Square Reader stuck at "Connecting" status and does not pair

[Ayeszu]

The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Stuck at the Connecting step

I have a second gen square reader, and when connecting it to my phone it is stuck as "Connecting", with an orange status indicator. It doesn't appear as an option when I checkout an item. The network is excellent, the square is charged to 93%. I've done device reset and factory reset. Not sure what to do.

[frances_a · Accepted solution]

Hello @Ayeszu 👋

Welcome to our Community!

I'm sorry to hear your Reader is not connecting successfully. 

Sounds like this might be a Bluetooth issue, you can reset that connection following the steps in this article.

Let me know if this helps. 

Thank you ✨

[tranguyen]

Hey @Ayeszu, the steps @frances_a shared above usually resolved any underlying connection issue with the Square Reader. I've gone ahead and mark her answer as the solution but if continue to get an error when trying to pair the reader, please don't hesitate to follow-up here and we will be happy to take a look. 

[dighov]

Not sure if this is the same issue that you were having, but I was experiencing a similar issue where my Square Reader for Contactless and Chip would not pair with a new iPad. Note, that I purchased the iPad and the Square reader from Square, so I know that they should be compatible.  I tried all the usual troubleshooting, including resetting the Square Reader by holding down the power button until it flashed red, turning off/on bluetooth on the iPad, and even reinstalling the Square app and resetting the iPad completely.

What I finally figured out was that the brand new Square Reader had old firmware which would not allow it to connect to the iPad with a newer iOS (iOS 18.x).  I was able to pair the Square Readers with an older iPad with an older iOS.  When it paired with the older iPad, the Square Reader updated its firmware automatically.  After that, I had the older iPad 'forget' the Square Reader and I paired it with the new iPad without issue.  It took a long time to figure this out, so I'm putting this here in case it helps someone in the future.

It's a Catch-22.  The reader can't pair with the iPad because the firmware is out of date.  But there's no way to update the firmware without connecting it with a device.  Hopefully, you'll have access to an older iPad or Android device if you run into this issue.

Good luck!