issues with taking & saving item photos through the app

[zuckercreme]

i’m trying to do inventory and you can upload pictures directly into the app, which is great in theory.

my issues are…

1. that the app keeps freezing and not letting me add the photo i just took. the done button will not work. i will have to restart the entire app and repeat this process 2-3 more times to get it work.

2. if the photo does get uploaded, i will save the item, and close out. i am 100% sure the item with the photo has been saved. the photos are not saving and/or disappearing once i do see them!!! i can’t tell which ones don’t have the image unless i restart the app just to make sure. 

all in all, super frustrated at these companies who keep increasing their prices SUBSTANTIALLY for “updates” and then i can’t even do the thing i’m paying for. 

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

Hello @zuckercreme !

That is interesting that you're having problems with photos! I don't use the Retail product myself, but I'm not seeing any issue with Restaurants or Point of Sale myself.

The first thing I'd say is to make sure that your app and device's OS are fully up to date. Back end changes on the software can cause some random issues with outdated apps.

Also, have you tried another device to see if you're seeing the same problems? It's a great troubleshooting step to see where the problem lies.

You may also want to look into the Square Photo Studio app. It allows you to do more photo formatting including background removal and links directly to your account. You can create and modify items directly from the Photo Studio app.

Please keep us updated with troubleshooting steps and what the results are! We can continue to work together to solve this problem.

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

Hello @zuckercreme !

That is interesting that you're having problems with photos! I don't use the Retail product myself, but I'm not seeing any issue with Restaurants or Point of Sale myself.

The first thing I'd say is to make sure that your app and device's OS are fully up to date. Back end changes on the software can cause some random issues with outdated apps.

Also, have you tried another device to see if you're seeing the same problems? It's a great troubleshooting step to see where the problem lies.

You may also want to look into the Square Photo Studio app. It allows you to do more photo formatting including background removal and links directly to your account. You can create and modify items directly from the Photo Studio app.

Please keep us updated with troubleshooting steps and what the results are! We can continue to work together to solve this problem.

[GoingPlacesDoll]

Did you ever figure out what the issue was? I’m having the exact same problem and have been for months. My apps are up to date, my internet is good, I’ve tried different devices, and nothing is helping. Incredibly frustrating to have to restart the app every single time. 

[PlantSellerYEG]

Same here. Square POS app and Retail app both crash consistently when trying to take photos to add to items in the app. Tried different devices (all iPhones with latest updates), it crashes after either after taking photos for one item or if I’m lucky, maybe after two). SUPER ANNOYING - almost enough to quit Square. 

[Candlestore]

@PlantSellerYEG ;

I was having this issue and finally gave up taking pictures with the App.  Took the Pictures, Emailed them to my account that I have access to on a computer that acesses my Square account also.   Would download the images to the computer then Upload them through the Square Dashboard on a computer.  Then add them to the coresponding item.   Takes longer but do not have to worry about the app crashing this way.

[zuckercreme]

this was never solved if anyone is still reading 😞 i hate square lol

[ryanwanner]

@zuckercreme  Yeah.... still an ongoing issue as far as I can tell. I've started doing what @Candlestore mentioned here. Take the pict with my phone, email it to myself, and use the web dashboard to upload it.

Currently when I upload via the app on my phone, I get a pixelated, grainy version of the picture. Not sure if that's because the app is trying to compress the image or what. And using Square Photo Studio completely borks my online settings for the item.

Pinging a few mods because this really does need to be investigated...

@Breffni, @Summer2024 @JJ_ @MayaP @RobynR @Sammie_C and others.... HALP.

[MayaP]

Hey @ryanwanner @zuckercreme @GoingPlacesDoll @Candlestore @PlantSellerYEG - I’m sorry this still hasn’t been addressed. I’d be happy to look into this further. Just to clarify:

1. Is this only happening with the Retail app?
2. Does this occur specifically when creating an item and taking a photo? If not, can you walk me through the steps you're following?

If there are any other relevant details, please share them. I’ll keep an eye out for your reply. 

[ryanwanner]

@MayaPI don't use the retail app myself, so I can't speak to what the behavior is there, but I do use the spos app and that's where I'm seeing the low resolution image upload.

For me, the steps are: create the item on the web dashboard, configure all the settings as needed. Place a placeholder image in for the item image. Load the item on my iPhone in spos, change the image to an already taken picture, which then shows in low resolution on my online store. Taking that same picture and uploading it via the web dashboard leads to a clear image.

[MayaP]

I apologize for the late reply. Our team is looking into this. Thanks @ryanwanner!

[Candlestore]

@MayaP ;

It was so annoying that I gave up using the app for images.  At first it worked great but then an Update broke the app along the way.  I just tried it today for 3 items that I had no images for with an Ipad and Square for Retail 6.62.1w and worked fine but I also now see there is an available update for the Ipad that was taking the pictures.  I have always been a little afraid to update apps because it was more a  find what is now broke after an update.  These downgrades were also not noticable right away, but would surface when I tried to do something else. Meaning the updates may work for checkout, but then later find out the Image process was broken.  

The problem for me was after the 2nd or 3rd image going through the Retail app on an Ipad.  1st picture seemed to work but then it was hit or miss if the app would crash.  Like I said the current version seemed to work for all 3 of these images a few minutes ago.

[zuckercreme]

i am using the retail app

the photos are either NOT saving which is a serious pain because i don't know they didn't save until i scroll through 500 items and see which ones don't have photos

on top of that, the app crashes after trying to do maybe 5 photos and will NOT work again until the next day or so, it's always random

[Candlestore]

@zuckercreme ;

Do you know which Version of the Retail App you are on?  The Retail App I am using was for the Ipad and is version 6.62.1w, but there is an Update available for me.  Did this update that is pending for me Break it again?  This is why I am asking, so I know if I Should push the update through or not.

The below image shows the About Screen in Square for Retail which lists the Version of Square for Retail you are using.

[Candlestore]

@MayaP ;

@zuckercreme Sorry for thinking this was fixed with a few (2 or 3 Pictures in my case).

Ok so earlier today I was able to take 2 or 3 Pictures to upload on my Ipad using Square for Retail and on the version 6.62.  So after it was reported that this is still going on after about 5 images but may could change randomly.  I just tried again to document what was happening and to see if it happened taking more than 3 images.   This time it happened on the 2nd image.

So here is what my process was when it messed up:

1. Opened the Square for Retail App on an Ipad.
2. More bottom Right of Screen
3. Support then About Version 6.62.1w  Would 6.63 fix this???  IDK --- Answered my Question did the Update 6.63w and froze on 2nd Image
4. More then Items.
5. Searched for Item that had no image.... click Edit Tile.... take picture..... Use Photo
6. Did the above for 1 image then the 2nd one Froze the app on the screen asking to Retake or Use Photo at the lower corners of the image as shown in the image Below:  

The Ipad still had full WiFi and Connected to the internet.  I pressed Power button which Locked the Ipad and had me re-enter my Ipads password, Opened the Square App.....Image still frozen.  Now its time to power cycle the Ipad.  Then Restart the App and the screen is still stuck on the image above.   The image is finally gone from the main screen and the app is working.  The froze image did not save for the Item.

This is exactly why I stopped using the Retail app for taking pictures.   It would work, then Stop after a few pictures.  Earlier today I thought it was fixed since I took a Few 2 or 3 and it worked.   Just tried again and got to the second image and it froze.

So I started just using my cell and emailing images to a computer where I could upload them through Square Dashboard through a Web Browser.

[zuckercreme]

wow, what a waste of time!! this is so frustrating because it's a tool that makes or breaks your ability to be efficient as a small business. if you are going to offer this then make sure it works square please!!!

[Candlestore]

@zuckercreme ;

This is why I went to the Cell Phone taking images to send to my Computer either through Email or WiFi, Then upload the images to Square from a Computer.   It takes longer than if the App works, but it is reliable and saves time from using the app that fails and me troubleshooting the app and getting it to work for a image or two.  I am just glad I tried this again on a slow day and saw it still does not work even with the latest version of Retail 6.63w.

[MayaP]

Thanks for your patience @zuckercreme. I am filing a ticket. Can you provide the following:

1) What retail app version are you currently on?

2) What device you are using to take the photo? 

3) Please provide some item examples. If you have any photos, that would be helpful. 

[MayaP]

I am filing a ticket. Can you confirm what app version you are on currently? Is this still on 6.63? @Candlestore 

[Candlestore]

@MayaP ; Yes this was still on 6.63, as from my reply above "Would 6.63 fix this???  IDK --- Answered my Question did the Update 6.63w and froze on 2nd Image"  So what happened is I did the Update to 6.63 to see if that fixed the issue.  The Screen image above froze taking the 2nd image to upload to Square through my Ipad.  I had to close the app, restart my Ipad to get back to Square.  Closing the app would just bring up the screen above in reply 14 of 25.

I just tested this with Square for Retail 6.64.1sw and it still freezes after the 2nd image.  Created before items Test .......  Edit Image, take photo, use image save.   2nd item Test.....  edit Tile, Take Photo, Screen freezes at Use or retake like in the reply above Reply 14 of ??.

So this is still an issue with 6.64.1sw on 3-19-2025

Since,  I saw you asked for sample image of items.... here is what my Test items.... images looked like with Version 6.64.1sw on an Ipad using Square for Retail.

[MayaP]

I appreciate all the information, @Candlestore I’ve filed a ticket, and this has been escalated for further investigation. Thanks for your patience!

[MayaP]

Our team has noted that the Retail iPad is not on the latest version. Let's start by deleting and reinstalling the app. If the issue persists, they’ve requested a video to help with further investigation. Let us know how it goes!

@Candlestore