Did you order a Chipper 2X BT (Black) or M2 (White) Bluetooth Card Reader? Need help setting it up? This article is for you!
First off, you made a great choice: the Bluetooth Card Reader is fast, wireless (no audio jack needed!), and portable. In addition, it supports a variety of transaction types: you can swipe cards, insert an EMV/chip card, tap a “Tap to Pay” card, or even accept mobile wallet payments from Apple Pay or Google Pay! It’s one of the best card readers on the market and should work great for your on-site sales with the Passage Manager App.
Once you have your new card reader, here's how to get it working:
Install (or Update) the Passage Manager App
First, if you haven't done so already, please download and install the latest Passage Manager App on your iOS (13+) or Android (7.0+) device. If there’s an update available, please install that as well! You can search the iTunes or Google Play Store for “Passage Manager”.
When you first open the Passage manager app and login you’ll need to allow it permission to use your camera (for scanning). As long as you’re using the Bluetooth card reader you won’t need to allow microphone/audio access.
Setup
For the Bluetooth reader, please follow these steps the first time you use it:
Charge the reader. Use the included USB cord to charge the reader (red light will disappear when full).
Turn on your card reader by pressing (and releasing) the power button on the side.
Head to the Bluetooth Reader Setup in the Passage Manager App. Tap “Settings” in the Passage Manager App, then “Sales Settings”, then “Bluetooth Reader Setup”. DO NOT connect to the reader through your device's Bluetooth settings.
Allow location permissions. You’ll likely be asked now (or later) to allow Passage Manager to access your device’s location. Please hit “OK” or “Allow” when this pops up.
Tap “Search for Readers”. You should see a long string of numbers preceded by “CHB” (matching the numbers on the back of your reader). If nothing comes up within 20 seconds please check to make sure your reader is turned on (it will have a blinking blue light on the side).
Connect to your reader. Tap the long string of numbers to connect to your reader. If on iOS it should say “Connected to Reader CHBXXXXXXX” or "Connected to Reader STRXXXXXXX" at the top of the screen (with some random numbers instead of the X's), and the search button will change to a “Disconnect” button. If on Android it will first ask you to pair (please click “Accept” or “Pair”) and then will show that it’s connected. If you don’t see the “Connected Status” please restart the app/device and try again.
Update your reader. The card reader may need to be updated when first connected. This will happen automatically IF your card reader is charged to at least 50%.
Please note: just having the reader plugged in isn't enough (but IS recommend): The battery actually has to be charged to 50%+ before an update is able to happen, so if it's not connecting please make sure it's charged to at least 50%.
If you're on Android, the update will require your device's screen to stay on throughout the entire update to complete successfully.
You'll know the update has completed successfully when you see all lights flash and hear a rapid succession of several beeps.
A reader update can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 10-15 minutes.
That’s it! It’s time to use your new reader.
Making a Sale
Tap the “Sell” tab at the bottom of the screen and proceed as normal through a checkout: Select the event at the top of the screen, then select the date, and then add at least one ticket (or product) to your cart. From there you can select “Checkout” at the bottom of the screen.
Reading the Card
Once at the checkout screen (after tapping “Checkout”) you should the message “Connected to Bluetooth Reader” quickly change to “Insert / Swipe / Tap”. When you see that message, you can read the card!
Insert (left picture): You’ll want to use this option for cards with a chip. Make sure the chip is facing down and towards the thicker part of the device. Push completely into the device. The app message will change to “Remove Card” when it’s finished reading the card (usually within a couple of seconds) and you’ll hear a completion beep. When it says Remove Card, you can remove the card :)
Swipe (middle picture): You really shouldn’t ever have to do this unless someone provides you a card with no chip (rare) or the reader can’t read the chip for some reason (also rare).
Tap to Pay (right picture): For cards with the “Tap to Pay” icon (or mobile devices running a tap to pay mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay) you can simply hold the card or device up to the reader’s front tap to pay logo. Once done reading the Passage app will say “Remove Card” at which point you can move the card or device.
After Reading Your Card
After reading the card, please return the card to the owner. You'll be asked for the cardholder's signature on the screen (a big white box). From this screen, the cardholder can sign, and you can e-mail a receipt (using the top box), or print a receipt or tickets if you have a printer setup.
That’s It!
If you need any help with your new reader or any other part of your event setup, please don’t hesitate to reach out by phone (+1.855.688.7277 option 1) or email (support@gopassage.com). We’re happy to help!
AND PLEASE: Don’t forget to test your in-person transactions before your event! :)
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Advanced Details:
Turning the reader on and off
To turn on the Bluetooth card reader, press and release the power button. The status light turns on to indicate power. The reader waits for a Bluetooth connection for five minutes before turning off.
When the reader is connected to a device running your app, its status light shines steady blue. If inactive for more than 30 seconds, it enters standby mode to conserve power, and the status light begins flashing at 5-second intervals. The reader stays connected to your iOS or Android device while in standby and automatically exits standby mode when you resume activity.
The reader automatically turns off after 10 hours of inactivity. To turn the reader off manually, press and hold the power button until the status light goes out. You don’t need to turn off the reader to conserve power.
With typical usage, you only need to charge the reader once per day.
Status light - BBPOS Chipper 2X BT (Black Card Reader)
Whenever the BBPOS Chipper 2X BT is turned on, the LED located beside the power button shows the reader’s current status.
Status Light - M2 (White Card Reader)
Whenever the M2 is turned on, the LED on the front panel shows the reader’s current status.
Charging the reader
To charge the Bluetooth card reader, use the included micro USB cable. The USB port does not work for connecting the reader to a device—it’s only for charging.
Troubleshooting
Having trouble with your reader? Here are some possible problems (and fixes):
Cannot Find Reader in Setup (#1). Please make sure you've approved access to both Bluetooth and your device location in the setup. If you're not sure if these permissions were given, you can check in the settings.
- Go to settings on your device.
- Scroll down until you see "Passage Manager" in the list of apps.
- Select "Passage Manager" and verify Passage Manager has access to Bluetooth and Location ("While Using" the app).Cannot Find Reader in Setup (#2). If all permissions are given but still are not seeing the reader, click back one screen to the Sales Settings and select Bluetooth Reader Setup again. Your reader should show up right away.
Unable to Connect to the Reader. If you see the reader in the Bluetooth Reader Setup but are not able to connect, try the following in order:
- Make sure that the reader is sufficiently charged (50%+). The quick way to do this is to check the color of the lights on the reader (scroll up to the "Status Light" chart to see the list of colors and what they mean). If you're not sure based on checking the lights, plug in the reader, wait several minutes and leave plugged in while trying to connect.
- Make sure that the reader is not directly connected to the device's Bluetooth. Go to settings on the device, and tap through to Bluetooth. If you see the Chipper ID connected, tap on the reader and choose the option to disconnect (or "forget", depending on your device).
- Log out of the app, and clear it from cache. Turn off the reader (long hold the power button). Wait a few seconds, then log back into the app and turn the reader back on. Go back to Bluetooth Reader Setup in the app.
- Perform a hard reset of the card reader. Next to the charging cable port there is a small hole. Press a pin, paperclip, or other item small enough to fit into that hole and hold until the device resets (15-30 seconds). Go back into the Passage Manager app and try connecting again.Reader Disconnects from Device (#1). Your reader may be connected to multiple devices. If you think this is possible, please go into “Settings” in the Passage Manager App, then “Sales Settings”, then “Bluetooth Reader Setup” and "disconnect" from the reader on every device that's connected so that you can start again.
Reader Disconnects from Device (#2). Certain devices will "auto-lock" the screen every so often and will go into a low-power mode when that happens which will disconnect Bluetooth devices as a result. The device should automatically reconnect, but if it doesn't, try disabling screen Auto-Lock in the iOS settings by going into the iOS settings, then "Display and Brightness", Select Auto-Lock, and set to "Never".
Continuing to receive a "Terminal Error" at checkout. A Terminal Error is an error returned when trying to process a transaction: some reasons for a Terminal Error would be things like insufficient funds, a cancelled card, trying to process a $0 payment, or trying to process an expired cart session (can happen if a cart / checkout is left open for 10+ minutes). In some cases, generally when the app has been on for a long time with a session open with tickets in cart, a terminal error can get stuck in cache and continue to pop up when you get to checkout. To get rid of a stuck terminal error, try the following in order:
- Click "Try Again" on the Terminal Error pop up instead of "Ok"
- Clear the cart. Then add tickets and retry.
- Log out of the app (Settings -> Account -> Logout). Clear the app from cache. Then log back in and retry.