Since Shopify decided to discontinue the Shopify GO, as of next September we will have no way have hosting our pop up merchandise stands that we do at our fundraising events.
Will Shopify have a replacement on the go device? Right now tech support just keeps telling me to have each of our volunteers download the shopify app and give them credentials. This is not going to happen, not sure why this is their alternative options.
Now that Square came out with the handheld terminal, has anyone switched to those? Are those a good alternative?
Shopify POS Go is being discontinued existing devices will work until Sept 2026, but won’t function as standalones after that.
Alternatives from Shopify:
Tap to Pay on iPhone/Android
POS Terminal (all-in-one)
Tap & Chip card reader + Shopify POS app
About Square’s handheld terminal: it’s portable and convenient, but it doesn’t sync directly with Shopify, so you’d need to reconcile inventory and sales manually.
If seamless Shopify integration matters, stick with Shopify hardware. If portability matters most, Square is an option with extra admin work.
The issue we run into using not dedicated hardware, we have to rely on none tech savy staff ensuring devices are paired together, bluetooth trouble shooting.
We used iPads / Shopify Chip readers but always ran into them disconnecting throughout the day and having to troubleshoot. So we switched to the POS Go and the experience for our staff was great.
But now having to go back to worrying about staffing using and troubleshooting when I or someone that understands how to work with the devices is there.
That is what is turning us away from using Shopify POS anymore. Not sure why Shopify would discontinue a product that is used regularly by many businesses with no proper solutions to replace it.
Tap to Pay is not an option either, not going to ask our staff and volunteers to collect customer payment data on their personal devices.
I completely understand your frustration the big advantage of POS Go was that it eliminated all the pairing/bluetooth headaches that can come with iPads + card readers. For teams with rotating staff or volunteers, a self-contained device makes a huge difference.
Unfortunately, Shopify hasn’t announced a true “POS Go replacement” yet. Current supported options are:
POS Terminal all-in-one, but designed more for countertop use than mobile.
Tap & Chip reader with Shopify POS app → portable, but does bring back the pairing issues you mentioned.
Tap to Pay on iPhone/Android convenient, but understandably not suitable if you don’t want staff using their personal devices.
This gap is exactly why many businesses are frustrated with the discontinuation. Square’s handheld terminal is an alternative since it’s also self-contained, but the drawback is that it doesn’t natively sync with Shopify so inventory and reporting would need extra admin work.
In short: if seamless Shopify integration is critical, the options right now all involve trade-offs. If dedicated, mobile hardware is more important, Square offers that but with manual reconciliation.
Instead of relying on volunteers’ personal phones or random iPads, set up a few organization-owned tablets pre-configured with the Shopify POS app + card reader.
Lock these down with device management tools so staff can’t log out or unpair readers by mistake.
This cuts down on troubleshooting since everything is pre-paired and consistent.
Countertop Shopify POS Terminal
While not handheld like POS Go, it’s all-in-one (no Bluetooth pairing needed) and could be stationed at your booth’s checkout area.
Reliable for pop-ups where staff rotate but the checkout station stays fixed.