Battery Management

PayPal_Siobhán · ‎May-16-2014

To ensure your card reader is charging properly:

Your card reader is charging once it is connected via the power cable supplied to an electrical power supply (USB power adaptor to a wall port or computer USB port). The triangle on your card reader will blink red if the battery is very low, otherwise it will blink green until the Bluetooth light starts flashing. Now it is charging. If the power cable is attached and you see no lights on your reader, there might be a problem with the charging cable. Please try using a different cable (any standard micro USB charging cable should work).
Not all micro-USB cables are suitable for charging the card reader. If you are using a different cable from the one that came with the reader this might cause the reader to not charge / charge slowly.
If the charging cable is connected to a laptop and that laptop is not plugged into an electricity port, the card reader may not charge (or charges very slowly) even though the Bluetooth light is on. For best result always make sure the laptop has a power connection.
A full charge from empty to full may take up to 3-6 hours depending on the source of power.
After the card reader has been fully charged it will go into standby mode unless you turn it off completely (see instructions below).

How to check your battery status:

When the card reader is connected to your mobile device and the PayPal Here App is open, the battery status of your reader can be found in the menu bar under card readers. In the card readers section under ‘Available Card Readers’ you will see your PayPal card reader ‘Connected’, to see the battery % press the (i) beside the reader name. Here you will see the battery % of your card reader.
When the card reader is not connected to the PayPal Here App, the battery status can be found by holding the yellow “correction” key on the card reader for 5 seconds. The LEDs will light up to indicate the battery status (6 LEDs lighting up means fully charged).

How to save/preserve your battery life:

If the card reader is turned on and continuously connected to the PayPal Here app, the battery gets drained quicker. When the card reader is not needed for a little while, close the app and the card reader will go into standby. The reader can always be revived by pressing any button on the card reader, reopen the app and it should reconnect within seconds.
When the card reader is in standby mode it still uses a bit of battery and a full battery will run empty in 6 days when in standby. If the card reader is not being used it is best to switch it off completely by holding the on/off button got 5 seconds. The card reader is completely off if it does not turn on again after you press any of the keys on the keypad.

kanganarora · ‎Dec-06-2014

Hi Siobhan

I am trying to charge my PayPal reader by connecting the power cable to my computer's USB port. There are no lights blinking and the cable where connected to the card reader is showing a red light. I have tried both the Paypal supplied cable as well as another spare I had lying around. I'm also tried connecting the other end to the plug of my iphone charger.

Kindly advise as to how I can charge the battery.

Many thanks,

Kangan

ProjectRX8 · ‎May-07-2015

Please try using a different cable (any standard micro USB charging cable should work).
Not all micro-USB cables are suitable for charging the card reader. If you are using a different cable from the one that came with the reader this might cause the reader to not charge / charge slowly.

Not really contradictory lol

AJLA1 · ‎Jan-08-2016

Very PROJECTRX8 !!

I also have had 5 devices in just over a year, switched OFF not one of them would last 6 days and in STANDY mode not one would last 24 hours. Using the USB lead supplied by PayPal although I could have used any even though they are not the same but they are apparently (as advised by PayPal).

A shocking device that many of us have paid for to be the guinea pig testers and not even an upgrade will be offerd for free.

PolkaDotArts · ‎Mar-03-2016

Hello Siobhan,

Could you please tell me:

1. Does the card reader still charge when connected but switched off? (ie no lights)

2. How do I know when it is fully charged?

3. What is the purpose of the red light at the usb connector?

4. Does this change colour when fully charged?

Although I have had the reader for some time it has not been used due to ill health. I tried to use it yesterday after charging for about 3 hours and it failed saying 'Battery level critical'.

Is this indicative of the battery problem you have been experiencing?

If so is it too late to get a replacement?

Many thanks

Colin

PayPal_Siobhán · ‎Mar-16-2016

Hi PolkaDotArts,

We'd like to help.

You should see the the triangle on your card reader blinking red if the battery is very low, otherwise it will blink green until the Bluetooth light starts flashing. Now it is charging.

A full charge from empty to full may take up to 3-6 hours depending on the source of power. When the card reader is connected to your mobile device and the PayPal Here App is open, the battery status of your reader can be found in the menu bar under card readers. In the card readers section under ‘Available Card Readers’ you will see your PayPal card reader ‘Connected’, to see the battery % press the (i) beside the reader name. Here you will see the battery % of your card reader.

There is generally a 12 month warrenty with the reader, when was it purchased?

Lastly, it is always good to try a factory reset if the reader has not been used for a while, here's how:

Locate the small opening next to the power button on the Chip & PIN card reader.
Insert a pin into this opening and hold it until you see the green triangle flash 8 times and one asterisk sign lit up. This indicates that the device has undergone a factory reset.
Once the Bluetooth light starts blinking, pair the card reader to your smartphone or iPad and open the PayPal Here app.

Hope this helps,

Siobhan

Jeanné · ‎Mar-16-2016

My new card reader - the 4th replacement so far - has been charging (ie. pluggegd in to power source of computer port with red light input) for 16 hrs, flashing green. When I unplug it it continues to flash green and I can't turn it off.

I cant check the battery status because there are no yellow lights on the pin display when I press down the cancel arrow.

I can't link it to my phone until the bluetooth light appears and it hasn't appeared.

What do I do?

PayPal_Anna · ‎Mar-24-2016

Hi Jeanné,

Thank you for posting and welcome to the Community Forum!

I’m very sorry to hear about the challenges with the card reader.

Would the same thing happen when you charge the reader from a wall port? Have you tried a factory reset yet?

Locate the small opening next to the power button on the Chip & PIN card reader.
Insert a pin into this opening and hold it until you see the green triangle flash 8 times and one asterisk sign lit up. This indicates that the device has undergone a factory reset.
Once the Bluetooth light starts blinking, pair the card reader to your smartphone or iPad and open the PayPal Here app.

If you need any further assistance, please consider contacting our Customer Support Team on <removed> . Out representative will be able to take you steps by step through the resolution.

Hope it helps.

Anna