Square terminals printing paused error message after every payment

[HillaryStep]

We use the square terminals for taking payments but do not require this machine to print as we have a connected external printer. Therefore we don't load it with paper.

However after every order it tries to print a receipt and comes up with the following error message. 

Printing Paused

The last print job was interrupted do you want to continue.

The inbuilt printer is not configured and every option on the profile is set to receipt off yet it still continues to attempt to print. This slows down our customer service as we can't move on to the next person until it has attempted to print and have clicked away from the error message. 

Is there a way to clear the print queue and stop the machine from trying to print. 

We have another terminal that we use in the same way that does not have this issue.

[Ellie_]

Hi there, @HillaryStep,

Thank you for reaching out and for providing detailed information about the issue you're experiencing with your Square Terminal. You're absolutely right, if you're using an external printer and have disabled receipt printing in your settings, the built-in printer should not be trying to print or showing error messages. To address the issue, please try the following steps to stop the Terminal from attempting to print and clear any lingering print jobs:

• Turn Off Receipt Printing Completely on the Terminal:

  • On the Square Terminal, tap ≡ More > Settings > Hardware > Printers.

  • Select Built-in Receipt Printer.

  • Toggle Receipts, Bills, and Order Tickets to Off.

  • Save changes and back out of the settings.
    
    

• Clear the Printer Queue (Soft Reset):

  • Hold down the power button for about 15 seconds until the Terminal fully shuts down.

  • Wait a few seconds, then power it back on.

  • This helps clear any stuck print jobs that may be queued in the background.
    
    

• Unassign the Built-In Printer (if applicable):

  • Go to Settings > Hardware > Printers > Select Printer.

  • If the built-in printer is still listed or assigned, unassign it from all categories.
    
    

• Check the Device Profile:

  • On your online Square Dashboard, navigate to Devices > Points of Sale. Find the affected Terminal and confirm that the device profile also has receipt printing turned off across all printer settings.

We understand how frustrating this can be during busy times, and we're here to help get this resolved as quickly as possible.

Please let us know if these steps help or if the issue continues—we’ll be happy to escalate further if needed.