How to diagnose a bad or spotty network connection on merchant premises

Owned by Antoine Trota (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 20 Sept, 2023 by Ana Tamez
3 min read

If you are contacted by a merchant reporting that the cloud connection between the POS and the terminal is spotty there are a few steps that can be taken to diagnose the source of the issue :

  1. Go to the Handpoint status page https://status.handpoint.com/ to check the status of the cloud API

  2. If there are no issues, ask the merchant for the serial number of the terminals encountering problems.

  3. Make sure that the app standby optimizer is disabled on the terminal. This will allow the terminal to keep an internet connection in the background even if it is in sleep mode:

 

  1. Go to the PAX Store and download the logs of the terminal

  2. If the logs are going from Disconnected → Connecting → DIsconnecting → Connected and CloudUnavailable it means that the terminal is losing internet connection and points to an unreliable network on merchant premises.

    Here is a small extract from the logs: [2023-07-29 14:30:35].628 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - Pusher connection status changed DISCONNECTED --> CONNECTING [2023-07-29 14:30:35].651 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> Event received connectionStatusChanged:CloudUnavailable [2023-07-29 14:30:35].665 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - stopped ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].680 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - starting ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].690 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - Pusher connection status changed CONNECTING --> DISCONNECTING [2023-07-29 14:30:35].708 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> Event received connectionStatusChanged:CloudUnavailable [2023-07-29 14:30:35].718 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - stopped ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].732 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - starting ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].755 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - Pusher connection status changed DISCONNECTING --> CONNECTED [2023-07-29 14:30:35].767 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> Event received connectionStatusChanged:CloudConnected [2023-07-29 14:30:35].775 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - stopped ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].779 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - Pusher connection status changed DISCONNECTED --> CONNECTING [2023-07-29 14:30:35].794 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> Event received connectionStatusChanged:CloudUnavailable [2023-07-29 14:30:35].799 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - stopped ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].803 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - starting ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].808 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - onError - There was a problem connecting to Pusher: Connection not authorized within timeout - code: 4009 [2023-07-29 14:30:35].814 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - stopped ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].825 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - Pusher connection status changed CONNECTED --> DISCONNECTED [2023-07-29 14:30:35].830 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> [SDK] CLOUD - starting ReconnectionTimer [2023-07-29 14:30:35].840 W/App-Detailed-Logger( 2742): ***[APP] -> Event received connectionStatusChanged:CloudDisconnected

  3. In this case there are a couple of troubleshooting steps :

    1. Instead of connecting the terminal to the premises wifi, connect it to a mobile hotspot (generated by a phone). If that works fine and the merchant is able to send payments, it narrows down the issue to the wifi router. 

    2. If the problem is the wifi based on the test made in 1. then there are 2 paths forward:

      1.  Install a sim card, Handpoint or the partner you are working with, should be able to provide the merchant with a SIM that works in the PAX terminals - THIS IS THE PREFERRED SOLUTION AS A SIM WILL PROVIDE IMMEDIATE STABILITY

      2. Connect to a different wifi, if the router generates 2.4ghz network and 5ghz network you can try to switch between both to check if there is any difference in how the reader behaves. 

      3. Restart the Wifi router on merchant premises

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