Card Reader Will Not Connect
Working through a terminal that is offline, unresponsive, or charging without showing anything.
Work through these in order. Most reader problems are one of the first three.
1. Is it awake and charged?Copy a link to this section
A reader on low battery will pair and then drop mid-transaction. Put it on the dock and try again on mains power. This is the single most common cause and the easiest to dismiss.
2. Is it on the same network?Copy a link to this section
The reader and the device driving it must be on the same network. Two things break this quietly:
- A guest network the tablet joined automatically.
- A phone on mobile data rather than the shop's wi-fi.
Check both devices' networks before anything else.
3. Is another device holding it?Copy a link to this section
A reader can only be driven by one device at a time. If a colleague's phone is still connected, yours will not find it. Close Perceny on the other device, then reconnect.
4. Reconnect deliberatelyCopy a link to this section
Disconnect the reader in Perceny, then pair it again. A stale pairing survives restarts and will keep failing.
5. Restart, in the right orderCopy a link to this section
Reader first, then the device. Restarting the app alone rarely helps; it is the Bluetooth or network session that is stuck.
If it charges but shows nothingCopy a link to this section
The reader is working and the display settings are off:
- Display Items on Terminal: shows the line items.
- Display Tips on Terminal: asks for a tip.
- Always Display Tips on Terminal: asks even when a tip was chosen earlier.
- Terminal Pictures: what it shows when idle.
If the charge succeeded but Perceny does not show itCopy a link to this section
Do not charge again. Check the ticket's payment history first: the transaction may have landed while the confirmation was lost.
If the money moved and the ticket still shows a balance, the reconciliation is the fix, not a second charge. If the ticket is fully paid but on the wrong method, use Ignore Previous Payments; see Fix a payment taken as cash.
Use Tap to Pay as a fallbackCopy a link to this section
If the reader is dead and there is a queue, take payment with Tap to Pay on the phone. It needs no hardware, and it keeps the day moving while you sort the reader out afterwards.
When to escalateCopy a link to this section
If the reader pairs, the network is right, nothing else is holding it, and charges still fail, stop trying and contact support with the ticket, the time, and what the reader displayed. Repeated failed attempts on the same card can get the card blocked, which turns a hardware problem into a client problem.