I’m having a major issue with my Square Terminal where Checkout will not open. After setup, the device stays on the Welcome screen, and whenever I tap Checkout, it immediately returns to the Welcome screen. I can access the side menu (Hardware / Account / Troubleshoot), but the POS app never loads.
Symptoms
Terminal boots normally
Shows the Welcome screen
Swipe → menu works
Checkout loops back to Welcome
No Items, no POS interface
Only “Hardware / Account / Troubleshoot” available
Troubleshooting already done
Hard reboot (15‑second power button hold)
Forget and reconnect Wi‑Fi
Attempted software update (won’t activate)
Restart POS Software
Full Factory Reset and complete setup again
After reset, device still stuck in the same loop
No POS app installs after setup
No login screen appears when swiping up from the bottom
Current state
The terminal appears to be stuck in Device Mode, not POS Mode, and never downloads or launches the Square Point of Sale app. Checkout cannot open under any circumstances.
Looking for
Advice on:
Forcing the POS app to install
Getting out of Device Mode
Any hidden login screen or provisioning step I may be missing
Whether this indicates a deeper firmware issue
