Barcode scanning from POS app not working anymore

Retail & Point of Sale

Topic summary

A merchant reports that barcode scanning in the Shopify POS app has become unreliable, frequently returning “product not found” errors despite previously working correctly. The issue affects both Android and iPad devices with newly printed barcodes in regular and QR code formats.

Root cause identified:

  • POS scanning only matches the “Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.)” field in Shopify admin
  • Does not scan the SKU field, even when SKU codes are printed on labels
  • Problem emerged after adding GTIN codes to products while keeping SKU-based labels
  • No setting exists to choose which field the scanner searches

Workarounds suggested:

  • Enter SKUs into the Barcode field instead
  • Use third-party apps with more flexible scanning options
  • Print labels with GTIN codes going forward
  • Check that scanned items are active and have the POS sales channel enabled

Additional issues reported:

  • Recent “fuzzy search” update causes single SKU scans to return multiple matches, reducing scanning effectiveness
  • Some users find re-entering the last character manually resolves certain scan failures

The original poster requests Shopify add field selection for scanning in future POS updates.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello All,

I used to use my android phone or IPAD to scan the products through Shopify POS app in my physical expositions. It was working fine until now. Now it sometimes find the product and most times gives " product not found". This puts me in difficult situation right now and dont know what to do after spending so much time in putting barcode labels on all the inventory.
My products all have a custom SKU code. THe barcode labels carry these codes. I have tested to see with newly printed barcodes to eliminate visibility possibility in regular barcode also as a new set up QR code format. IT did not solve the situation.

Some products also have a GTIN number entered in the second field. I am trying to find out what has changed that causes this issue. My POS app is up todate. Labels are the same labels. I have seen some discussions but did not see a well explained solution.
For example it is a mystery to me, which code is searched for through POS scanning functionality when the product has both SKu code and GTIN code. I am based in Europe. If anyone can shed a light I will be grateful.
Kind Regards,

2

I reply to myself. I am one step close to solution I believe. I am writing here a copy of my conversation with the help assitant

“so you are saying scanning functionality in POS only matches to barcode field, right. there is no setting that I can select which code to scan?”

" Yes, that’s correct. The Shopify POS app is designed to match scanned barcodes to the Barcode (ISBN, UPC, etc.) field in your Shopify admin. There isn’t a built-in setting in Shopify POS to change this behavior to scan and match directly with the SKU field.

If you need to scan SKUs, you would need to enter them into the Barcode field as a workaround. Alternatively, you might consider using a third-party app that offers more flexibility in scanning and matching different fields, or adjust your label printing to include the GTINs in the future."
Which means after I started entering GTINs next to SKU, but kep the labels with SKU code, scanning did not work. It is pity that this simple setup is not done within Shopify. I here kindly ask for attention of the shopify development team. How about adding this to the next update of POS?

Best,

3

I also use a barcode scanner to locate products during the checkout process. Previously, at times no products would match, but I found out if I erased the last character and entered it again using the onscreen keyboard, it would find the product. Don’t ask me why.

Unfortunately, Shopify has now pushed out a ‘fuzzy search’ so a single SKU will pull back tons of matches, making the scanning of a barcode SKU useless. Customer support claims this is ‘a feature that is working properly’.

4

I had that happened to me recently. Check scanned item on regular green Shopify app or online , maybe item scanned is not active , either draft at archived or the pos sales channel is not checked .