[Q] Got my Square card reader today

Search This thread

garfnodie

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2008
449
52
Columbia, TN, USA
I finally received my little square card reader from Squareup today. I'm anxious to get a chance to use it.

I'm curious if anyone else has gotten one yet and started using it on a regular basis. What do you think of it? I'm also wondering if anyone one out there has found some other uses for it? Near as I can tell, it's a standard magnetic reader head, so there's not reason it couldn't read any magnetic striped card. I think it'd be cool of those password/credit card/bank account app could use this dongle to read your card number instead of having to type it in manually. I've already used an audio recording app and successfully swiped and recorded the audio stream that comes from the reader.

So what are your guy's thoughts, idea's, suggestions for this niftly little dongle. Will it survive, or is it destined to be another Cuecat
 

ziekrage

Member
Jun 26, 2010
12
0
Mine came in yesterday. I'm waiting for someone braver than I to crack one open to see if there is more to it than just a magnetic read head and male headphone jack. It would be neat if we discover a microcontroller flashed with a code that pairs each device specifically to the users account. But really I'm hoping it's just a simple set of components so that I could easily fabricate a new one if mine gets lost/broken.
 

joshuapurcell

Senior Member
May 11, 2007
64
3
Seattle
So I received the card reader, but I haven't been successful with using it up to this point. I have a Galaxy S Vibrant, and when I follow the instructions for swiping credit cards absolutely nothing happens in the square app. Has anyone accepted payments successfully with the card reader, and if so what are you doing differently?

EDIT: Sorry about posting on this in Nexus One section. Although I'm not currently testing on a Nexus One the problem I'm having is hopefully more related to the application or OS than it is the hardware, and this is the only discussion related to Squareup on this forum.
 
Last edited:

ziekrage

Member
Jun 26, 2010
12
0
So I received the card reader, but I haven't been successful with using it up to this point.

Try testing the card reader using an audio recording app like garfnodie did. If you don't get some kind of whooshing sound on your recording, then there's a chance you've got a bad reader. But if you do get sound, then I'd say it is a hardware compatibility issue with your Galaxy.

BTW, do you get the card reader icon pop up in Square when you plug/unplug your reader?

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7183/readeryes.png

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6443/readerno.png
 

joshuapurcell

Senior Member
May 11, 2007
64
3
Seattle
I wasn't getting that icon in my initial tests, but I am now that I pull the card reader out of the phone just a little. There is a certain point where I leave it that the icon stays solid and the app appears like it is ready to accept a swipe, but swiping the card does not start the authorizing process. Most degrees of pulling the card reader out of this phone only results in the icon disappearing or it constantly appearing then quickly disappearing.

I tested my card reader on a Droid X today and it worked fine, so I'm assuming this issue is most likely related to using the card reader on a Samsung Vibrant. I am running a custom ROM (Bionix 1.6 at the moment) which may have an impact on audio jack functionality, but I'm not sure. I'll need to try other ROMs and see if the audio jack behavior is any different.
 

joshuapurcell

Senior Member
May 11, 2007
64
3
Seattle
I've found that using a normal headset in the same way that I described with the card reader behaves identically. The app shows the icon but in either case I'm unable to successfully swipe a card.

EDIT: I've also found that the Samsung Vibrant does video out via the 3.5mm audio jack. I'm leaning towards this being the cause as to why the card reader doesn't work with this new audio jack. Here is more information:
http://www.wirefly.com/learn/wireless_news/confirmed-samsung-vibrant-tv-out-menu/

If I toggle video out on, then I can't get the Square application to see anything plugged in. If I keep video out toggled off, then I get the level of functionality described above. If it turns out that this is the reason for the issue, then I hope it can be solved via a software update on either the Android or Square side (rather than a hardware issue). I've opened a ticket with Squareup with all this information.
 
Last edited:

garfnodie

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2008
449
52
Columbia, TN, USA
I've found that using a normal headset in the same way that I described with the card reader behaves identically. The app shows the icon but in either case I'm unable to successfully swipe a card.

EDIT: I've also found that the Samsung Vibrant does video out via the 3.5mm audio jack. I'm leaning towards this being the cause as to why the card reader doesn't work with this new audio jack. Here is more information:
http://www.wirefly.com/learn/wireless_news/confirmed-samsung-vibrant-tv-out-menu/

If I toggle video out on, then I can't get the Square application to see anything plugged in. If I keep video out toggled off, then I get the level of functionality described above. If it turns out that this is the reason for the issue, then I hope it can be solved via a software update on either the Android or Square side (rather than a hardware issue). I've opened a ticket with Squareup with all this information.

I never even noticed that the card reader uses four conductors until I read your post about your problem and took a closer look at my card reader. A standard headphone jack uses three conductors(left, right, ground), most cell phone jacks use four conductors(left, right, mic, ground). Now if the Captivate can switch that fourth conductor from mic in to video out when needed, then it certainly sounds like a software issue, just don't know whos problem it and to fix.
 

joshuapurcell

Senior Member
May 11, 2007
64
3
Seattle
Someone else posted in the Vibrant forums saying they have had success in getting the card reader to work while using a specific ROM:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=806795

So this means it may not be a hardware problem with the card reader or the Vibrant, and that the software issue may be on the OS side and fixable via changes to whatever ROM being used. I haven't done the testing yet due to time, but I will hopefully today. The updates to this issue will be in the linked thread above going forward since it seems to be isolated to the Vibrant and we now have a Square discussion in that appropriate forum.
 

player911

Inactive Recognized Developer
Sep 8, 2006
7,952
1,205
Cincinnati
www.SnapSiteAdmins.com
this actually looks awesome. I guess it converts what it reads into audio that the program can pick up. What the hell is the usage though?

/me thinks

I guess it would be awesome for when I work on peoples computers and websites, they can pay me right there. Pretty slick.
 

garfnodie

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2008
449
52
Columbia, TN, USA
this actually looks awesome. I guess it converts what it reads into audio that the program can pick up. What the hell is the usage though?

/me thinks

I guess it would be awesome for when I work on peoples computers and websites, they can pay me right there. Pretty slick.

I can see this being great for swap meets, flea markets, or trade shows or anything for that matter where your selling products or services and want to be able to take and approve credit/debit card sales on the spot.
 

player911

Inactive Recognized Developer
Sep 8, 2006
7,952
1,205
Cincinnati
www.SnapSiteAdmins.com
I can see this being great for swap meets, flea markets, or trade shows or anything for that matter where your selling products or services and want to be able to take and approve credit/debit card sales on the spot.

Yea. Actually my friend is trying to start up a Transmission Repair shop and really fell in love with the idea of being able to accept credit cards on the go.
 

Teidullie

Senior Member
Feb 7, 2009
76
4
40
Odenton
Just got mine

Just got mine and I cant wait to start using it I was having problems with the icon not showing up and I just uninstalled/installed and that fixed it.
 

player911

Inactive Recognized Developer
Sep 8, 2006
7,952
1,205
Cincinnati
www.SnapSiteAdmins.com
I haven't received my unit yet, but has anyone had any issues with it? I've looked into it and supposedly it's capped to $100 per transaction and I think your capped on the number of times you can use it per day.

Also I heard the reader may take multiple swipes before the software actually picks up on it.

I don't think the cap will be a big issue for me, but I would trust the opinions of the people here more then random bashes on the internet.

Would be neat if you are a Craigslist whore. Not only would you be able to take credit/check cards, but you'd also get a receipt of the transaction as well.
 

garfnodie

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2008
449
52
Columbia, TN, USA
Q

I haven't received my unit yet, but has anyone had any issues with it? I've looked into it and supposedly it's capped to $100 per transaction and I think your capped on the number of times you can use it per day.

Also I heard the reader may take multiple swipes before the software actually picks up on it.

I don't think the cap will be a big issue for me, but I would trust the opinions of the people here more then random bashes on the internet.

Would be neat if you are a Craigslist whore. Not only would you be able to take credit/check cards, but you'd also get a receipt of the transaction as well.

Here is the FAQ on Square's page about the fee's, transaction limits, etc.
https://support.squareup.com/entries/160793-frequently-asked-questions-faq#card-fees