Short answer: The app is connected to a different reader than the one in your hand, or it's set to type in the card instead of using the reader. Check which one is connected, then start the charge again.
Why it happens
The app connects to one reader at a time. If Tap to Pay is the connected one, the prompt shows on your phone and your reader stays dark. The same goes for another reader left on nearby. And if you've switched to typing in the card, the reader never gets the sale.
How to fix it
- Check which reader the app says is connected. It should be your reader, not Tap to Pay on your phone. If it's the wrong one, disconnect it (on iPhone, open the menu and tap the reader's name, which says Tap to disconnect; on Android, tap the reader button at the top, then Disconnect reader). Then connect the right reader.
- Check the card entry mode. The checkout screen has a switch between Enter card manually and Use card reader. Make sure you're on the reader.
- Tap Begin Transaction on iPhone or Begin transaction on Android. The reader should ask for a card, and the app shows Present card on iPhone or Waiting for card on Android.
- If the reader doesn't react, cancel the sale, turn the reader off and on, and make sure it still shows as connected. If the app says the reader disconnected, reconnect it before you retry. On iPhone, a disconnect during a payment may mean the card was charged, so check your Stripe Dashboard first.
- On a Stripe Reader S700 or S710 that stays blank after you tap charge, check that it's online and on the same Wi-Fi as your phone, then restart the reader.
Check for a leftover sale
If the reader did take a card but the app gave no result, look in your Stripe Dashboard before you try again, so you don't charge twice. A payment that never finished shows as Incomplete and no money moved. If the charge was real, it shows as Succeeded.
If the reader isn't listed at all, see My card reader isn't found, won't connect, or keeps disconnecting.
Still stuck?
Contact us from the app: open the menu, tap Help, then tap the mail icon in the top right. Tell us which reader and what the screen shows.