I know this has been talked about before but I am considering switching from square to another merchant services company. One of the things that I don't like about the new square reader is that it must be charged everyday. I do many shows and farmers markets and I know there will be times when I have forgotten to charge the reader. Another concern is that the battery only lasts for 100 swipes. I read on another post here that it only lasted for 5 hours. Does anyone know of a "chip ready" card reader that can be used on iphones and androids that doesn't need to be charged? On a side note, I just used my new square "emv" reader for the first time this past weekend. I charged it up and did a test and everything seemed fine. Got to the show and tried to use it and it didn't work.. Not sure what I was doing wrong but I ended up just using my old reader for the whole show.
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Chris...all you need is a remote battery that can charge the reader and keep it plugged in to the chip reader constantly. I use one for the reader and one for my ipad and mobile hotspot. Everything stays 100% charged all day
I looked at those on Amazon. Maybe I should buy some. Again, I would need 8 or so at some point in the year. It's a chunk of change but I agree with Chris Hoyt that it's cheaper than a wireless terminal. Plus, those have to be charged too, lol. I wish there was a way to avoid it. Doesn't seem like there is though.
I find it well worth the expense just for having the peace of mind that I will not lose usage of a device due to battery drain.
Ok,, so I bit the bullet and bought 4 of the portable batteries. $39.99 each and free shipping on Amazon. For will get me started for now. I usually don't need more than that until it's farmers market season. Thanks for talking me into it.
Shannon,
I'm sure you will glad you have these...a lot of piece of mind even if you don't use them each day.
I have the square bluetooth chip reader and also have tested it in a non-show environment and it worked OK.
I don't particularly like having to charge it...bu all electronics seem to be moving in a battery powered scenario. I do have several remote auxiliary batteries that have USB ports for remote charging all my devices when necessary. It is easy to use these and make sure that that I never have a drained battery during a show since so many devices I use at shows are battery operated. My Ipad, telephone, plug in chip reader and now the wireless chip reader.
I just got off the phone with Square and am returning the Bluetooth chip reader and the docking stand. The reader worked good when I got it almost a month ago but I have had to pair it again with the square software three different times. I don't need this frustration while at a show.
The docking station for the reader has a 6 ft wire coming out of the back that cannot be removed...and the square website has 5 photos of it and four of the photos show it without any wire connected. I don't particularly want a 6 ft wire dangling out the stand that cannot be connected to anything and cannot be removed.
I will just stick with the chip reader that plugs in to the ipad.
Maybe that's why mine didn't work at the show. Maybe I was supposed to pair it up again. I don't have time for that when I have a customer standing in front of me. Don't want to lose a sale because it takes too long. Anyway, I probably wouldn't be able to read the numbers on the back of the square to pair it up again. They are so flipping small, I needed my glasses and a magnifying glass to read them. The thing that bothers me the most if that "we" are the people that square and other mobile device merchant services were supposed to made for. It was supposed to be the solution so that we could be "mobile" now we are not mobile if we have plugs and need for electricity. I am hoping there is a company out there that has a better solution.
^^^ What Shannon said! Mobile means no power required! I would love to see this new reader be able to work all day have us artists/crafters have no fear of it going dead. I have yet to try mine. It just came in the other day, so I am not speaking from experience, just what I have read here at AFI.
For me the term "Mobile" means not having to need an electrical outlet for it to work. I returned the bluetooth square reader and dock today because of problems with it not staying linked to the app.
I now use just the $29 plug in chip reader and it also has to be charged...but that is such a very minor problem because it is so easy to use an external battery.
At a show I set the screen brightness of my iPad to its brightest setting so I can easily read it outside. This drains the battery at a higher rate but with a remote battery I can keep it plugged in and have a 100% charge all day long on all devices..
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