Retail hardware, software, and Shopify Point of Sale
Is it just me, or since we have had to pay for POS, the quality of the app has decreased significantly. Two busy saturdays in a row the barcode scanner stopped being recognised in the main till (but still worked on the search bar) and today the card machine wont communicate, the system wont allow partial payments, it has messed up a gift card used when trying to take a partial payment, and the other day I couldnt take a payment for an unpaid order as I had refunded an item on the order at £0 (given it hadnt been paid for yet). I note I need to do an update when I go into the shop tonight as given the issues with the system my staff are afraid to do it in case it breaks even more functionality.
Shopify helpdesk people are friendly but unable to resolve these issues.
Shopify need to up their game, and to stop charging us for buggy software until it is fixed. Classic was a much better solution!!!
Anyone experiencing the same/similar?
Thanks
Andrew
andrew - i cannot say i'm seeing all the issues currently plaguing your setup, but i am able to confirm similar challenges with the barcode scanner not being recognized by the cart, but functioning in the search bar. for us, this happens after we shut everything down for the night and in the morning the scanner does not work, requiring forgetting / re-linking. this happened periodically about a month ago, but now is a nightly occurrence.
haven't lobbed a call in to support just yet, but will do so to generate some visibility to the issue.
best,
john
I have the same barcode scanning problems that you guys have stated. We opened our support ticket May 14th, and the issue happened just a little before then. I'm trying to get Shopify support to send this to their technical team, but I keep getting roadblocked every which way as they are adamant that this is a iOS / bluetooth issue specific to my iPad..... basically it's anything but their app. Now they are recommending a factory reset of the iPad.
Out of curiosity, are people who are having issues with the barcode scanner using the old TAP + CHIP + SWIPE reader? Wondering if this is why it's not a more widespread issue? We are stuck using this old reader as all of others (Shopify white (chip + swipe) and black (chip + tap)) readers break within 30 days of us putting it in production. We too are having all kinds of processing anomalies.
we are using the new tap & chip and are encountering this issue.
Thanks WelcomeHome. Guess it's not related to the old card reader.
andrew - a follow-up to my recent confirmation of the barcode scanner issue. grumbling about this one night over dinner, my wife informed me that her work-around to avoid this occurrence was manually starting a new register session every day, rather than having the register session start automatically after the first transaction (my technique). so far, it seems to be working.
best,
WelcomeHome-- what card reader are you using right now?
Seeing the exact same issues as described here and not seeing reliability as a key factor of the new POS system - trying to train staff to constantly restart the iPad, reconnect a random device, etc is not helpful. POS basics need to be added back to the app - it needs to not run out of memory and maintain communication with all devices. Has anyone found a solution?
Here are the issues we reported to the POS Team:
Issue #1 - Shopify support stated the best practice for an iPad POS device is to completely shutdown the app every night. Why is it about every other night the Shopify POS app when opened up forgets all settings and has to be logged in again from scratch? New logins typically require each wireless device to be verified or reconnected by hand.
Issue #2 - The Socket barcode scanners are lousy - why does Shopify only work with the one type of barcode scanner? Why do the batteries die and require the entire device to be replaced every year? Why is there no option for a fully wired barcode reader?
Issue #3 - The tap & chip reader is incredibly unreliable and disconnects randomly - it either stops reading cards until we reboot the iPad or until we re-add the device because it magically dropped off. Provide a fully wired version built in to an improved POS stand.
Issue #4 - The Star Micronics receipt printer - just like the barcode reader - why is there only one brand supported? It gets disconnected about 1-2 times per week, causing a need for the iPad and/or the printer to be restarted. Why can't other brands of printers be added? Why can't a wired version be provided?
Issue #5 - The Shopify POS app becomes increasingly slow over use during one day - our staff have to reboot the iPad usually around mid-day to get it back to working at full speed. This is likely a memory issue. The Shopify Lite app is WAY better and far more reliable.
There is no excuse for the basic IT connectivity issues - please get them fixed ASAP.
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all your feedback you have shared here and the issues you have been facing using the Shopify POS system. I wanted to let you know that we hear you and we are aware of some of the issues brought up here. I'll provide some additional context on some of the main points you all brought up:
General hardware connectivity:
We don't necessarily recommend that your iPad be turned off completely every night, but it definitely should be done a few times a week. Shutting a device completely off allows it to clear internal caches for wireless devices and can definitely improve connectivity. Doing so at planned times throughout the week (start of the day, or after a shift is over) will allow the devices to run at their most efficient and be less likely to interrupt your work day. This suggestion is not specific to devices using the Shopify POS system, but for all tech devices utilizing wireless connectivity.
Dropped wireless connections or frequent disconnecting:
While there is always a chance for this to be related to the software or reliability of the hardware you are using, when it comes to Apple devices we do see issues crop up with wireless interference. This is definitely something worth testing for in your workspace by moving some of your wireless devices around and seeing you get better results with less devices or in different positions in relation to other wireless devices. Some things to consider: If the tablet is on the other side of the building from your wireless internet router, how many wireless devices are between the two? How many bluetooth devices are on in the same space?
You can learn more about this on Apple's website here: Apple: Resolve Bluetooth and Wifi Issues
Barcode scanner not being recognized:
Rest assured our team has heard you loud and clear on this issue and our retail technical team is hard at work to create a fix for this and update the POS system for you. I don't have a timeline, but I want you to know it is at the forefront. Right now the workaround they suggest is that you change the page you are viewing. Example: if you are in an order page go to the home page then back again. This seems to allow the scanner to be recognized again in most cases.
Tap and Chip Reader connectivity:
We do receive reports of this and the issue at play with this could be a few things. There is the possibility that your device has manufacturing issues and if it's within warranty we will happily replace it for you. Most times it's a matter of the reader not being set up correctly or with all the needed steps. This can happen, especially if you are connecting and disconnecting the device multiple times or having connectivity issues throughout the day.
Shay | Social Care @ Shopify
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This is laughable that a POS system like this is even in production. And people are naive enough to pay for it. I use the Shopify ecom but the POS no, no, no. It would drive me crazy to pay for something that is in BETA testing. I have been testing the Shopify POS and it is unreliable. I wish Shopify POS worked, I would love to use it. We have been in biz for 27 years and I use a DOS based POS, the barcode reader and receipt printer have never disconnected in 15 years. Reliable, never crashed, never lost any data. Yet for me to advance I need to find a reasonably priced and reliable omnichannel system. Lightspeed has LAN based receipt printer connections issues as well and does not integrate that well with Shopify. You would think POS systems would be tried and tested and bulletproof for production but I have not found a solution yet, Looking at WooPOS (if anyone has had any experience with it please let me know) it's ugly but has a lot of features, and integrates with Shopify without paying for a bridge. NOTE: it does not support Shopify gift cards last time I asked. So for me, the workaround to Shopify POS is not to use it. However, if it was reliable and had standard/expected POS functions I would most definitely use it for the omnichannel experience I'm looking for, for my customers. To be fair to Shopify I love their ecom, they have nailed it and I would recommend it.
Shay,
Your post above was posted in June 2021. It is now almost December 2022 and we have installed your POS system at 2 different sites and BOTH sites are having the bluetooth scanner dropping connection multiple times a week, sometimes per day. Why has it taken shopify so long to fix what should be a generally easy thing to fix?
We are shopify partners but are currently looking at other POS options because these issues seem to be very common with no fix every implemented or what seems to be even looked at or taken seriously.
VSGroup-- were you having this issue on iPadOS 15? When you mention bluetooth dropping, is that you have to re-pair the scanner with the iPad, or does it miss some barcodes that you scan?
We had the issue with having to re-pair the bluetooth scanner resolve a couple months back. Our store is afraid of any new unresolved POS bugs that may exist after the ipadOS16 release, so we are still running ipadOS15.
We have found that our issues occur when there is a pos software update available that hasnt been installed yet. Once we manually update we have no problems until the next time. Ours will nit update automatically for some reason and always have to be completed manually.
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