Off line mode changed

[MrAlaska]

The nature of my business takes me to many remote locations where phone service is not available. The first  several months using Android app if I was offline a red bar would show on top the screen and stay there the whole transaction making it obvious to make note for collection purposes if the card gets declined.

Lately this behavior has apparently changed. Two days ago I was in an active data area and the red bar showed up which happens often. I had a good signal so I toggled the data to reconnect square and proceeded as normal with what appeared to be a successful transaction with approved card and offer to send receipt. It was not until the day I reviewed the transaction history that I saw the notice that the transaction was in offline mode and had been declined.

1) is there any way to keep the offline notice visible for the full transaction especially on the receipt screen and final screen?

2) is there any way to re-run the transaction?

3) Where or how can I find the customer information that goes with the transaction?

Thank you for any help. This happened once previously but I wrote it off to an anomaly and it was a small transaction. I am concerned about this behavior because remote locations that might be likely to trigger this are generally more significant amounts, and I am also concerned about square losing signal in active areas and the app not detecting it

[Donnie-M]

@MrAlaska on the android app, I have seen the red error when I know I was online.  It appears to be when you have the app open in the background for some time and you switch to wi-fi vs. cellular..vs. some other random event.  If I close out the app (tab key and swipe close) and reopen the POS app the red bar will go away.

I am pretty sure this is some combination of the way the app works, changes to Android OS behaves, and security etc.  So the best thing to do is just close the app and reopen and if you are online it should behave properly.

I don't think there is any way to re-run the credit card, but I have not seen the app behave incorrectly when it loses service and you are in an active session.

[MrAlaska]

Searching around this forum I have found other people that were able to conclude transactions with apparent success only to find they were in off line mode and the card was was subsequently declined. This issue seems to be dismissed on the thread I found so far.

If you have not seen the problem it might only mean the card was not declined. This is not a problem you would see which is exactly what makes it a problem. For all I know I could have run hundreds of cards in off line mode without knowing about it. Most cards are good and it is only a problem when the card is declined. If I had known I was in off line mode I would have taken customer contact info but there is not enough time in the day to document and record every single transaction for just in case purposes. I have only had three or four cards declined that I can recall, and this latest incident is the second one saying I was in off line mode without my knowledge.

Another possibility comes to mind, though. There is also a chance that I was not even in offline mode and that there is a glitch in the system or app giving false feedback. Looking at the time stamp the card was declined at the same time I would have been clearing the sale. It happened to be my first transaction of the day and a larger than normal amount to happily get my day started on a great note, or so I thought! 

[JJ_]

Hey there @MrAlaska and welcome to the Seller Community!

I am trying to understand your situation to better help. Are you saying that your app was offline with no visible indicator? Offline Mode should display a prominent red bar that reads "Offline Mode", and while this status is on, transactions would only be recorded locally until the internet service and the app reaches out to our servers to process the payment. When this happens, transactions could decline. 

My goal here is, to make sure you are aware of the actual behavior and process. Lastly, you can always disable Offline Mode if this is something that you are not interested in. 

I will keep an eye out for your reply. 

[MrAlaska]

I have taken offline cards in the past and the indicator was prominent.

In this case I had a strong signal and the indicator never showed again after I woke the phone up. The transaction proceeded normally and appeared to approve the card before displaying the receipt screen.

Update: I saw the customer again and showed her the time stamp of the denial. She checked her account which showed no activity for that day whether denial or approval.

In this case I was very lucky the customer remembered the transaction and was willing to  graciously pay again. My concern is still with the behavior. I have no way of knowing exactly what happened or how many cards have been unwittingly run in offline mode and since this is the second time it has resulted in a failure it has me anxious. Many of my largest transactions are conducted at airports where there is slim chance of ever seeing them again.

I initially tried to run Square with offline mode switched off which turned awkward when I found it cannot be toggled back on without an active signal. Unfortunately 20 miles out of town after I had assured a nervous customer that I would be able to take their card without recording the number outside the app to run by hand. Obviously I should have tested first but if that behavior is documented in the instructions then I missed it. Remote transactions pay more so I immediately opted to leave it turned on.

Thank you for your help!

[JJ_]

I am so so glad to hear this outcome for you @MrAlaska! Sorry, you had to go through this. I will keep an eye on situations like these to confirm if anyone else experiences this behavior.