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If a magnetic stripe reader (MSR) does not register swipes, you can try these troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem.
Unless you have a dual-screen setup on your terminal (commonly referred to as a Guest-Facing Display or Toast Flex for Guest), you can only use one card reader per device at a time. To learn more about dual card reader setups, check out the article Guest Pay and Dual Reader Functionality with Toast Tap™.
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When the MSR is connected to a device, the Toast POS app might need to be explicitly configured to use the USB connection. To reset the app so that it uses USB by default, follow these steps:
- From the Android device's home screen, open Settings and then open Apps.
- Select Toast POS and then select Clear Defaults.
- Reopen the Toast POS app.
- When you're prompted to use USB by default, select Yes.
- If the terminal is still not registering that the card reader is connected:
- Quit the app by going to Settings, then Apps, then Toast POS, and selecting Force Stop on this page.
- Reopen the Toast app and, if prompted to use USB by default, select Yes.
- In the event that the above steps are unsuccessful, you may need to restart the terminal itself or physically disconnect and reconnect the card reader to refresh the USB connection.
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Make sure the sensor is clear by running a swipe cleaning card through the reader.
If you're experiencing an issue where your assigned card reader will not read card data as expected, this can be resolved by a simple cleaning. You can purchase a cleaning card (like this one (external link)) to help with day-to-day performance.
If you have additional issues after the device is fully charged and properly paired, contact the Toast Customer Care team via Toast Central.
Not sure what card reader you have? Check out the article: Identify Your Card Reader Type.
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