Revisiting New Square Reader

[Candybee]

I still haven't gotten my new square reader yet. My last email from them says it will ship out "early next year" as they are backlogged with orders.

 

I again reviewed the phones that are compatible with the new reader and my LG Volt android phone isn't on the list.

 

So my question is, what do I need to get to make it compatible or is there another reader device I should get..... or should I wait until it gets here and try it out and see if it works with my phone anyway.

 

Honestly I am confused. I don't think the readers should have come out until the technology is designed to be compatible with all phones but that is obviously beside the point.

 

I don't have much time to change my mind and cancel the order as it could be shipped anytime. I hate to waste $49 on a reader that doesn't work but if I cancel and have no new reader I understand I will be liable for any charges that go sour. By keeping my order I am covered even though it hasn't come yet.

 

What do you all think? I could use some advice before I make up my mind. Right now I am just waiting on the new reader to come out. Is that a mistake?

Edited December 21, 2015 by Candybee

[e911]

Couple of things (This is a topic I actually have knowledge about!! yay!).

 

I'd say wait until it gets to you and try it with your current device.  You may find that it actually works and the vendor just didn't test it with that model.  There are other readers out there, but honestly, the only one I'd trust is Square.

 

Yes you would be liable if for some reason your transactions get hacked and you didn't have a chip reader available when a chip card was presented.  You have to ask yourself, are the fees and lost sales worth enough to worry about?  If you're selling one or two candles at a time, say 10$ each, 20$ total, plus a charge back of say 25$, is 45$ enough to cause you not to sleep at night?  How about 450$?  If both make you uncomfortable, then get the chip reader, if neither bother you, then don't worry about it and eat the loss.

 

As for new phones, it all depends on personal preference.  Personally ever since I switched from a Blackberry (crackberry...zomg i miss my crackberry! :'(.. seriously, i have withdrawl symptoms sometimes!) I've been a fan of the Galaxy Note series from Samsung.  YES THEY ARE HUGE, but honestly, I have zero clue how I ever got any work done on such a smaller screen.  The Note's also work well for allowing people to sign their receipts as you have the stylus available or the bigger screen so they can use their finger.  The Note's also tend to have higher end hardware than the other android models and I've been very pleased with Samsung build quality.  One suggestion, if you take the phone outside for any reason, you most certainly want a case, because these phones are very thin and easy to drop without one.  I personally only use Otterbox Defenders.  Gives me 360* protection all the way around the device.

 

Soooo hopefully that helps, if not, let me know.

[Candybee]

Well hopefully I don't have to buy a new phone. I don't think that it should be a requirement to upgrade your phone to use a card reader. Can't really afford a new phone anyway. The one I got was pretty cheap and I only use it for the Square reader I currently use. So buying a new phone is not really an option I am looking into.

[TallTayl]

Well, seeing as how only one, maybe two stores in my area even use the chip (Wally world and Target) is the dire emergency they presented really a big deal to us yet? Not even the gas pumps have changed -which is often the first place a physically boosted card is used.

And not ONE answer has been given to my question of how to deal with online purchases. When in person you can see the physical card and the ID. That should really discourage most fake cards. But online....

To answer one of your questions, i would wait until it arrives and test with your phone. Quite a few were not ever listed to work with the original reader, yet they worked just fine.

[Candybee]

Thank you both TT and e911.

 

You two made me realize my instinct was right so I will just wait until it ships out and test it when it gets here. My phone is an older model so may be why it wasn't tested. They do mention on their site that new phones are being tested and more may be added to the list.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that it works just fine with my phone. It would be nice to upgrade to a newer model but that will have to wait.