Why do Bluetooth devices keep disconnecting from my POS system?

[FuzzyAlex]

I am so close to dumping Shopify POS over its constant connective issues with peripheral devices (Chipper card reader and Socket S700 barcode scanner, specifically). At least once every three days, one of these devices is simply forgotten by the POS. This requires our staff to usually restart the iPad, “forget” the device from the system’s Bluetooth, and re-pair it through the POS app as if it were a new device. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating this is, especially when customer’s are (impatiently) waiting with their card to make a purchase. It’s so bad that we have opened a Square account just to take payments when this happens. Of course this requires manually entering the sale later as “cash” to keep inventory correct… but this throws off the accounting since it isn’t really a cash sale. 

Before you ask: yes, the iPad is up to date (we’ve purchased new iPads in hopes of resolving the issues). The POS app is updated regularly. 

If this isn’t resolved, I can’t imagine any solution other than finding another provider. 

[Nick82]

You aren't alone.  I've recently moved from another Epos I used for 7 years.  Bought all new hardware supported by Shopify POS and am in disbelief at how unreliable it is. 

The card machine struggles to connect every couple of days.  At least a few times a day then barcode scanner beeps but nothing appears in the basket.  Only fixed by restarting the app.  Like you the POS software forgets the scanner or card machine every so often.  

But our main problem is the receipt printer.  It doesn't matter if it is on WiFi, Bluetooth or wired in.  It forgets it every hour or so, and even when it's listed and connected it can take ten minutes to print a receipt and open the cash drawer.  It's embarrassing and definitely an app problem - I can print a test receipt within a second under settings.  But nothing happens for some time from orders.  I've paid a technician to look and compile technical logs and reports.  Which Shopify promised to investigate within hours.  That was a week ago and nothing.  

This system could be great but it's clearly been designed by people who have never worked in a busy retail environment.

I don't have any particular suggestions to you, it'd be nice if Shopify addressed what's going on here.

[Loshen]

Me too, same issues and Shopify is not getting back to us either.

Have you found a solution ?

[FuzzyAlex]

Nope. As you will notice, no replies to this thread either. They know it’s an issue and can’t resolve it — my guess. If so, create a USB/LAN device and give credit to existing users of Bluetooth devices toward the new ones. 

[Cpointpond]

I am experiencing the same thing.  You are not alone.  I am in my offseason and have yet to help a customer the way the system is supposed to work.  I ended up using the app on my phone and entering in the cc.  Looking forward to the customer lines, but very concerned.

[Sewinasylum]

I'm so glad to see I'm not alone in this constant struggle. It's like wack a mole. It used to be either the card reader or the scanner- now the receipt printer has joined the fray. And we have a new and updated iPad. 

[SundaysBestDays]

We are having the same issues. I switched the receipt printer to ethernet. But the chip reader and SOCKET scanner keep disconnecting. Shopify fix this asap!! It seems like Bluetooth is not working reliably at all. 

[Nick82]

And still no reply from Shopify.  It has been over a month since submitting all the error logs etc, and being promised a reply within a few hours.  No one listens, no one does anything, they really don't care.

[ddogs24]

Is there any update from @Shopify on this? Seems like a growing problem for a lot of us!

[BowsBreauxsKIds]

We are dealing with this also! It seems the receipt printer quits at 4PM every day no matter if you just printed on it 10 minutes prior or haven't printed all day. The POS app will show it is connected but nothing when you complete a transaction. It is so embarrassing and frustrating! If the tap and chip card reader goes to sleep, the only way to reconnect is to completely turn off the tablet and restart. Grrrr, again very frustrating and embarrassing. No help from Shopify at all. 

[ddogs24]

We dealt with this issue for quite some time, and I found that we were able to resolve it by adjusting our WiFi bandwidth. We had one WiFi network with every device connected on it, but by having our internet provider setup a separate network that we only use for the iPad and it’s connected hardware, it resolved the issue. Maybe check how much bandwidth your network has and what speed it’s running when you experience disconnections. 

[Ljc87]

We are having these issues too and no rely to this thread so I thought I would join in the conversation so hopefully with more voices we are heard. 
My 60y/o mum works alone in our small business while I am on maternity leave and I can’t expect her to reconnect a device every time she wants to use it?? I feel like we wasted our money on a socket reader and we might have to switch back to the more reliable square and therefore loose the ability to sync our inventory 😞 

[Nortons_Cove]

Same issues here.  My printer hasn't worked properly since I bought it.  Sometimes it'll print, sometimes it won't.  And today my scanner is on the blink.  I thought maybe the issue would go away if I bought an iPad instead of an Android tablet, but it seems the problems are the same no matter the device.  Thank you for posting.  

Shopify, do better!

[RBDCNeil]

Just to add to this we are experiencing this with two separate retailers that we support with Shopify POS. One of these uses iPad + Star TSP143II and the other iPad + Star MPOP. As others have mentioned the connection to Bluetooth printers is lost and restart is the most reliable fix though I have also resolved by turning Bluetooth off / on again.

What causes added confusion in these cases is TSP143 network version are used in other parts of the building and Shopify POS has auto discovered and silently and automatically falls back to these network printers. Therefore the user doesn't know there is an issue until the receipt does not print.

[Loshen]

It disconnects everyday, it is very frustrating and no one is getting back to us.

[Imogen]

Hi there, @Loshen. Thanks for taking the time to reach out to the Shopify Community Forums in relation to this thread! My name is Imogen. It's good to meet you!

I took some time to read through this thread, and noticed that many folks have outlined the troubleshooting steps they've taken. I do want to reply and provide some specific troubleshooting steps here (specifically steps around resetting your bluetooth connections on your apple device) to help resolve these disconnections:

First, Open your device's Settings:

1. Go to the Bluetooth settings
2. Forget the device(s) that you are troubleshooting by tapping the ( i ) icon and choosing "Forget This Device"
3. Toggle the Bluetooth settings to Off
4. Once you've done this, turn off the iPad by holding down the power button on the side of the device for 5 seconds and then slide the prompt to turn off the iPad.

Many of these disconnection issues can be caused by signal interference. Apple has a document here that outlines suggestions and steps you can take to help stop these disconnections by addressing potential interference. It's definitely worth taking a look at!

If you feel like you've done what you can to address these disconnections, and looked at and actioned the suggestions within that Apple Document, reach out to our Retail Specialists via the contact information in your POS App for support. If you go to 'More', then 'Support', then 'Contact Support', you will find contact information there that you can use to get connected directly with our Retail Specialists, who can assist in more in-depth troubleshooting than we can here via the Forums.

[RBDCNeil]

Thanks for your suggestion, removing and adding devices while the store is busy with customers is probably more than we would want the team to do. We generally find switching off / on is inconvenient but sufficient to restore connection. But your point did make me think about interference and distance between the printer and iPad. The site having these regular issues is a café front of house and near a small kitchen. The printer is installed under the counter next to the cashdrawer so we are going to move the printer to countertop next to the iPad and see if this improves the situation.

[JosephFlowers]

Going to try this. We have 5 stores, our largest has 8 POS terminals that they use constantly and a couple other used during busy times. I work in the IT department and I just received a ticket letting me know that most stores are having to re connect devices daily. This looks like it is mostly the socket mobile. So at the larger location, all 8 need to be re connected every day. This eats up a lot of time which means $$$. I will have some time to test the above directions next week. But are there any plans to address the issue more permanently or are there adjustments that can be done with the iPads to help them stay connected? Power options or sleep options? Should we consider purchasing different scanners? The scanners are not cheap but considering the wasted time I think it would be cheaper to buy scanners that can stay connected.

[Greta]

Thank you for that feedback, @JosephFlowers!

I recommend contacting our retail support specialists as my colleague Imogen mentioned, so we can properly note down your feedback and provide more context on the issue and possible future solutions.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! 

[JosephFlowers]

I have the stores getting together a list of affected devices and locations. Then the plan is to put in a ticket. Thank you!

Joseph

[roadskinuk]

I am experiencing the same issues.  It drives me to distraction, and I thought it was something I was doing wrong until I read this thread  I have now bought THREE receipt printers - all supposedly compatible according to Shopify but every single one keeps disconnecting.  I simply do not have the time to go though the troubleshooting suggestions when I have 4 people queuing at a till - and neither should I have to.  I have spent a small fortune on everything for POS and still I am having problems.  If the POS isn't used for more than 10 minutes it just disconnects to the hardware - why???? Come on @Greta @Imogen this surely needs to be seriously addressed by Shopify.  I'm afraid it is just too unreliable and I will be going back to my 3rd party till software unless it can be sorted.

[VetcoElectronic]

Hello.

We are having issues with our POS system as well. Its annoying that the bluetooth barcode scanner disconnects from time to time. Especially when the bluetooth scanner sleeps/powers off. But the biggest issue we are having is that when we select products to add to cart, then hit check out, it says that its "disconnected from the internet. Check your internet connection". But the ipad can access the internet without issue, so can other functions in the POS app. This is EXTREMELY impactful to customers. This state usually results in us having to force quite the Shopify app, restart it and then it works. It seems like something is going to sleep and then reconnecting. We've even switched ALL of the hardware to wired ethernet. The ipad, the receipt printer, and the POS GO terminal. Still does it. Any suggestions?

[Victoria]

Hi, @VetcoElectronic.

Thanks for reaching out and joining the thread.

We appreciate you trying those troubleshooting methods to see if it resolves the issue. I would like our Retail Support Team to take a more detailed look into this for you. We recommend accessing the Help Center or access current offerings via the POS app by clicking ≡ > Support > Contact Support. 

I hope this helps!

[JosephFlowers]

This sounds like a DNS issue either with the network you are using or possibly an addon you are using. Shopify support should be able to help you with getting any needed whitelisting for Shopify and if you are using addon's hopefully they have documentation that can provide you the needed information or a way to contact them.