checking your phone's compatibility on our page!

We are always working towards having more Android compatibility, but sometimes a mobile device does not meet all the security requirements to support card processing, and we need to be mindful of our customers' private card information being processed securely.

Cheers!

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Drewster — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 10:33:39 GMT

I have the same issue. Galaxy Note 8 which is supported. Updated to latest Android software update. My phone is not rooted, and has never been. Have double checked with checker apps. I am able to store Google Pay card details on my phone. I don't have Developer Options switched on (I did but switch it off). I have restarted the phone. I have reinstalled the app. I don't have any kind of rooting apps installed on my phone.

But it still says my Device is rooted.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Seamus — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 05:52:17 GMT

Hey @Drewster,

Can I confirm if this occurred after a Square update or an Android system update?

Where did you purchase the phone from?

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 23:27:36 GMT

Same here, it was working, now says my phone is rooted.

It is factory stock, never was rooted, nothing has changed, unless maybe some manufacturer updates?

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

I haven't heard of "root checker" apps, but I can look for one if that is likely to help?

PS (Edit)

I just downloaded "Root Checker" from the Play Store, it says there is no Root Access on my phone.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Seamus — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 00:07:26 GMT

Hi @AvilaVista,

Unfortunately Xiaomi devices are not tested as supported by Square.

Whilst you may have been able to use this device previously to process transactions using your Square reader, our mobile security team are constantly refining our software in order to maintain strict security standards on our platform. Unless a device is listed on our website as tested as supported, we can't guarantee it will work on an ongoing basis.

I understand this is frustrating, however we are required to update our software from time to time to ensure it’s secure for our sellers, and your customers.

To view which Android-based devices are compatible with our hardware, please visit our compatibility page to see that Android devices that we can guarantee will work.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 00:44:11 GMT

@Seamus Compatibility a real bugger, isn't it?

I bought your device when I had a Galaxy Note 4, did a test transaction using contactless, and it worked. The when my first customer came along, they only had magstripe, and we couldn't get it to work no matter how we tried.

Next customer had a Chip card - but when we went to use it, the device wanted to do a firmware upgrade, so it wouldn't work. Missed that sale!

Samsung phone broke (overheating, very low battery life) but at least it didn't exploded like its successor! I bought the highest recommended phone as a replacement and it is brilliant! Latest Android, very fast,does everything I need and more. Ran a test transaction, all good.

So now another potential customer comes along, and I make sure to charge it up and test it first, make sure it isn't going to try a firmware update and lose my sale.

Well, no chance of that, the stupid thing won't even connect anymore because some developer couldn't follow the rules on detecting if a phone has been rooted. Not that that should matter if they had done their security properly in the device, for goodness sake!

Ok, this piece of technology definitely isn't fit for purpose, who do I talk to for my refund?

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Drewster — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 01:24:08 GMT

Yeh there are many Is My Device Rooted apps on Google Play to download, thought I suspect they're just gonna tell you what you already know. That your device is not rooted.

I'm an App developer, so I understand the lingo. I think that what the Square App does is actually a few security checks, only one of which is check if the phone is rooted, and then uses a generic message if it fails one of those checks. Some of those things may be folder names, or folder structures, or another app that you may have installed that could make the phone vulnerable, or anything that might indicate that the phone could have been rooted even if in fact it hasn't been. It may even check for an app that was once installed and has since been uninstalled. But they're just using a generic message, you're phone is rooted.

I've given up. Will just have to process payments manually, until I get a new phone one day.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Lahcen — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:04:28 GMT

Im in the same situation. Samsung S9+ i can't believe they can't fix this issue.

If our devices are NOT rooted and you tell us they are, you are in the wrong not us. wtf am i supposed to do now? buy another phone? this is ridiculous im going to look for a different method of payments. you cost me so much money this week. Goodbye

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:31:47 GMT

I contacted the ACCC regarding this problem, ie we bought a product that was working, but a vendor-enforced software update made it unusable.

Their response was that:

the device may now be considered "not fit for purpose" under the Australian Consumer Law (section 55), and we are entitled to a refund/repair/replacement.

If the vendor chooses not to act according to the law we need to make a complaint to Consumer Affairs Victoria on its website (or other body depending on location and jurisdiction) or take our complaint to our state or territory small claims tribunal.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Lahcen — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:49:58 GMT

Thank you for your reply. Have you heard from Square team about this development?

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:58:07 GMT

@Lahcen Only what is in this thread.

My response from the ACCC just arrived and I haven't followed up on it.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Drewster — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:02:19 GMT

It's a Samsung Note 8, purchased from an official Telstra store in Australia. I purchased two devices; Contactless and a Chip reader device. I watched the Square app update itself before the message appeared that Square does not support Rooted Devices.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Drewster — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:09:11 GMT

Square have a generic refund policy on their devices.

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5148-square-hardware-limited-warranty-and-returns

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Lahcen — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:09:39 GMT

They need to get in touch with us and tell us what's going on.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Lahcen — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:10:56 GMT

I'd be happy if they could fix the issue. Refund will be my last step I guess.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:12:10 GMT

@Drewster Australian consumer law overrides any vendor warranty restrictions, and to sell here they MUST include specific wording to that effect, explaining your rights.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

AvilaVista — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 01:16:44 GMT

Buying a low-cost compatible phone specifically to use with the device could be a reasonable option, however when you guys have phones on the compatible device list that STILL fail to work after their latest update then that seems like an unwarranted risk.

Hopefully they will soon work out what they have done wrong and fix it in another update.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Seamus — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 07:55:05 GMT

Hey @AvilaVista and @Lahcen,

Having reviewed this thread and the ongoing discussion, I can tell you that @Drewster is fairly spot-on with this comment:

"I think that what the Square App does is actually a few security checks, only one of which is check if the phone is rooted, and then uses a generic message if it fails one of those checks".

The errors you're seeing here about having a "Rooted" device or a device with "Developer Mode" turned on are based on the device security checks we do as part of PCI Compliance. It means that while a Samsung S9, fresh out of the factory and unmodified should work with Square, the exact S9 giving you this error message is not meeting the minimum standards we require to operate as a physical card processing device under PCI Complaince.

You may not have rooted the phone or may not have developer options turned on - the issue is that because Android is a highly customisable operating system, there are various things that can occur on an otherwise compatible Android devices that change the way the OS works, resulting in an operating environment that won't meet minimum PCI security checks. This altering of how the OS operates effectively equates to the device being "rooted".

This may be caused by things like:

- A network or re-seller altering the way the OS functions on the device

- A network of re-seller pre-installing that impact the way the OS operating on the device

- An app you install modifying the way the OS operates behind the scenes

It's not that we want to make things harder for you to take payments - after all, this is how Square makes money as a business. The reason you're seeing these messages is because the specific device you're using does not meet minimum requirements to act as a card processing device.

I know this doesn't help your situations at all - but I'd be interested to hear where you all bought these devices from and whether we can make any sort of correlation as to what may be a common factor here. While difficult to determine with a small sample size, it may help to have this information available if more merchants are seeing the same errors.

Re: Square says device is rooted BUT its not!

Daylef — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 01:23:53 GMT

I had exactly the same thing with a Samsung S8 after replacing the contactless reader and called support. I was told there is an app on the phone that doesn't pass Square's rigid security requirements and I would have to do a factory reset (a big job obviously) which I said was unacceptable and asked if uninstalling and reinstalling the Square app would help, to which his response was "no it wouldn't" and "a factory reset is the only solution". After the call, I uninstalled the app and reinstalled it. Guess what? The problem disappeared and the app found the new reader.