Troubleshoot your network connection

Networks can have issues in different places, with similar symptoms. A standard network connection is going to have the device, the network (wired, wireless or a mix), the router, and the internet connection (usually a fibre, DSL or cable modem). When there is a network issue it’s best to try and isolate the problem to the specific section, and then proceed with detailed troubleshooting from there.

Areas where you can have network issues:

• Between the modem and the router

• Between the router and the network

• Between the network and the device

• Between the device and another device

• Between your devices and Square services

How to identify where the issue is occurring?

The first step when troubleshooting any connectivity issues is to determine where the breakdown in communication is happening. 

As of version of Square 6.44, you can open the Test Connectivity report and it will try to identify any network issues. This test takes 1-2 minutes and can be done by going to:

• More > Settings > Hardware

• Click ‘Test connectivity’

• Wait for the test to run, it will take a few seconds up to about a minute

• The results will be reported alongside all the network information we are able to collect.

The report runs 3 tests:

1. Internet Access

2. Local Network Access

3. Access to Square services

Internet Access

This checks whether or not Square devices are able to access the outside world and the general internet. Point of Sale will also show the connection your device is using in order to reach the internet, under the Internet test row. Your Point of Sale will say “Wifi” if using Wi-Fi, along with the signal strength in dBm (decibel-milliwatts), and will say Cellular if you’re using your cell connection (Phones or tablets with cell capability)

When this test fails:

• It is likely you do not have internet access, and will be unable to do anything that involves working with Square services

You can try rebooting their modem and router, and if that doesn’t work, engage your ISP, switch to a backup internet connection, or switch to offline payments. Learn how to Process offline payments with Square.

Local Network Access

When using Wi-Fi or Ethernet, this test checks that your device has an IP address from the router, and that that IP address is valid. If Square does not have an IP address, Point of Sale will report “Critical Issues”. An IP of 0.0.0.0, or starting with 169.254.y.z means the device is still trying to get an IP from the router, or the router is unreachable. If you do not have an IP address, Square will not function properly.

Next, Point of Sale will check that it can access the local gateway. The gateway is the router and must be accessible from the POS device or it won’t have local or internet connectivity. Point of Sale will ping the gateway and follow the same rules as the internet.

When this test fails:

• If this test fails and the internet test fails, you either have a problem with the Access Point or Router, or the device itself can’t talk to the network. Being unable to talk on the network will prevent Square from reaching out to the wider internet as well. You should also see the Square test fail in this case.

• If there is no IP address assigned to the device (it is 0.0.0.0 or starts with 169.254) you can try rebooting the router, disconnecting and reconnecting Wi-Fi/ethernet cable, or swapping out the ethernet cable

  • If none of these work, you might need the support of a networking professional (or sometimes from your ISP)

• If there is an IP address like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x or 172.x.x.x then there could be an issue with the Access Point/Router and rebooting may help

  • If your network has been set up by a professional or has advanced settings configured, you may need to check that the firewall or configuration isn’t blocking the Point of Sale devices.

• If everything seems to be working and this test is showing a failure, rerun it a few times. This test can provide variable results depending on gateway rules, firewalls, VLANs, etc. and should be a diagnostic step only.

Access to Square services

This test calls a Square Service to check it can be reached. This is NOT intended to be a comprehensive report on the status of Square services and should not be used to determine whether or not there is an outage on the Square side. To obtain detailed status for Square services, visit https://issquareup.com/. 

What this does verifies:

1. DNS (Domain Name Servers) can resolve the Square domains

2. There are no firewall or routing rules blocking access to Square domains

3. Account Status is operational and requests are making it there and back.

When this test fails:

• If internet access is working, you can further double check by running a speedtest

  • If you are using an iOS or Android device, you can visit https://wifiman.com/ or install the WiFiman app.

  • For Square Terminal or Register, you can test from another device connected on the same network. For a valid test result: make sure you run the test from a device with cellular disabled and from the same physical location.

  • If this speed is very low (<5mbps) or has very high latency (a ping over 250ms) it’s possible that while the internet is working, it is too slow for the devices to operate properly. Some common reasons may include slow connection, a congested network, or poor Wi-Fi coverage

  • For Square Register or Terminal, It’s possible you have an issue with DNS servers and might need assistance from a networking professional

• It is possible a firewall is blocking access to Square services

Additional diagnostics tips

• Restarting your modem and router is often a good, first troubleshooting step. However, unless your internet connection or network is actually down and un-operational, Square recommends this step is taken during off-hours, in case it takes longer than expected to be restored.

• If something was recently modified, updated or added to your network and its configuration, try to restore things to how they were when they were working.

• Check your Wi-Fi coverage and that all devices are receiving a sufficiently strong signal.

• Check that your devices are not jumping between networks. If a device is configured to work with multiple Wi-Fi networks inside the same physical location, it may decide to auto-connect to a different network than you intended. This can result in issues with network printing, slow speed, or more severe issues depending on the configuration of those networks.

• Check the physical state of your networking equipment. Are any cables physically damaged? Are access points broadcasting and unobstructed? Are your network and POS devices sufficiently distant from sources of radio-frequency interference (micro-waves, coffee grinders, smart devices, lights, cameras, etc)?

• Do not modify or change settings of your network without a clear understanding of what it does, or can do. Mis-configuring your network can cause significant issues to your operations and you may experience downtime until you can find a networking professional to come resolve your issue.

• There are two options to manually verify internet connectivity at the source:

Running a speed test with your router

If your router supports a built-in speed test, you should run the test from the router for the most accurate results.

1. Open a browser on any device connected to the router (via Ethernet or wirelessly).

2. Navigate to the router's IP which will look something like https://<router_ip_address> often https://192.168.1.1.

3. Enter the username and password for your router.

4. Look for “internet speed test” or “speed test”, consulting your router’s documentation.

5. Click run now.

6. If this test is successful and meets our minimum requirements, your internet connection is unlikely to cause problems .

7. If this test does not run, it is likely there is an issue with the router itself or your ISP is having issues with service. In both cases, we recommend contacting your ISP.

Note: Connect to a backup internet connection or service provider, or make sure  to enable Offline Payments (please note that offline mode requires disabling your Wi-Fi and may interfere with network printing)"

If your router cannot run a speed test itself:

1. You can use the WiFiman app available on the Apple Store or Google Play.

2. On an iPad or Android device you can open a browser and navigate to http://www.speedtest.net or www.fast.com and run a test in the browser. (Note that his will not work from a Square Terminal or Square Register. If you want to test the speed of the internet on those devices you can use an android or iOS phone, with the cellular modem disabled from next to the Register or Terminal). 

Verifying a Device's IP Address

Here are various methods to check whether a device has an IP address.

All Square devices

1. Navigate to Settings (if there is no settings icon look under More)

2. Navigate to Hardware

3. Test connectivity

4. The report will show network status, including ip address under the section called “Network details” > Scroll down to see more details