Can you change the battery on the Square contactless reader?

[DairyDepot]

I have a Square contactless reader that is a few years old and disconnects frequently.  My understanding from this forum is it should only go to sleep after 2-hours of non-use.  The Square agent said it may go to sleep sooner and couldn't be more specific.

My reader is disconnecting after 30-60 minutes on inactivity, even when on the dock.  My business is 80% cash so I basically have to wake the reader every time I want to use it, very inconvenient.

Could the battery just have gone bad where it is going to sleep because of the battery level and not because of idle timeout?  I would have hoped it would stay awake constantly when on the charging base, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Is the battery replaceable?  It is out of warranty and not working great so if I crack open the case is there a standard rechargeable battery that I can just replace and maybe get some more life out of this?

[MJD]

Hey there @DairyDepot!

When a device has been in use for multiple years and has passed through usually around 600+ charging cycles or has degraded to around 80% of it's original capacity, the battery reaches a point where it will likely not perform to a desirable standard. In a situation where the battery is on a constant charge (on the dock) it will likely degrade at an accelerated rate due to the constant charge in the battery's cells. 50% charge at a constant is most desirable for this reason as the battery remains balanced with just as many dead cells as charged cells reducing the speed in which it degrades at.

I recall this video by top tech YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss explaining battery health through the lifespan of a smartphone being really intuitive on this topic so I'd definitely give it a watch if you want to learn more!

As the Square Reader is a rather low cost piece of equipment I believe it would likely be cheaper to replace the whole unit over simply just the battery. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. 

If you don't believe for the lifespan of your reader to have been as good as it potentially should have been you can check legislation similar to the UK's Consumer Rights Act of 2015 (in your country) to see if you are potentially eligible by law for a replacement.

I hope this could help and if it did that you will mark this as the Best Answer to your question to help others find answers quicker in the future! 😄 

[DairyDepot]

I suspect it was left on the dock all the time.  Also, possibly left in the building once it was winterized.  Do you get two hours out of your reader (docked or not) or is it more random as square suggested as they could not give me a time frame.